Folks, On the Loveland CBC this past Saturday (Jan 1), a group of 7 of us watched gulls at dusk at Carter Lake, where several dozen gulls had come in to roost. There were 3 mystery gulls that were quite interesting, but too far away to identify conclusively. I will describe them briefly. If any birders see these birds in the coming days at area lakes, please email Cobirds, and try to get photos.
The first one was a small gull that was either a Bonaparte’s or a Black-headed Gull, in adult, non-breeding plumage. If anyone finds a Bonaparte’s or Black-headed Gull in northern Colorado these days, please share details. The second one was a large gull, larger than all the other gulls (including Herring Gulls), probably the size of a large Herring Gull or a small Great Black-backed Gull. It is a first or second-cycle gull with mostly white head and underparts, large all dark bill, mostly dark brownish upperparts, very long wings extending well beyond the tail, with very black wingtips. In flight, this bird had a broad dark blackish tail band contrasting with whitish tail base and rump. This bird was still present at the nocturnal roost at Carter lake this evening. It is very similar to a first cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull, but is larger than Herring Gulls. Its large size and thick tail band make this bird a candidate 1st cycle Yellow-legged Gull. The third one was a Herring Gull size gull with a very dark gray (blackish) mantle and otherwise mostly white. The bill was yellow with a black mark near the tip. The head is lightly streaked on the nape, and smudged tightly around the eye. When floating on the water, it shows a thick white tertial crescent, and a white skirt (white tips to secondaries). The primaries barely extend beyond the tail, and are black, with one of them showing a white tip (but not the outer ones). In flight, very narrow-winged, all white tail. The age would be a 3rd or 4th cycle bird. This bird was still present at the nocturnal roost at Carter lake this evening. It was also seen (and photographed) by Connie Kogler at 10 am on Saturday sleeping on the ice at Lon Hagler Reservoir in southwest Loveland. It was also seen (but not identified) last week (Wednesday or Thursday, I think) by Scott Rashid and others at Lagerman Reservoir in Boulder County. Scott observed a pale eye and pink legs. Bottom line, this may be a Slaty-backed Gull. I know this a strange e-mail, suggesting a bizarre conglomeration of mega-rare birds for Colorado. To be clear, none of these birds have been definitively identified, but they need to be. Unfortunately, for the 2 large gulls, hybrids are also a possibility, and it may turn out that definitive identification may be impossible. The best viewing spot at Carter Lake is from the County Road that skirts the east side. Near the north end of the lake, there is a wide pullout on both sides of the road. I don’t think you need to pay the $6 Larimer County Parks Fee if you stay along the County Road. It is possible that many of these gulls feed during the day at the Larimer County landfill along CR19, north of Loveland. In recent years, the landfill has not allowed close access to the feeding gulls by birders.Gulls from the landfill often visit Horsetooth Reservoir during the day, and today a couple hundred gulls were at Horsetooth (near the southernmost dam) at mid-day. This would be a good place to visit during the day in search of the interesting gulls. Nick Komar Fort Collins 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]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
