Black-headed Gull, Milford/Stratford - June 5
Yesterday morning while enjoying some fantastic fishing at the mouth of the Housatonic River, a first summer BLACK-HEADED GULL dropped into the fray for a bit. Luckily had the camera with me and snapped off a few shots. Of course it was a nice surprise to spot this presumed Bonaparte's Gull naked eye before taking a closer look and realizing it was something better. Other than the classic blackish underside to the primaries, the outer upperwing appears whiter in Black-headed Gull due primarily to less dark markings in the primary coverts as compared to Bonaparte's. The secondaries are also more extensively dark. Also I'm not positive but I believe the fully-hooded look occurs more regularly in Black-headed Gull than in Bonaparte's at this age. Black-headed Gull -NB