Kumlien's and other Gulls, Cape Ann, MA - December 30th, 2007

Third cycle/adult Kumlien's Iceland Gull - upper three shots. Nice bird, very close off Jodrey fish pier in Gloucester Harbor. Plumage appeared much as adult with mid-gray primaries, but obvious band across bill suggesting third cycle bird.

Second cycle Kumlien's Iceland Gull (preening, center). Nice pinkish bill with well demarcated black tip.

First cycle Kumlien's Iceland Gull - fairly typical bird at close range, Jodrey fish pier. About nine first cycle birds were present here with only very small numbers of other large gulls. A Dovekie was swimming between the pilings in the harbor as well, but diving frequently, and well...impossible to digiscope.

First cycle Glaucous Gull (right) - Niles Pond. One of about five seen at this spot during the day.


Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull (center) - present for much of the afternoon at Niles Pond until all the gulls were flushed by a Red-tailed Hawk. Nice bird, relatively easy to pick out, and enough get the heart beating faster amid reports of Slaty-backed Gull!


Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull (center) - the same bird as above. Confusingly, this bird did not have yellowish or yellowish-green legs. I couldn't make out the leg color properly but didn't see that much difference between this bird's legs and some of the American Herring Gulls present.


Third cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull (center) - came into Niles Pond relatively late in the afternoon, but had been seen earlier by Scott Surner.


All in all, some excellent gull watching at Cape Ann during the day. Although the Slaty-backed Gull never appeared for us at least, we enjoyed sc.20 Kumlien's Iceland, 5+ Glaucous, 2 Lesser Black-backed, 2 Bonaparte's Gulls, and a first cycle Nelson's Gull as well as the possible second-cycle Thayer's Gull posted earlier.


GB,

JPS.