Thayer's Gull, Gloucester Harbor, MA - 01/05.

Among the many highlights of a day trip to Cape Ann with Brian Kane was this first cycle Thayer's Gull, initially seen at a distance from Jodrey fish pier in Gloucester at around 09:30 am. We drove around the inner harbor to get better looks from Roger Street/Main Street and found the bird on the dock behind "Captain Carlos Seafood Restaurant". This spot was actually just below the grassy hill from which many birders had looked for, and seen, the Slaty-backed gulls in late December! After loosing touch with the bird around 10:15 am we called in at the same spot on the way home and luckily relocated it, sharing our find with Steve Grinley and friends. The bird was still there when we left at around 4:15pm.

Good web images of first cycle Thayer's Gulls can be seen here;
Jeff Poklen's Thayer's Gulls.
Michael G. Shepard's Thayer's Gull page.
Thayer's Gulls on the Japanese Gull-site.
The Provincetown Thayer's Gull from Dec '06.

On the down side, we came away with very few flight images but future photographic opportunities look excellent from this spot and hopefully some of the local photographers will get some good results.

First images taken from Jodrey fish pier. Settled on the roof tops just north-east of the grass hill off Rogers/Main Street in Gloucester.

Nice head and bill shot showing clean, unstreaked 'mask' and long looking lores.


At rest - centers of tertials gray-brown, only slightly darker than rest of upperparts but significantly lighter than dark-brown primaries. Distincive pattern allowing for the to be picked out from smithsonianus at considerable range.

First cycle Thayer's Gull on the left with first-cycle Great Black-backed Gull.

First-cycle Thayer's Gull on the left with first/second-cycle American Herring Gull.

Very Kumlien's like in flight at times......

Whilst at other moments could have easily been glossed over as a first-cycle smithsonianus.

Dark tips and dark outer webs to primaries.

More on this story to come..........

GB,


JPS.