Tweeters and Inland Birders,

In view of the flurry of sightings of (Kumlien's) Iceland Gull in
the Pacific Northwest this winter (most of them from B.C.), the
attached sighting, made yesterday at Kelowna in B.C.'s Okanagan
Valley, is of interest. It is only the second reported sighting for
the Okanagan Valley, and, I believe, only the second for the southern
B.C. interior.

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops, B.C.
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca



-----Original Message-----
From: chris charlesworth <c_charlesworth at hotmail.com>
To: bcintbird at egroups.com <bcintbird at egroups.com>
Date: Saturday, March 04, 2000 2:40 PM
Subject: [bcintbird] ICELAND GULL!


>Hello all,
>
>I first located the "Kumlein's" ICELAND GULL at Maude Roxby, just
around
>10:00 am. The bird is in the process of moulting into it's fourth
year. Here
>are some field notes:
>
>-slightly smaller than a Herring Gull.
>-head much more rounded than HEGU.
>-bill was much shorter and more thin that neighbouring HEGU, with a
ring
>around the upper and lower mandibles, indicating 3rd winter.
>-eye was on the dark side.
>-mantle and back gray, a shade lighter than HEGU.
>-some limited cream in the lesser and greater wing coverts, again
>indicating third winter.
>-primaries (p10 through p7) gray (a shade darker than the mantle)
with
>white tips. From underside the primaries were all white and
transculscent.
>Four windows were visible on the perched bird.
>-long primary extension past tail.
>-tertials white.
>-tail white with some very faint gray feathers (barely noticeable).
>-legs were pink.
>
> The bird was present until about 1:30 pm and it was enjoyed by
nearly 20
>birders. Chris Siddle of Vernon and Bill Cutfield of Kelowna,
verified my
>sighting. Surprisingly for such a small, dainty looking bird, it was
>actually the most aggressive in the flock. It chased the other birds
away
>and engaged in some sort of game. It would pick up debris (even a
golf ball)
>fly about 5 meters up, drop the debris and dive into Okanagan Lake
head
>first, pelican style. At one moment I had an adult GLAUCOUS, 1 ad
>GLAUCOUS-WINGED, and some HERRING GULLS in my scope at the same time.
If you
>are thinking of looking for this bird, the gulls tend to gather here
the
>most in the morning, then disperse in the afternoon. At about 1:30
the ICGU
>took to the sky and headed across the lake. Of interest, it was the
exact
>same date a couple of years ago that the Okanagan's first Iceland
Gull was
>found in Vernon!
>
>Other gulls present:
>
>GLAUCOUS GULL 3 (2 adults and a first winter bird)
>THAYER'S GULL 2 adults
>CALIFORNIA GULL 70
>HERRING GULL 150
>GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL 3
>RING-BILLED GULL 25
>
>Cheers,
>
>Chris Charlesworth
>725 Richards Road
>Kelowna, BC
>V1X 2X5
c_charlesworth at hotmail.com