[SBB] gulls and things

[michael mammoser <[[email protected]]>]

Late this morning, 11 Jan 07, I visited the EEC in Alviso to look for gulls and things. There was no sign of the Ruff along the entrance road as I entered, though. When I walked out to the A16 pond levee, there were swallows everywhere. I estimated about 115 of them coursing low over the water, one of which was a BARN while the rest seemed to all be TREES. I joined Pat Kenny and Kathy Parker out by the second island, where they had a nice GLAUCOUS GULL staked out. Kathy soon left and Dean Manley joined as we continued to watch this bird. The male EURASIAN WIGEON was located far out on the pond and the 7 CACKLING GEESE flew out of the marsh and landed on the water. A SANDERLING or two were on the islands as well.

 

We moseyed back to the first island, picking out THAYER’S GULLS and such. After Pat left, Dean and I got on a pale-winged bird that I would have called a Glaucous Gull if it had the proper bill pattern. However, the black tip bled into the pink base to a degree that made me rule this out. I’m not sure what to call this bird.

 

We then noticed that the gulls had increased on the “outer” islands and we returned to the second island to look them over. Here I picked out a very white gull with pink legs and a dark eye. The bill was mostly black but had some mottled pinkish at the base. There was some dusky smudging on the belly, which may have just been dirt from it lying down . The underwing coverts had some light dusky smudging as well, seen only on the couple occasions when it raised its wings. From the size and structure of this bird I thought it to be a leucistic HERRING GULL.

 

Michael Mammoser

 

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