Dear Co-birders: Most of the returns (7) are in and, after reviewing the feedback and doing some further research of my own, I am convinced that the bird is an adult Glaucous Gull, most probably a female and perhaps of the race borrovianus (although there are some arguments against the latter) thus giving the bird a "dainty" (one comment) or delicate overall appearance or (referring to the Glaucous seen at Thomas Res recently) "smallest Glaucous I have ever seen". On reviewing Nick Komar's photos of a Glaucous seen at Erie Reservoir Dec 26, it may be the same individual. Also, Bill Schmoker reported a "smallish" Glaucous at Valmont on the Boulder CBC. One person reminded me of the short primary extension which was a obvious field mark that influenced me greatly in my first conclusion of Glaucous, but was overlooked when I had second thoughts and went on to obsess about other features. The complete absence of any grey in the primaries was discussed, although that may not be conclusive as shown by a review of the Kumlien Iceland (seen [unfortunately not by yours truly] at Boyd Reservoir 2008) photos on Nick's website. See: http://www.pbase.com/quetzal/erie_gulls_26_dec_2009. Generally, this individual's stature and bill size in comparison to a nearby Herring Gull (the former very slightly taller) was seen as precluding Iceland.
There was a minority view, with the photos garnering one vote for Iceland Gull and another birder wrote that they had seen a similar bird at Erie and remained "puzzled by the ID". As stated, most felt the bird had a notably delicate structure. Thus, I felt my "second thought" hesitation was somewhat justified; that and the fact that no one called me a senile old fool. Although Joe Roller did question what Lake Erie I thought I had been birding!! I will refer to ours as Erie Reservoir (despite the sign) from here on out. The responses were immediate, helpful, generous and very well informed. Some responses were quite late at night and early morning, showing an impressive readiness to answer the call! Thank you all very much, John Cobb Pine Brook Hills Boulder PS If any of you would still like to see the photos, drop me an email.
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