NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
March 3,
2022 (Thursday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**Brian
Stone has been making an effort to photograph gulls to show some of the
different plumages that we can see this time of year. We have been sharing a
few of Brian’s photos each day to point out some identification features with
arrows pointing to some of those features.
One of
today’s photos of an adult Herring Gull nicely shows the ‘mirrors’
at the tip of the wing on P9 and P10 which are consistent when seen in flight
(arrowed). Both mirrors are just back from the tip of the wing primary feather
with the mirror on P10 approximately twice the size of the mirror on P9. This
is a very reliable identification feature when seen.
Three other
photos of Herring Gulls show a variable red and adjoining black patch on the
bill. Most adult winter Herring Gulls have a red patch only. It is
controversial but some gull guides do point out that winter adults can
sometimes take on a black smudge adjoining the normally only red smudge. The
birds in Brian’s photos are adult in every way that show this bicoloured
smudge. Some gull folks feel this is a maturing bird while others feel it is an
occasional feature some adults take on in winter. We are labelling them as adult
birds. Maybe the birds are the only ones that know for sure!
Another
photo shows a photo of an adult winter Ring-billed Gull with clean apical spots
in the primary projection and a very streaked head typical of our larger adult gulls
which will soon be molting to clean white. The Great Black-backed Gull is the
only large gull to retain the white head in winter.
Comments
welcome.
Gull photos
are always welcome and will try to age them as possible.
** The New Brunswick environmental network publishes a
list of events they are aware of taking place in New Brunswick during the month
of March. The list is below and many of the events can be registered for right
from the site. The Nature Moncton meeting for March 15 is included along
with a link to join:
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Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
