Pale 1st-year Gull at Northeast Landfill 1/15/2005
I first saw this bird in flight and the very pale upperwing caught my eye. Ray Kiddy and I studied it for quite some time. I was convinced for 15 or 20 minutes that it was a 1st-year Thayers Gull but the more we both studied it we thought the head shape was too similar to some of the neighboring Herring Gulls. I honestly could not get shots of it with other Herring Gulls. The head did look a little bit more rounded and the bill slightly thinner than the other HERGS. Is the combination of smallish size, thinnish bill, and very pale primaries when compared to the HERGS a strange coincidence ? ... or is this a Thayers Gull ? I'd like to hear your opinions.
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