[SBB] Morgan Hill gulls

["Steve and Heather Rottenborn" <[[email protected]]>]

South Bay Birders,

This afternoon (10 Feb) while on Highway 101 near Morgan Hill, I noticed 
large numbers of gulls roosting on the athletic fields at Ann Sobrato High 
School.  I got off at the Cochrane Road exit, took Cochrane west to 
Monterey, Monterey north to Burnett, then Burnett east to the high school. 
There were at least 3-4,000 gulls on the fields, mostly Californias but with 
at least 350 Thayer's, 300 Herring, 150 Ring-billed, 25 Glaucous-winged, 1 
first-cycle Glaucous, and a dead ringer for a pale first-cycle "Kumlien's" 
Iceland Gull.  I watched the latter bird from about 13:15 to 13:25 before 
heading home for a phone and camera.  When I returned at about 14:00, all 
the gulls were in the air, and most were flying away from the school.  Over 
the next hour I watched as gulls came and went, moving between the high 
school, the Kirby Canyon landfill, and the Ogier Ponds area (with some 
heading to and from the south as well).  I was unable to relocate the 
Kumlien's, but saw at least two fitrst-cycle Glaucous Gulls, a leucistic 
first-cycle Herring Gull (pure white except for dark bill and eyes, and some 
dusky smudging on the scapulars, breast, and neck), a first-cycle "Nelson's 
Gull" (Herring x Glaucous hybrid), a Glaucous-winged x Western hybrid, and 
several oddballs that were likely Herring x Glaucous-winged hybrids.

Because the Kirby Canyon landfill is closed on Sundays, I doubt the birds 
will return, at least in these numbers, tomorrow.  However, the Ogier Ponds 
would be a good place to look for any of these birds, at least on days when 
the dump is open.

Good birding,

Steve Rottenborn
Morgan Hill, CA 



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