Here are the comments from my friend Stan Walens from San Diego on the bird.
Well, here's my very unofficial take. I keep waiting for some gull expert to chime in. Are you hearing anything that isn't on MNOU? I pretty much agree with the few people who have shed doubts and for the reasons they have presented Lots of things look really good for GWGU. Orbital ring is pink. there is a small black subterminal band on the bill; good for adult winter GWGU the wing pattern is pretty good for GWGU the wing extension is short here are the things that bother me the color of the markings on top of the head is too gray, rather than brown; also the smudging on GWGU should be most noticeable on the ear coverts, yes? the bill often appears too slender [not so in a couple photos], although some female GWGUs have slender bills the head is a strange shape for GWGU; this a big question mark for me the window on P9 look more substantial than I expect on a GWGU in some photos it appears as if there's a little too much black in the wingtips, although some GWGUs show dark gray primary tips [and on the other hand, some people think that indicates Western or Herring Gull in the parentage], but in these photos, is it shadow? the rump and tail appear too gray [a photographic artifact?] on pictures of the sitting bird, I don't like the pattern of white on the tertials--lacks the clean edge of a GWGU, and I don't see the broad white edges to the secondaries that I would expect my conclusion would be that there probably is another species of gull in the parentage a couple generations back ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
