Hi Tweets

Out briefly to Delta in late afternoon to attempt relocation of the adult
Slaty-backed Gull in definitive basic plumage that was there yesterday
along 68th St. just N of 60th Ave. No luck.

At the same location, a relatively small flock of about 750 gulls
contained:

1 Western Gull, def. basic 'occidentalis'
2 birds in basic 1 Western or Western X Glaucous-winged Gull hybrid
plumage
8 WE X GW hybrids (8-10 more possibles)
36 def. basic and 4 basic 1 Herring Gulls
21 def. basic Thayer's Gulls (no immature THGU present at all)
3 basic 1 Mew Gulls

The remainder were mostly def. basic GWGU, with no more than about 15 imm.

One odd large immature gull (basic 1 or pre-alternate 2 molt and definitely
larger than the HEGU and THGU, but about the size of most of the GWGU's
surrounding it) had an unmarked pale cream head merging into a medium
grey-brown body with dark brown-centered coverts and tertials, blackish
primaries and secondary bar and blackish tail, a fairly conventional basic
1 WEGU or WE X GW except for a massive, long straight bill pinkish-grey in
color and abruptly tipped black, gonydeal angle practically zero, identical
in shape, color, and pattern to that of a basic 1 Glaucous. The entirely
dark tail (as WEGU or WE X GW) seems at first glance to eliminate a
possible Herring X Glaucous hybrid origin. So what would give rise to an
apparent Western X Glaucous-winged X Glaucous hybrid? And where? Stumped,
as usual.

Conditions: visibility 8-10 km under moderate overcast; 10 C; winds SE 5-10
km/h.

Happy New Year!

M
--
Michael Price "Are you being brilliant or are you going berserk?
Vancouver BC Canada At first, sometimes, it may be hard to tell."
mprice at mindlink.net -New York Times headline