ID-FRONTIERS for March 20-26, 2005

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Date   Time   Bewick's Swan?   Mark Stackhouse    Sun, 20 Mar 2005   1:43pm   Frigatebird ID   SGMlod(AT)AOL.COM   Sun, 20 Mar 2005   10:05pm   unsubscribe   Barbara Knapton    Mon, 21 Mar 2005   6:43am   Re: RFI: tail-spreading   Kevin McGowan    Mon, 21 Mar 2005   7:43am   NO JOKE - another Slaty-backed Gull in Half Moon Bay!   Alvaro Jaramillo    Mon, 21 Mar 2005   6:20pm   fuscus-like LBBG in Newfoundland   Bruce Mactavish    Mon, 21 Mar 2005   7:12pm   odd 2nd winter Common Gull Newfoundland   Bruce Mactavish    Mon, 21 Mar 2005   8:39pm   Re: NO JOKE - another Slaty-backed Gull in Half Moon Bay!   Martin Reid    Tue, 22 Mar 2005   5:57am   Re: fuscus-like LBBG in Newfoundland   Martin Reid    Tue, 22 Mar 2005   6:09am   Re: Martin's Slaty-backed   Phillip Pickering    Tue, 22 Mar 2005   1:11pm

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Subject: Bewick's Swan?
From: Mark Stackhouse <westwings(AT)SISNA.COM>
Date: 20 Mar 2005 1:43pm

I was just sent a photo of a swan seen here in Utah that the observer 
called a Bewick's Swan. I'm not sure exactly where one draws the 
boundary between Tundra and Bewick's with regards to the amount of 
yellow on the bill. This one seems to me to be somewhere in the middle. 
The photo can be seen here:

http://utahbirds.org/hotlinephotos/BewicksSwan.htm

Any comments?

Mark Stackhouse
Westwings, Inc.
westwings(AT)sisna.com
801-487-9453 (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
011-52-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico)

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Subject: Frigatebird ID
From: SGMlod(AT)AOL.COM
Date: 20 Mar 2005 10:05pm

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Greetings All

I had a juv frigatebird in Aruba this past week. It was small, had a white 
head, a dark chest band, and a white belly with some extension onto axillars. It
looks much like many depictions/photos I've found of Lesser Frigatebirds, but 
from what I can tell, juv Lessers seem to always have buffy or rusty heads.

Is this the case, or can their heads be white? Can other frigatebirds look 
like the above bird? Does anyone have David James' (of Australia) email. 

Thanks
Steven Mlodinow

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Subject: unsubscribe
From: Barbara Knapton <altoandino(AT)YAHOO.COM>
Date: 21 Mar 2005 6:43am

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Subject: Re: RFI: tail-spreading
From: Kevin McGowan <kjm2(AT)CORNELL.EDU>
Date: 21 Mar 2005 7:43am

Sure, this sort of thing happens all the time.  One feather gets out of 
place and stuck under another.  The bird usually preens it back into place 
fairly quickly (it must feel weird), but if it's busy doing something else 
it could take a while.  And I wouldn't expect to have symmetrical displacement.

Kevin

At 11:11 PM 3/19/2005 +0000, Jason Rogers wrote:
>I've always assumed that as a bird (say, for example, a sparrow) spreads 
>its tail, rectrices become visible in sequence when the tail is viewed 
>from above.  That is, rectrices 1 and 2 are always visible.  Then as the 
>tail is spread, R3, R4, R5, and R6 come in to view in that order.
>
>However I got to wondering if it would be possible for, say, R1, R2, and 
>R4-R6 to be visible, while R3 is "stacked" underneath R2 and out-of-view.
>
>Any thoughts?
>
>Regards,
>Jason Rogers
>Banff, AB
>hawkowl(AT)hotmail.com
>
>
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*****************************************************
Kevin J. McGowan
Co-editor, New York State Breeding Bird Atlas
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
607/254-2432
fax 607/254-2111
kjm2(AT)cornell.edu
http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/

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Subject: NO JOKE - another Slaty-backed Gull in Half Moon
         Bay!
From: Alvaro Jaramillo <chucao(AT)COASTSIDE.NET>
Date: 21 Mar 2005 6:20pm

Birders

   I needed to get out today so I took my lunch at the local gull flock and
came across a fourth calendar year or dark billed adult Slaty-backed Gull.
This is in Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, California. The gull flock is
not as large as it has been through most of the winter, so the bird may be
easier to find if it sticks around. This has just been a crazy year for gull
watching here! Photos and some analysis of the bird are here: 

http://www.coastside.net/chucao/gulls/Slatyback.htm

What is going on? Is this a weird year or, are there really this many
Slaty-backs here? I guess we will need a few more winters of looking to see
what the answer is. 

Happy birding

Al

Alvaro Jaramillo
chucao(AT)coastside.net
Half Moon Bay, CA

Field Guides - Birding Tours Worldwide
http://www.fieldguides.com/home.htm

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Subject: fuscus-like LBBG in Newfoundland
From: Bruce Mactavish <bruce.mactavish1(AT)NF.SYMPATICO.CA>
Date: 21 Mar 2005 7:12pm

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On December 26, 2004 Ken Knowles, Sampath Seneviratne and I were at a
dump doing our part on the St. John's, Newfoundland Christmas Bird Count
circle.  While scoping through the tightly massed gulls resting near the
trash I spotted a startling gull. Black and slim, like a Lesser
Black-backed Gull were initial impressions.  Obviously it had to be a
LBBG but it was like nothing else we had seen before. The blackness of
the upperparts, the overall slimness of the body and an odd green bill
with a black subterminal band were all unique.  We all had a 30 second
turn on the scope before the flock was flushed.  We were left wondering
what we had seen. Surely this must a good candidate for the legendary
fuscus. How could anything be blacker? It was wonderfully slim.
 
 
It was not seen again until Jan. 8, but then a few more times January
and February. During which time photos were secured and sent to European
gull experts. From the literature there wasn't much stopping it from
being a fuscus LBBG.  However, the response from European gull experts
shown the photos was not so favourable.  It seems that recent
advancements in the knowledge of identification of intermedius and
fuscus deemed them unsafe to identify unless carrying a birth
certificate in the form of leg band attained at the breeding site.
Apparently the breeding ranges of intermedius and fuscus do not overlap.

 
Over the years of watching gulls in St. John's many Lesser Black-backed
Gulls have been seen. The range in colour of upperparts of adults ranged
from typical field guide tone graellsii to nearly as black, or in some
lights, apparently as black as a Great Black-backed Gull.  We never
bothered to label any as intermedius. It seemed to be just a variation
within one form of gull, that presumably being graellsii.  However, this
gull was very different to all of us. Unique. The small size and slim
shape.  The deep blackness of the bird - black as a crow.  The black
being a deeper, drier black then the slightly bluish, shallow black of
the Great Black-backed Gull. Difficult to describe but it was blacker
than a Great Black-backed Gull. 
 
There is some discussion on the age of the bird. Fuscus reach maturity
in three years rather than four as in intermedius and graellsii.  Is it
a 2nd winter fuscus or a 2nd winter intermedius or a  3rd winter
intermedius?  It gets confusing trying to work it out. 
 
Martin Reid has kindly posted photos from the March 20 encounter on his
web site  http://www.martinreid.com/lbbgp40.html.   A few things to
note.  The mirror on P10 is different for each wing.  On the left wing
just a faint white spot and on right wing a small but more prominent
white spot.  The outer primaries are more worn and broken than in
January.  In January about three tail feathers had light blackish marks.
These are gone on March 20. The tail is wholly white with several
feathers not fully grown out indicating it was moulting its tail during
winter.  The outer two most secondaries are growing in now. This gap in
the secondaries is clearly not there in the Ken Knowles's January
photos. The light head and neck spotting remained similar from January
to March.  The orbital ring is thin but red. Difficult to get from the
photos is the very long evenly narrow wings in flight. Appearing longer
than a typical LBBG. The last photo gives an impression of the long
narrow wings. 
 
The purpose of this message is not so much to get an identification.
People with extensive intermedius and fuscus experience that have
already commented on the bird.  The purpose of this email is to let
everyone know how dark and slim a Lesser Black-backed Gull can be
without being granted the name fuscus. 
 
 
 
Bruce Mactavish
St. John's, Newfoundland
Canada
bruce.mactavish1(AT)nf.sympatico.ca
 

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Subject: odd 2nd winter Common Gull Newfoundland
From: Bruce Mactavish <bruce.mactavish1(AT)NF.SYMPATICO.CA>
Date: 21 Mar 2005 8:39pm

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On March 10 Ken Knowles found an oddly plumaged 2nd winter Common Gull
at Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John's, Newfoundland. Brief views and a quick
photo produced a puzzling bird. First glance at the photo revealed what
looked like a 2nd winter Common Gull, but a closer looked showed the
wing coverts were not adult gray and primaries were brown like a 1st
winter.  
 
The bird was elusive until March 19 when it showed up at the sewer
outlet favoured by the Black-headed Gulls.  I first saw it standing
among a group of 30 Black-headeds resting on an asphalt surface.  I was
surprised by the size and bulk of the bird among the Black-headeds. It
was more like a Ring-billed Gull in proportions. Even the bill looked a
little on the stout side for a Common Gull. 
 
The Common Gull began feeding around the outflow and numerous photos
were snapped.
 
The bird had many signs of 1st winter plumage not normally associated
with at 2nd winter Larus canus canus, the western Europe subspecies of
Common Gull.
1)       The outer five primaries were brown versus fewer (exact
number?) and blacker on 2nd w. canus. 
2)       There was a mirror in P10 but not P9. Typically 2nd w. canus
have a large mirror on P10 and a smaller mirror on P9.
3)       The greater, median and some of the lesser wing coverts are
whitish, more 1st winter like instead of gray adult-like of typical 2nd
w canus.
4)       Some of the secondaries show dark marks of 1st winter type
plumage.
5)       Remnant tail band is rare on 2nd w. canus.
6)       The bill is more brownish-pink with broad subterminal band
instead of greenish with a more refined narrower black ring 
7)       The legs and feet are still pinkish brown like 1st winter
instead of greenish like typical 2nd winter canus.
 
The large size and abundance of 1st w. features retained suggest the
western Russian race heinei. This bird seems to have even more 1st w.
plumage characteristics than typical heinei. The first known record of
Common Gull in Newfoundland was killed April 19, 1956. A band on its leg
showed it had was banded as a chick in the White Sea in northwest
Russia.  This is the overlap zone of canus and heinei.
 
Again Martin Reid has again come to the rescue by offering a space on
his web site for photos of this bird.
http://www.martinreid.com/cogup12.html
 
Does anyone out there have an opinion on the sub-specific identification
of this bird?
 
 
Bruce Mactavish
St. John's, Newfoundland
Canada
bruce.mactavish1(AT)nf.sympatico.ca
 

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Subject: Re: NO JOKE - another Slaty-backed Gull in Half
         Moon Bay!
From: Martin Reid <upupa(AT)AIRMAIL.NET>
Date: 22 Mar 2005 5:57am

Dear Al and All,
That is fantastic - congratulations again!  obviously a no-brainer SBGU.  I 
suspect that the answer to your question is "a little bit of both" - i.e. 
this is probably an above-average year for SBGUs in North America, but also 
the species is being missed/mis-IDed on a more-or-less-regular basis over 
here.  BTW the Ujiharas gave specific comments about about my recent 
possible 1B SBGU - I added them to my web page:
http://www.martinreid.com/gullsp77.html
I  would appreciate thoughts about how this individual fits-in with the 
various hybrid combos seen on the west coast - thanks.
Can I ask for thoughts about the importance/variability of orbital ring 
color in gulls?  We know that the actual eye color can vary, even if 
rarely, among species traditionally thought of as either dark-eyed or 
pale-eyed.  But what about orbital ring color?  As with almost all our 
recent knowledge, most data on this is gleaned from non-breeding locations, 
so any attempt to match this feature to a population is 
speculative.  However, I suspect that  orbital ring color is far less 
variable (within a breeding population) than many other features, and may 
offer a strong clue as to where a bird might (and might not) 
originate?  For example, does anyone know of any breeding population of 
smithsonianus Herring Gull that has red or crimson orbital rings?
Cheers,
Martin

At 3/21/2005 05:20 PM -0800, you wrote:
>Birders
>
>    I needed to get out today so I took my lunch at the local gull flock and
>came across a fourth calendar year or dark billed adult Slaty-backed Gull.
>This is in Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, California. The gull flock is
>not as large as it has been through most of the winter, so the bird may be
>easier to find if it sticks around. This has just been a crazy year for gull
>watching here! Photos and some analysis of the bird are here:
>
>http://www.coastside.net/chucao/gulls/Slatyback.htm
>
>What is going on? Is this a weird year or, are there really this many
>Slaty-backs here? I guess we will need a few more winters of looking to see
>what the answer is.
>
>Happy birding
>
>Al
>
>Alvaro Jaramillo
>chucao(AT)coastside.net
>Half Moon Bay, CA
>
>Field Guides - Birding Tours Worldwide
>http://www.fieldguides.com/home.htm
>
>
>
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Martin Reid
San Antonio, Texas
mailto:upupa(AT)airmail.net
http://www.martinreid.com 

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Subject: Re: fuscus-like LBBG in Newfoundland
From: Martin Reid <upupa(AT)AIRMAIL.NET>
Date: 22 Mar 2005 6:09am

Dear All,
In addition to the features mentioned by Bruce, I'd like to emphasize that 
this individual has suspended Primary molt between P6 and P7.  I believe 
that is a typical molt strategy for fuscus.  Can I ask those with the 
latest data on intermedius/fuscus issues to share with us the details of 
intermedius that look like this? -  many thanks.
Martin

Martin Reid
San Antonio, Texas
mailto:upupa(AT)airmail.net
http://www.martinreid.com 

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Subject: Re: Martin's Slaty-backed
From: Phillip Pickering <philliplc(AT)HARBORSIDE.COM>
Date: 22 Mar 2005 1:11pm

> BTW the Ujiharas gave specific comments about about my recent
> possible 1B SBGU - I added them to my web page:
> http://www.martinreid.com/gullsp77.html

No disrespect intended, but their comments are at a fairly general
level and they don't address why at a finer level this bird looks unlike
any 1st-cycle on their website in combination of uniformly brownish
upper/underparts *and* faded soft, diffuse patterning, and faded soft-
looking tertials (that seem relatively unfrayed) combined with seemingly
unfaded primaries.

Also I don't recall if this was brought up in the initial discussion, but
the
pattern on the inner primaries seems more than a little off. Notice how
diminished and faded-looking the dark tip spots seem on P4-P1. In
photos S-b seem to either show much larger spots extending solidly onto
the inner webs, or in late season when the spots fade they are noticebly
paler and whitish on the inner pimaries, particularly on the inner webs
immediatly proximal to the tip spots. This bird seems strangely dusky
and uniformly low-contrast on the inner primaries, in particular relative
to the size of its tip spots. This may be related to the above "soft-
patterning" argument. To me the pattern here is more suggestive of
a Herring ssp. or Herring intergrade with unusually low dark pigment
saturation than of what seems to be typical of S-b in photos.

Also unless all of the S-b on their website are males I'm still
uncomfortable with the jizz created by the comparative overall
shape (bill, head, body) along with the posture. On the other hand
all 4 recent California candidates seem to have a fairly typical S-b
jizz, even at a Glance.

> I  would appreciate thoughts about how this individual fits-in with the
> various hybrid combos seen on the west coast - thanks.

Certain aspects such as the smith-like but overall kind of dusky
low-contrast primary pattern, dark brownish primaries with pale
fringes, and certainly the overall structure seem to fit with some
(presumed) west coast Herring x Glaucous-winged. However I
haven't looked closely at enough of them to feel confident about
their typical range of appearance (or that I haven't overlooked
a S-b or two in the past), and I haven't bothered with photos
much to this point - planning to shoot first and ask questions
later in the future.

Cheers,

Phil

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