----------
> From: Ruth Sullivan <GODWIT at worldnet.att.net>
> To: hunnhome at accessone.com; tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: Re: gulls, etc.
> Date: Sunday, January 18, 1998 7:31 PM
>
> Hi Eugene,
> I have the feeling lot's of Birders going home with seeing the dark
> Western, instead of the Real Slaty-backed Gull.The reason i say this,
most
> of the time i hear the call the dark western the real Gull, to i point
out
> this Gull is a Western Gull otherwise there would go home, that there saw
> the Slaty- backed Gull.If you have the new Fall Issue of Field Notes:The
> Cover is a Kelp- Gull, the Slaty-backed looks that dark.We had three
> Western there, but i only have to look at the Bill at the western and i
> know this isn't the real Slaty-backed. the colour of bright yellow alone
> makes it a western.The Slaty have a pale straight Bill, the Western have
a
> white Head, the Slaty have smal brownish pin- stripes what NO other Gull
> have there.I can pick this Gull out anytime, because it is the typical
> Species,what a real Slaty- backed Gull should look like, wy make more
> complicated than it is?
> Ruth
> GODWIT at worldnet.att.net
>
>
>
> ----------
> > From: Eugene Hunn <hunnhome at accessone.com>
> > To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> > Subject: gulls, etc.
> > Date: Sunday, January 18, 1998 6:06 PM
> >
> > Gene Hunn, Seattle, hunnhome at accessone.com
> >
> > I joined the multitudes today chasing rare gull stakeouts hereabouts:
> > Slaty-backed at Gog-le-hi-te wetlands, Tacoma; Little Gull at American
> Lake,
> > Lakewood; Glaucous Gull at Tukwila. I saw the Little Gull well at quite
a
> > long distance dancing about on the far side of the lake with Bonies.
> Missed
> > the Glaucous twice, yesterday because I forget the exact directions and
> > drove all around for an hour (Tukwila scenic tour) seeing few if any
> gulls)
> > and today the flock was across the river rooting about in a cement
plant
> and
> > the Glaucous not visible in the afternoon rain (though it was seen
> earlier).
> >
> > I didn't see Ruth's Slaty-backed, which judging by the fotos on the net
> and
> > descriptions is much darker than the Western-types round about and with
a
> > "Thayer's-like" dainty bill. However, there were in addition to one
fine
> > adult Western, two other slightly darker-mantled adults that did not
> readily
> > compute for me as Westerns. One might well have been another
> Slaty-backed,
> > as it showed what I have always thought of as "typical" Slaty-backed
> winter
> > adult head pattern of broad smudgy nape streaks (mixed with fine brown
> > streaking at close range? but we were not at close range) and the
tapered
> > dark eye patch about a pale yellow eye. It also might have shown the
> > "necklace" just short of the wingtip, but vouchsafed me but one
fleeting
> > opportunity to see if it did or it didn't (and I thought it did). It
flew
> > off and landed on a flat-topped roof that prevented any closer scrutiny
> at
> > that time.
> >
> > The second odd individual seemed to have a rather heavy, Western-like
> bill,
> > but the bill was pale yellow and without the red spot (the former
> possible
> > Slaty-backed and the classic Western had butter-yellow bills with red
> gonys
> > spots), perhaps suggesting malnutrition, as it had an all white tail
and
> > perfectly adult mantle and primaries. The underside of the outer
> primaries
> > appeared paler than in a Western, but I was not able to discern the
> presence
> > or absence of the "necklace." The head was not immaculate white but
> showed a
> > hint of the "Slaty-backed" nape smudging and eye patch, but much less
> > noticeable than on the former bird. The iris was a baleful
> yellowish-white
> > at close range. Both these suspicious individuals were a half shade
> darker
> > on the mantle than the "classic" adult, immaculate headed Western, but
> not
> > so dark as to grab you by the teeth!
> >
> > There was also a Pseudo-Glaucous Gull, with a very nice two-toned pink
> and
> > dusky bill, very pale body, but dusky gray primaries and tail. A very
> worn
> > and bleached 2nd winter Glaucous-winged, I would surmise.
> >
> > In any case, I am more than ever puzzled about Slaty-backed
> identification.
> > Based on the one bird whose foto is now posted, observers are assuming
> that
> > a definitive feature of Slaty-backed Gull is a "Thayer's-like" bill,
but
> the
> > fotos in Grant suggested otherwise, i.e., that the typical Slaty-backed
> has
> > a bill at least as strong as a local Herring Gull, if slighter at least
> than
> > the heavy extremes of Western and Glaucous-wingeds. However, I believe
> that
> > Ruth's bird is quite extreme on the dainty end of the scale. The fotos
in
> > Grant's Gull Bible also show many Slaty-backed Gulls with mantles that
do
> > not appear any darker than typical northern Western Gulls. But, then
> again,
> > you can't trust fotos to always tell the truth. There are either a
number
> of
> > Slaty-backed Gulls slipping through without being identified because
they
> > are not "typical," or Western Gull's can show a much wider range of eye
> > colors, winter head patterns, wing-tip patterns, etc., than I have
> assumed.
>