Hi Everyone-- I went up to look at the fields along CO-257 this morning 4/3. I learned that the gull bonanza is an afternoon event, so I went over to Lower Latham (a pair of avocets, multiple pairs of Cinnamon Teal, no Solitary Sandpiper), then out to the Pawnee Grasslands (four McCown's Longspurs and two Mountain Plovers along WCR 96, nothing at Crow Valley Campground), then over to the North Weld Landfill, then back to the fields at 4:30pm. Lots of gulls were following the plows. I counted about 20 Franklin's, and all the rest were Ring-billed. A brown-headed gull with white wing flashes should have stuck out like a sore thumb. As I was leaving, Nick Komar pulled up and told me about all the gulls he had seen at the landfill, so I went back over there. >From the entrance gate, gulls were bobbing up and down in the wind. Gulls are hard enough to identify when they're standing still, so this was an adventure. I got several quick looks each at an adult Glaucous, something that looked like a 2nd year Glaucous-winged, possibly a 2nd year Iceland, and an adult Lesser Black-back. More common gulls there were Herring, California, Franklin's, and Ring-billed. The Glaucous-wing had a mottled silvery back (none of that café mocha brown of a Glaucous/Iceland) and bulky structure. The Iceland was mottled café mocha brown with white primaries, with much less bulky structure. It's great sport if you're a diehard gull geek, frustrating as all get out if you're trying to learn them. I went over to Black Hollow Reservoir, and saw not a whole lot. All the gulls were very distant, and I couldn't make out anything other than Ring-bills.
Mark Miller, gull geek Longmont, CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject.
