Hundred of gulls were loafing on the ice in the northwest corner of Lake Loveland by 4 pm, but there were significant changes compared to yesterday. The number of birders had quadrupled, but only 1 Glaucous Gull was present, and the number of Thayer’s, Lesser Black-backed, and California Gulls were cut in half. The Iceland Gull was still present, identified by its uniform pale brown base color, obvious frosty edging to primaries, bill pattern (black, but paling to gray on the basal half), and marbled tertials (not solid-centered). There were also two unidentifiable 1st-cycle gulls that were pale headed, blackish-billed, short-legged (“dumpy”), relatively small-headed, and smudgy-winged. These may have been Herring-Glaucous-winged hybrids, or perhaps something else. One of them seemed quite dark on the mantle suggesting a dark-backed species. I have seen 3 of these odd-balls in recent days. They are worthy of additional study, and badly in need of quality photographs.
As darkness settled in, half the gulls flew off to roost towards the southwest, probably at Carter Lake. 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.
