11 replies to this topic

[jenmadison]

Is this a California Gull?

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Taken 7/16/12 in Northern Utah

Thanks!

[jblakelock]

You got it. Red spot on bill, dark eye and light gray wing.

[wildfelco]

actually CA gull suppose to have a dark/blackish marking along with red. not just red,
Gulls are difficult to ID,and just posting a head shot of a bird species that need/useful to several pictures, is not a good idea for a Solid ID.

[wildfelco]

the bill does seems small. but without seeing the full bird i wont go into a full ID on this bird based on this photo.

[jblakelock]

Jen, Wildfelco makes some good points. Having a picture of a full would be helpful for ID purposes, especially considering you can tell a lot about gulls from their leg color and different aspects of their wings. That said, In Utah in the Summer there are not that many gulls around. According to Ebird the only gulls, around in the Summer, that look similar to yours are California and Herring. Herring would show a light eye so your bird is in all probability a California. In breeding plumage the black mark on the bill, that Wildfelco mentioned, is pretty tiny and in some cases doesn't show. A Thayer Gull would look pretty similar, but they are only around in the Winter. No sightings of Thayer in Utah in the Summer (that is according to ebird).

[Pat B.]

What jblakelock said! The vast majority of summer Gulls here are Californias, and are pretty much replaced by Ring-billed in the winter. The only others we have in great numbers are Franklins in the summer, which couldn't be mistaken for either of the others. There are of course the occasional sightings of Herrings, Thayers, LBBs, Bonaparte's, and a few others, but they are not common.

[psweet]

That bird's not right for a California. The bill isn't the right shape, and the back isn't right. I'm seeing brown mixed into the gray feathering on the back, which means this guys probably a second-cycle bird. I'd be thinking Herring Gull -- the eye color wouldn't be at all surprising for that age.

Having said that, the rest of the bird would help.

[JimBob]

I don't know that much about gulls, but right away the beak shape/size just didn't, y'u know, fit the bill for a CaliforniA Gull... But I don't think I know enough about gulls to call it anything else....

[jenmadison]

Okay,I looked back at all my pictures and this is the only one I have of THAT exact bird. But here is his friend he was hanging out with. Again... it was just a head shot. What was I thinking????

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5 minutes later I took these pictures. I can't remember if they are the same two birds or not.

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What do we think?

[psweet]

Hmmm... I'm starting to think you guys just have weird California Gulls! That second bird looks like one, and it's clearly an adult (note the bright gape and the bright orbital ring). So maybe the first one is a young Calif., although I still don't think the bill looks right. The last two look more like Calif. than anything else I can come up with, but the primaries appear to broad and short -- maybe there's some molt going on there.

[blackburnian]

It's hard to tell, but I agree with psweet, that the first may be just a young California Gull

[jenmadison]

Yes, we have weird California Gulls. I'm glad it's not just me having a hard time IDing some of these gulls.