Slaty-backed Gull! - 04 Feb 2024
Phil Odum reported the Slaty-backed Gull this morning at Grace Lake (Visteon) at Ecorse and I-275 in Wayne Co.. The bird was found a few days ago, but discussions waffled between it and a funky Lesser Black-backed Gull due to the part pink/part yellow legs (and size) in photos posted on Discord.
I was dressed and ready to go birding so I took the opportunity to drive up and look for it, and hopefully get some images.
I arrived shortly around 10 am and found the Pavlik brothers scoping the pond and the 1000+ gulls roosting. Tom Pavlik reported that the Slaty-backed Gull had just flown off and hadn't been relocated. I took the opportunity to set up the scope and take a video of the gull flock so that I could get an accurate count. Thirteen screen grabs later and use of the Count Tool in Photoshop produced the following:
Herring Gull - 1598
Ring-billed Gull - 65
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 11
A suspected Glaucous Gull was spotted on the far end of the flock next to open water. The all-white gull was as large as the nearby Herring Gull, and appeared to be a first-winter bird based on brown juvenile feather markings not transitioning to gray or white, yet. However, its bill was black w/ only a hint of pink at the base. A Glaucous Gull first winter bird would show a clean pink bill w/ black tip, while first winter Iceland Gulls show the all-black bill and a rounded head.
Thayer's Gull first winter also shows all-black bill w/ darker primaries and dark eye, such as this bird below:
I then scoped the gull flock roosting on the ice with the hopes of finding the Slaty-backed Gull among the 1000+ Herring Gulls. Tom pointed out one candidate that looked like a Lesser Black-backed Gull but had "pinkish" legs. When I looked at the bird through my scope I could also see pink in the legs but also more yellow; this may have been the candidate bird folks were discussing on Discord yesterday.
As I continued scanning the flock w/ hopes of finding a Lesser Black-backed Gull close enough to digiscope I spotted this guy: a dark-mantled gull with fleshy-pink legs (darker than nearby Herring Gull legs). I alerted the group to bird, and immediately everyone was on it. Slaty-backed Gull!
A close look at the head showed a smudgy / dirty head that is consistent with a Slaty-backed Gull, and less so for a Great Black-backed Gull that should show a darker back and clean white head.
When it finally lifted its head we could see a dark smudge around the eye and a clean yellow bill with a bright red gonydeal spot (no black).
As luck would have it, the bird then walked a few paces forward and tucked down behind a sleeping Herring Gull and stayed there for the next half hour or so. Only its pink legs could be seen from its location to us.
When it finally woke up I was able to get a digiscoped image of its size relative to the Herring Gulls next to it, and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull nearby (note its size relative to the nearby Herring Gulls).
The group of us observing the Slaty-backed Gull were hoping to get an open wing shot, but had to settle for a wing stretch. I was lucky enough to be recording videos of the sleeping bird, so I was able to catch the wing stretch and see the large window on P10 (primary feather #10, outside tip).
Another stretch allowed me to see smaller windows on P9 and P8 feathers, both of which have a black border tipped in white. This also helps to differentiate from a Lesser Black-backed Gull that only has a large white window on P10 and not P9 or P8.
A yawn showed its mouth interior that was clean and pink.
The Slaty-backed Gull finally walked off to open ice where we could get better looks and pics.
As my luck would have it I went to the car to grab my Sony a1 and 600/4 lens to get pics, but the bird flushed before I could get back on it. In the meantime the video recording showed the Slaty-backed Gull wandering out of frame just before flying. Oh well, at least a few people were able to get open-wing shots as it flew to the north over the buildings.
I took it a my queue to pack up and head out.
It would return briefly an hour or so later and be seen by several before flying off to the west.
References:
Grace Lake (Visteon Pond), Wayne, Michigan, US
Feb 4, 2024 10:00 AM - 11:20 AM
Protocol: Stationary
6 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 4
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 65
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 1598 Exact count from video taken of flock on ice. 13 screen grabs taken and Photoshop count tool used to tag each bird in each frame.
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) 11 Exact count from video taken of flock on ice. 13 screen grabs taken and Photoshop count tool used to tag each bird in each frame. Adults only. Black back and yellow legs.
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus) 1 Continuing. Refound this morning by Phil Odum. From my blog post (pics and discussion) at:
https://birdingthroughglass.bl
I then scoped the gull flock roosting on the ice with the hopes of finding the Slaty-backed Gull among the 1000+ Herring Gulls. Tom pointed out one candidate that looked like a Lesser Black-backed Gull but had "pinkish" legs. When I looked at the bird through my scope I could also see pink in the legs but also more yellow; this may have been the candidate bird folks were discussing on Discord yesterday.
As I continued scanning the flock w/ hopes of finding a Lesser Black-backed Gull close enough to digiscope I spotted this guy: a dark-mantled gull with fleshy-pink legs (darker than nearby Herring Gull legs). I alerted the group to bird, and immediately everyone was on it. Slaty-backed Gull!
A close look at the head showed a smudgy / dirty head that is consistent with a Slaty-backed Gull, and less so for a Great Black-backed Gull that should show a darker back and clean white head.
When it finally lifted its head we could see a dark smudge around the eye and a clean yellow bill with a bright red gonydeal spot (no black).
As luck would have it, the bird then walked a few paces forward and tucked down behind a sleeping Herring Gull and stayed there for the next half hour or so. Only its pink legs could be seen from its location to us.
When it finally woke up I was able to get a digiscoped image of its slightly larger size relative to the Herring Gulls next to it, and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull nearby (note its smaller size relative to the nearby Herring Gulls).
The group of us observing the Slaty-backed Gull were hoping to get an open wing shot, but had to settle for a wing stretch. I was lucky enough to be recording videos of the sleeping bird, so I was able to catch the wing stretch and see the large window on P10 (primary feather #10, outside tip).
Another stretch allowed me to see smaller windows on P9 and P8? feathers, both of which have a black border tipped in white. This also helps to differentiate from a Lesser Black-backed Gull that only has a large white window on P10 and not P9 or P8.
A yawn showed its mouth interior that was clean and pink.
The Slaty-backed Gull finally walked off to open ice where we could get better looks and pics.
As my luck would have it I went to the car to grab my Sony a1 and 600/4 lens to get pics, but the bird flushed before I could get back on it. In the meantime the video recording showed the Slaty-backed Gull wandering out of frame just before flying. Oh well, at least a few people were able to get open-wing shots as it flew to the north over the buildings.
I took it a my queue to pack up and head out.
It would return briefly an hour or so later and be seen by several before flying off to the west.
References:
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bo
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bo
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bo
Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) 2 All-white first winter birds w/ black bill, rounded head, dark eye (may be Thayer's Gull but pics are inconclusive. Initially thought one bird was Glaucous due to size relative to Herring Gulls but bill is all-black w/ hint of pink only at base (not clean, two-toned pink w/ black tip as expected).
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Feb 4, 2024 10:00 AM - 11:20 AM
Protocol: Stationary
6 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 4
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 65
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 1598 Exact count from video taken of flock on ice. 13 screen grabs taken and Photoshop count tool used to tag each bird in each frame.
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) 11 Exact count from video taken of flock on ice. 13 screen grabs taken and Photoshop count tool used to tag each bird in each frame. Adults only. Black back and yellow legs.
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus) 1 Continuing. Refound this morning by Phil Odum. From my blog post (pics and discussion) at:
https://birdingthroughglass.bl
I then scoped the gull flock roosting on the ice with the hopes of finding the Slaty-backed Gull among the 1000+ Herring Gulls. Tom pointed out one candidate that looked like a Lesser Black-backed Gull but had "pinkish" legs. When I looked at the bird through my scope I could also see pink in the legs but also more yellow; this may have been the candidate bird folks were discussing on Discord yesterday.
As I continued scanning the flock w/ hopes of finding a Lesser Black-backed Gull close enough to digiscope I spotted this guy: a dark-mantled gull with fleshy-pink legs (darker than nearby Herring Gull legs). I alerted the group to bird, and immediately everyone was on it. Slaty-backed Gull!
A close look at the head showed a smudgy / dirty head that is consistent with a Slaty-backed Gull, and less so for a Great Black-backed Gull that should show a darker back and clean white head.
When it finally lifted its head we could see a dark smudge around the eye and a clean yellow bill with a bright red gonydeal spot (no black).
As luck would have it, the bird then walked a few paces forward and tucked down behind a sleeping Herring Gull and stayed there for the next half hour or so. Only its pink legs could be seen from its location to us.
When it finally woke up I was able to get a digiscoped image of its slightly larger size relative to the Herring Gulls next to it, and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull nearby (note its smaller size relative to the nearby Herring Gulls).
The group of us observing the Slaty-backed Gull were hoping to get an open wing shot, but had to settle for a wing stretch. I was lucky enough to be recording videos of the sleeping bird, so I was able to catch the wing stretch and see the large window on P10 (primary feather #10, outside tip).
Another stretch allowed me to see smaller windows on P9 and P8? feathers, both of which have a black border tipped in white. This also helps to differentiate from a Lesser Black-backed Gull that only has a large white window on P10 and not P9 or P8.
A yawn showed its mouth interior that was clean and pink.
The Slaty-backed Gull finally walked off to open ice where we could get better looks and pics.
As my luck would have it I went to the car to grab my Sony a1 and 600/4 lens to get pics, but the bird flushed before I could get back on it. In the meantime the video recording showed the Slaty-backed Gull wandering out of frame just before flying. Oh well, at least a few people were able to get open-wing shots as it flew to the north over the buildings.
I took it a my queue to pack up and head out.
It would return briefly an hour or so later and be seen by several before flying off to the west.
References:
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bo
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bo
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bo
Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) 2 All-white first winter birds w/ black bill, rounded head, dark eye (may be Thayer's Gull but pics are inconclusive. Initially thought one bird was Glaucous due to size relative to Herring Gulls but bill is all-black w/ hint of pink only at base (not clean, two-toned pink w/ black tip as expected).
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
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