Subject: [Tweeters] Black-tailed Gull details
Date: May 12 23:52:23 2007
From: Hill - hill at smwireless.net


Today's Migratory Bird Day field trip with four participants was "interrupted" by a different-looking gull at the Corfu unit of Columbia NWR. The corn field that attracted so many cranes and 5 species of geese 6 weeks ago has been disked and watered, and a flock of 15-20 gulls was following the irrigation circle as it soaked the field. Among the Ring-billed Gulls was one with a noticeably darker mantle and both legs and bill that had more of a yellow-orange than yellow-green appearance. I first thought it was just a California Gull, but it just didn't look right. A scope view indicated a bill with a full black sub-terminal ring and red toward the tip on at least the upper mandible. The mantle appeared a shade or two darker than a California Gull although we did not have one to compare to. When the wings were folded they showed the white spots as Sibley's bottom "Adult nonbreeding" plate demonstrates, but the head was clean as the "Adult breeding" insert shows. There was no indication of a light tip to the mandible but the bird was distant and may have been "dirty" from the wet soil. The clincher was when the bird flew, exposing a broad black barely sub-terminal band on the tail with slight anterior projections toward the outer edges. A sub-adult Ring-billed Gull flew by also and showed a much narrower and paler tail band. A pale yellowish eye and narrow red orbital ring were noted. My only hesitation to calling this bird an adult alternate Black-tailed Gull was the size, which seemed no larger than the Ring-billed Gulls nearby. It fed actively as I tried to digiscope so my photos are not clear.

After calling several numbers trying to get somebody there to confirm the ID and a better photo, we continued a mile north to the wooded area near SR26, which by noon was warm and inactive. We headed back down to the gulls when Doug Schonewald drove by, but when we got back to the field there was nothing in the field and no sign of gulls anywhere. Denny Grandstrand stopped there after 4 pm and did not find it. There are lots of spots for gulls to roost and forage, and I believe it will be in the area waiting for others to find it.

The songbird migration was anything but exciting today with only 3 warblers seen. But there were some other notables among the 90 species during the day:

White-faced Ibis A single bird flying west from Corfu Road opposite the irrigation circle where the gull was.
Ferruginous Hawk 2 miles east of Corfu along Lower Crab Creek Road.
Peregring Falcon One continues at County Line Ponds along SR26.
Prairie Falcon At the nest ledge along Morgan Lake Road west of Marsh Unit 2 in Columbia NWR
Long-billed Curlew Several seen but one pair with 2 new chicks a mile west of Corfu
Semipalmated Sandpiper One still at McCain Ponds (private behind Para Ponds) since early this week.
Eurasian Collared-Dove One or two at the west end of Kuhn Road (south of Bench Road)
Tricolored Blackbird At least 4 males at Camano Island Cattle Company 8 miles west of Othello along SR26.

Randy Hill
Othello