Yesterday morning I had a really really really strange looking gull fly past the condo. It was right onshore (eg,/ very close) and I was rather stunned. It was in its first year of life, (juvenile/1st winter type plumage) - and I'm it going to sugar coat it. The bird essentially looked exactly how I would expect a 1st year Kelp Gull to look...
No real point in going any further with it - I dove for the camera (which wasn't ready - as I haven't had time to unpack/clean from my trip to BC) and by the time I got back to the balcony I couldn't relocate it (it may have been close enough to shore that it was blocked by trees)...
BUT - if someone wants to re-find the creature - I would be very happy to show up and take some photos... The main reason I'm even posting about it is to just get the "word out "that perhaps it's worth keeping your eyes peeled while birding around Lake Ontario for the next few days... It'll probably go down forever as the proverbial "gull species", but you never know...
Features to watch out for:
VERY heavy looking gull (Herring size) - broad wings
dark flight feathers (all of them) meaning there is no "primary window" like young Herring Gulls show
bright whitish rump
Almost/Totally dark tail
kinda like this actually - http://www.flickr.com/photos/30765168@N04/7166613574/
Most of those features match Lesser Black-backed Gull as well, just as a heads up... Gotta love those gulls!
LBBG from Ontario
Below is my crazy post to Ham-birds yesterday-
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Just wanted to "put out the word" of an unusual gull that just flew past my condo (right along the shore). It was a juvenile/1st year, large and very dark individual that I wasn't able to identify with any sort of confidence. It is VERY likely something along the lines of a large male Lesser Black-backed Gull or a hybrid Herring X Great Black-backed Gull - however it DID give me a very strong impression of something more exotic. It is not worth "getting excited about" what-so-ever at this time - however I plan on going out and trying to relocate it - and thought I would "put out the word" to any birders in the field to take a second look at any gull concentrations you might encounter over the next few days.
It has a dark wing pattern (all dark flight feathers with no primary window like a Herring Gull) and a solid dark tail. Overall it looked very heavy-set - superficially like a young Kelp Gull - yet as we all know with gulls - it is likely a hybrid or darn near anything.
Brandon
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