Yesterday afternoon I visited Canal Park, followed by about 2 miles of hiking through the beautiful Superior Hiking Trail, adjacent to Hartley Nature Center here in Duluth. Among the Herring Gulls at Canal Park was a unique gull... In the field, it looked Herring Gull-sized, however the overall age of the bird was something that seemed to cause confusion about, can I even narrow down the age of this bird, and can I even narrow it down to a species? I was leaning towards Herring Gull, but would appreciate feedback, if anybody is interested in sharing thoughts/commentary. The gull of interest had a dark eye, partially yellowish bill, pink legs, and had the overall plumage of a 2nd-cycle Herring Gull. The underside of the wings looked surprisingly pale too. Photos of this bird and more are below. Thanks for any help you can provide. Enjoy! (yesterday's album can be found at http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/canal_park__hartley_nc)
Unusual Gull: http://www.pbase.com/image/132242489 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242518 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242485 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242484 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242519 March of the Penguins... or March of the Mallard: http://www.pbase.com/image/132242496 Iceland/Thayer's Gull odd gull (potentially one of the many hybrids) http://www.pbase.com/image/132242491 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242492 Cool angles of a sharp-looking adult Herring Gull: http://www.pbase.com/image/132242488 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242497 Mallard colors really glow with snow nearby: http://www.pbase.com/image/132242503 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242505 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242507 Snow/scenic shots: http://www.pbase.com/image/132242508 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242516 http://www.pbase.com/image/132242520 Good birdwatching, Erik Bruhnke Duluth, MN NATURALLY AVIAN - Bird photography and guided birdwatching tours www.pbase.com/birdfedr www.naturallyavian.blogspot.com [email protected] ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
