Howdy,

Just back from a short excursion to Bowen Island BC.

Crossing the Strait of Georgia aboard the "Queen of Cowichan", I was
searching for Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels which usually turn up in this
vicinity in the second half of August. After over an hour at sea, I was
muttering to myself (probably not good) about the abysmal lack of birds (3
California Gulls, 2 Glaucous-winged Gulls and 5 Bonaparte's Gulls). The
bigger gulls had been flying in a straight line towards Nanaimo.

I was awakened from disappointment by the appearance of a smallish gull
headed the same way, about 150m from the ferry. It was dark-winged, with
whitish head and tail. The underwing seemed fairly dark, though mainly on
the primaries. Little Gull came to mind, but wait a minute ..... HAH, it's
a LAUGHING GULL. Despite the shock I managed to keep an eye on it for about
20 seconds before it became obscured by the ship.

Here's my analysis.

DATE: August 12, 2004

BIRD LOCATION: Off SW corner of Bowen Island BC

LIGHTING: Excellent lighting, bright light but some overcast.

OPTICS: Leitz Trinovids 10x40

SIZE: Apparently smaller than a California Gull, large than a Bonaparte's.
However I didn't have anything to directly compare it with.

HEAD: Mostly white with some smudginess on the nape.

TAIL: White. I did not concentrate on tail features much, so I cannot rule
out there being some darkness near the rectrix tips.

MANTLE AND TOP OF WINGS: Uniform dark gray with pronounced blackish
primaries. No white mirrors obvious.

UNDERWING: Very dark on the primaries, overall dinginess elsewhere.

COMPARISON WITH OTHER SPECIES:
Franklin's Gull (FRGU) of comparable age should show white mirrors on the
primaries, with fairly white coloration on underside. Much more black
should show on head of the FRGU, with nape smudge much more pronounced.

Little Gull (LIGU) should appear smaller, with more buoyant flight. More
extensive dark coloration should show on the underwing of the LIGU. On the
LIGU, white should be conspicuous near the primary tips.

CONCLUSION: Adult basic, or near adult LAUGHING GULL.

I'm familiar with the species in winter and spring, but don't know much
about what Laughing Gulls look like at this time of year.

Sorry, no photos - just another single observer rarity report.

Cheers,

Michael G. Shepard
North American Bird Information Web Site: www.birdinfo.com