that nemesis bird

Remember when I said Slaty-backed Gull may end up being my nemesis bird?


Turns out, things are right on track. Guller-extraordinaire Kirk Zufelt found a snazzy adult in Sault Ste Marie on Jan 12, 2012! The 2nd local area record. Read his story and pics here:

http://larusology.blogspot.com/2012/01/slaty-backed-gull-sault-ste-marie.html

An awesome set of pictures!

Yet if you read between the lines, it almost sounds like he was getting fed-up from not finding a Slaty-backed Gull after all those visits... Not that I think he has any right to, since he has a landfill he can check (I miss landfills)... And had Ontario's first Vega Gull in 2010!

But maybe it's just sour grapes on my part, since I've yet to tango with one of these beasts (in Ontario) myself... Nice find Kirk!


--- be sure to check out Kirk's pelagic odyssey website too! :  www.pelagicodyssey.ca


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I don't really have any additional filler, and this blog post seems a little short, so I'll top it off with some hybrid gulls. I haven't had the chance to do much gull-doccumetation photography the last 2 years or so -- since my latest hotspot (Waterdown Garden Supplies) was shut down by the feds...

BUT! It used to provide me with the chance to photograph Ontario's finest Slaty-backed Gull look-a-likes... The Herring X Great Black-backed Gull hybrid!

I probably see this hybrid combo in about 50% of my visits to the river, and once had a shocking count of 4 different birds between the Control Gates and the edge of the falls at the same time. You pick them out by their intermediate dark-mantle, and then look closer. The "easy one's" are the 50% that show strong Great-Black-backed Gull influence, such as the above bird.  Smaller and more "Herring-like" birds are the ones that REALLY cause the trouble, such as this bird:

The above bird actually shows many features people associate with SBGU, including the pink legs, extensive head streaking, large tertial crescent and dark-ish mantle. Yet, it isn't. If you had a simple field guide to work with (heck, even the Sibley Guide) - the closest thing in your book is a Slaty-backed Gull!

So why do I find soo many of these hybrids, but I've yet to nail down a SBGU!? Nemesis bird anyone?? I really feel like this hybrid combo needs more attention in books. They are more common than people want to admit, and cause confusion with OTHER rarities like:

Western Gull:

Western Gull: pink legs, thick bill, dark-ish mantle - and a very useful feature is the primary mirror on P10 only! Just like this GBBGxHEGU hybrid from the river a few years ago (photo'd above)... Can they get any more difficult?

Then there's birds that look darn close to Herring Gulls, yet have visibly darker mantles (but only a shade or so)... A quick check in the field guides will tell you that "Vega Gull" is the distinct subspecies (some claim species) of Herring Gull that occurs in Asia -- which is essentially a Herring Gull with a darker mantle.. Just like this possible hybrid I photographed in Hamilton in 2004?!: 

A lot of confusion with these birds.. Someday I'll hook into the real thing... someday..... although I'd almost rather find something else at this point.. Glaucous-winged anyone?? 

A final look at another "difficult" bird: