I watched gulls at the Superior, Wisconsin landfill today from approximately 10:00-15:00 and saw the following:
At least 680 Herring Gulls, eight Glaucous Gulls (5 first-cycle, 1 third-cycle, and 2 adults), seven Thayer?s Gulls (2 first-cycle, 2 second-cycle, 3 adults), and three Iceland Gulls (1 first-cycle, 1 third-cycle, and 1 adult). The number of birds (especially Herring Gulls) is likely much greater than posted, since there is a constant influx and outflux of gulls, and since I only counted the number of each age seen at one time, or new individuals that I could recognize based on plumage differences. The majority of gulls were identified in flight since the landfill is closed to the public and viewing can only be done from outside the fence. Also seen and photographed was an adult Slaty-backed Gull. The latter was studied off and on for several hours both perched and in flight, and showed the following: size of large Herring Gull with overall bulky structure and large bill, yellow irides, pink legs, heavy head streaking that formed a distinct bib, broad white tertial crescent, slate gray mantle, and a ?string of pearls? effect formed by white subapical tongue tips on primaries 6-8 (dorsally and ventrally). When the bird flew directly overhead, I was able to see a large white subapical mirror on primary 10 (the outermost), a moderate sized white window on primary 9, and subapical white tongue tips on primaries 6-8. When the bird was perched with the underside of primary 10 showing, this feather appeared medium gray except a large white subapical mirror, a narrow darksubterminal bar, small white apical spot, and a distinctly dark, narrow outer web. Karl Bardon ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping