August 23 Email:
Hi Ric,
My wife and I had a wonderful day at the Wastewater plant. There were about fifteen Sandhill Cranes in the field to the east of the model airplane area and a lot of shore birds.
I photographed two birds that I need help identifying if you don't mind. I think the one is a Short- or Long-billed Dowitcher but I'm not sure. The other is a small brownish gull, possibly an immature. It was smaller than either the Ring-Billed and the Herring Gulls and it was the only one of its type out of several hundred gulls on the shore line. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Rich Schadle
6 comments:
Rich, thanks for the photos. All I can say is that the dowitchers here are usually short-billed and that's an interesting looking gull! Hopefully some of the better birders will chime in.
The gull is a Mew Gull.
The gull is likely not a Mew because of range. Possibly a young Ring-billed.
There are six confirmed Mew Gull sightings since 1987 (MBRC).
I don't believe it is safe to call this a Mew. Although it's certainly an interesting individual, nothing truly contradicts Ring-billed
Smaller manibles that are pale at base, not green as in Ring-billed at this stage of plumage and smaller than Ring-billed in size. Nothing really contradicts Mew(Common Gull). Oh well, each person has his/her views on such an interesting bird.
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