THAYER'S GULL, Windsor Landfill - Dec 12
12/12: I'll be out of town for much of the next 5 days (with only intermittent laptop access) but wanted to post these images of this interesting Thayer's-type bird from the Windsor Landfill today. Found the bird at noon, had it in view for ~2 mins before it flew down towards the Farmington River, ran back to the car to jot down notes and a flight sketch (wingtip looked good for Thayer's from both above and below), then searched for two more hours without success.
Images in no particular order:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqrTjsLhBGPsXU8wuzcP4Xw830Z9P_Juq05ic1jhh1vOTebpG4qoNFw6Uf_QvUd8Reb_Z-3G33fzHV5_FcLEdNEEo_z-eQf6Vr1-C_vf5eO5BM1a5lJzvloc7WNdpWyiVpHe_AMeibcSO/s400/IMG_0235.JPG)
Left-center. Mantle color was a tad darker than surrounding HEGUs, but by a very slight amount. Decent general comparison to nearby HEGUs.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEISSVuTBegYZWufi98ajCf9Sm5s5_Qn0CCyAWVDO0i8zJZvgPU4N00HLq6aEHMt-zE3OmEK7qza55LiGIpX-pqxhe_6lMrKm9BFCkbxR1ZRCZZI1lhnesyEAe6p0f_8J4tYSFGktI6OUB/s400/IMG_0224.JPG)
Dark iris, but when the light hit it just right I could see that it was a touch paler than the jet-black pupil.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3m_48HoNsg0AWnliAm3i6LSjyF12WizQaQpsQFg1lFiNG2dtyo9iml6vGAb3FeDz6UJUvrsQH8Ga6Ts2tWhBhLAvQ2v6_uR3jV6AWLxVa_VhvJVFF5dfpRsmxfU_ClOGNehp3eHlmX6Pm/s400/wingtip3.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwd-2lpCQC_AKYpCPQ-0LdddPFe_Lo_aWcNSoYAxLGqemBVfM480o5PhIwyIRa7ISnAEWPgjecDChfjR4rxNlB1HPmT7wosApM-lFXTdkRkvHdv0KNUaR_3ptMBSH6WUNYEVA4Fj0hUpb/s400/wingtip1.JPG)
Close-ups of wingtip. Primary tips were black (very HEGU-like).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfzrT63Zs6GrOc_AleLuRJOn_82ouMtVaTwbPmUhyKBTdcSei41SQL3Vp2KOQXQq0UagflnoG1bK1OjozhGX8nJ4QRiYUw_smFL4CnFt46uKuuhCTR0cI-XIKeYizv6GJ7gQj-zyy2Tq9/s400/head1.JPG)
Nice example of the bird's expression. Note the dark eye, forehead sloping into bill with yellow-green base, and soft/blurry streaking through the head onto the nape and breast. Orbital ring in the field was viewed as deep red-pink.
Just for fun, here's a pic of a dark-eyed "Kumlien's" Iceland Gull that was also present:
And a first-winter Glaucous Gull:
Images in no particular order:
Left-center. Mantle color was a tad darker than surrounding HEGUs, but by a very slight amount. Decent general comparison to nearby HEGUs.
Dark iris, but when the light hit it just right I could see that it was a touch paler than the jet-black pupil.
Close-ups of wingtip. Primary tips were black (very HEGU-like).
Nice example of the bird's expression. Note the dark eye, forehead sloping into bill with yellow-green base, and soft/blurry streaking through the head onto the nape and breast. Orbital ring in the field was viewed as deep red-pink.
Just for fun, here's a pic of a dark-eyed "Kumlien's" Iceland Gull that was also present:
And a first-winter Glaucous Gull:
Congratulations Nick! This looks fantastic - just the sort of bird that I'd have loved to have found locally. I think I need to study your technique a bit more. What is it now - two visits to the landfill this fall and two 'mega' gulls. Nice work indeed.
ReplyDeleteCertainly looks more than interesting Nick. Let another ID Frontiers discussion begin!!!
ReplyDeleteIt has a lot of black on the wingtip. Aside from that, it looks pretty classic for Thayer's. I'd like to see a spread wing though. I've seen a grand total of 1 adult Thayer's Gull, so take my opinion for what it is.
ReplyDeleteGreat find..
ReplyDeleteI just found your site.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff.