Ron Erpelding and I sorted through the gulls on Lake Calhoun from 3:30 PM until dark Saturday. We couldn't find the Lesser Black-backed nor any Thayers, but just after 5PM Ron spotted the California Gull in front of us - along the western shore near the southern end of the flock. (Sunset was 4:46 PM, so it was getting fairly dark.) Look for a dark, first winter gull with a bi-colored bill. This gull is noticeably smaller than the immature Herring Gulls. ALso, 1W HEGUs "typically" have an all dark or a bi-colored billl that blends from dark tip to pale base, rather than a sharply demarcated dark/light as on this bird. 2W HEGUs and 1W Ring-billed Gulls have a bill pattern similar to the CAGU, but RBGUs have a very different 1W plumage and 2W HEGUs (1) show a variable amount of the adult gray mantle coloration, (2) do not have as crisply patterned coverts, and (3) are larger than this bird.
This has not been an easy bird to find on Calhoun, but I'm not aware of any other place it's been found in the Twin Cities. Paul Minneapolis, Minnesota pbu...@earthlink.net
