Monday, December 20, 2010

MA - Nelson's Gull - 12/13

Nelson's Gull (Glaucous Gull x American Herring Gull hybrid) - first-cycle (front center), Turner's Fall power canal, Franklin Co., MA. December 13th, 2010.

First of the season Nelson's Gull on the power canal. Overall quite Glaucous-like, especially in terms of the shape of the head and bill, and the bright pink bill with sharply demarcated black tip. However, the primary tips are clearly mid-brown and the upperparts seem quite coarsely marked for a typical Glaucous Gull. A Glaucous Gull was also present on the same evening offering a nice comparison. However, the Nelson's turned out to be a one-day bird and hasn't been seen since.






JPS

1 comment:

Hilke Breder said...

Good photo. But I might mention to explain to the uninitiated that a Nelson's gull is Glaucous/Herring hybrid. I couldn't find "Nelson's" my "Gulls of the Americas" book, found it only by googling it up.