Wood Pewee

**Note This blog is posted in an effort to illicit responses from people with experience identifying silent Wood Pewees in the field. A general discussion of Wood Pewee identification will follow at a later date.**

The following Wood Pewee was photographed yesterday on the French islands of St.Pierre et Miquelon (just off the south coast of Newfoundland).

I am requesting opinions and comments from those with experience separating Eastern and Western Wood Pewee.

The bird seems to have some characters that are good for Western Wood Pewee, including the overall very dusky coloration below, weak upper wing bar and seemingly entirely dark lower mandible. 

Eastern Wood Pewee is an annual rarity in Newfoundland, but this would be a late date even for that species.

Can we conclusively identify silent pit of range Wood Pewees?

Wood Pewee St.Pierre et Miquelon Photo: Joël detcheverry

Photo:Joël detcheverry

Saving a Yellow-legged Gull Photo Op!

This is a story about an encounter I had with a Yellow-legged Gull many years ago ( 8 years ago to be exact). For the unfamiliar, Yellow-legged Gull is a much sought after Gull species in North America. There are not that many records and most of the good ones are from here in St.John's, where it has been mostly annual (sometimes multiple individuals) for almost 20 years.

Our particular brand of Yellow-legged Gull are thought to originate in Azores, which is approximately 2500 km's to our east. This is not meant to be an ID piece, so I won't get into details of  why our bird's are thought to be Azorean, but if you are curious, feel free to message me or comment here and I'm happy to explain.

If you are a dedicated Gull watcher and know what to look for, most winters, you can get some good looks at Yellow-legged Gull in St.John's. However, good looks don't always equate to good photos. While I have seen Yellow-legged Gull very well many times and have logged many hours of combined observation time over the years, rarely do you see these birds up close an personal. It's even more unusual to get good flight shots, and even rarer still to get an opportunity for that classic (head forward, wings raise vertically) stretching pose. Personally, this is one of my favorite poses to capture in photos and getting the chance to get a Yellow-legged Gull in this pose, at close range, is somewhat akin to winning the rare bird photography lottery.

One afternoon I was doing my regular rounds, Quidi Vidi Lake, Pier 17 sewer outflow and lastly Harvey Wharf (sadly, the latter two locations are gone!). When I got to Harvey Wharf, I was looking through the Gulls and I could hardly believe my eyes, there was a (the) Yellow-legged Gull. While it has been a known bird, it wasn't seen in this spot very often. It was not real close, but closer than normal. Then just as I get my camera in position a flush, and all the Gulls lift off. I figured this was it for my Yellow-legged Gull photo ops. Amazingly, the bird circled back and landing right in front of me! At the time I was using a Canon 300mm f4 and a 1.4 extender, there was no zoom option, just a static magnification. I could hardly believe my luck. I started blasting off shots of the standing bird, not even considering that it might do anything interesting. Then I noticed it was starting to stretch. The bird was so close I could hardly fit it in the frame as it was (not usually an issue!), I knew I would not be able to fit the bird and it's stretched wings in the frame. However, there was a solution. I shot off frames of the bird, then adjusted slightly to get the wings, the photos below were the result.

YLGU stretching, late Dec, 2011, St.John's, NL

The rest of the YLGU, stretching, late Dec 2011, St.John's, NL

Well, what was I going to do with this.I had half a bird, posts, boards etc all over the place. Seemingly, not the makings of a good photo. However, it could be saved! While I am not usually one to spend a lot of time on post processing, I felt it was justified in this case. So I went about stitching the photos together and cloning out the distracting elements from the foreground and background. The result is the photo below.

YLGU stretching, late Dec, 2011, St.John's NL

After some effort in photo shop I was quite pleased with the result. To this day I have never has an opportunity like this again.

Lamenting the Black-headed Gulls of St.John's

Black-headed Gull is a nice bird to see in North America. Though, not outstandingly rare, it is appreciated wherever it turns up. While it is an extremely common species in the UK, it is a treat to see on our side of the Atlantic.There was a time not too long ago, when one could see 100+ Black-headed Gulls in a day in St.John's. Sadly, those days are gone with the loss of the St.John's sewer outlet. While the flow of raw sewage isn't missed, the gulls it attracted, including North America's only regular wintering flock of Black-headed Gulls, are greatly missed by long time St.John's birders.

I was reminded of how dramatically the situation with Black-headed Gulls has changed in St.John's, when a birding friend sent me a message excitedly announcing that "5 Black-headed Gulls were seen at Quidi Vidi Lake".Just a few years ago this was not even a notable species in the city and 5 would have been considered an extremely low number. However, with the endless buffet of human waste and the associated upwelling or marine life, from the outflow of sewage water, the Black-headed Gulls have left the city for parts unknown. There are still a few around the city if you look hard enough and they can still be seen at a few other 'natural' locations', where there are productive tidal beaches, such as Bellvue Beach and Spaniard's Bay to name a couple. Also, Newfoundland does still also host the (only known?) breeding Black-headed Gulls in North America at Stephenville Crossing, where several pairs nest among the much more abundant Ring-billed Gulls.

I'll end this here and leave you with a photo montage. I particularly miss the excellent photo opportunities I've had with the species, particularly the beautiful adults in alternate plumage.

Black-headed Gull, St.John's, April

BHGU, St.John's, April

BHGU, St.John's, January

BHGU, St. John's, January

BHGU, St.John's, adult in front, 1st cycle in background. January

BHGU, Topsail, Newfoundland, January

BHGU, 1st cycle, St.John's, January

BHGU, almost complete alternate plurchmage, St.John's, Ma

Black-headed Gull, showing why it's name is a misnomer. Nicely showing it's brown head here. St.John's, April

Black-headed Gull silhouetted against setting sun. St.John's, April

I am thrilled to be able to provide educational and entertaining content. However, these articles are very time consuming to write. If possible, please consider subscribing to the blog with a very small monthly fee via the subscribe button. This will help to cover costs of website maintenance and all the other expenses that go into producing the content. Whether you subscribe or not, you will still have access to all the content, the small subscription fee is just a means of showing your support. Thank you!

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Separation of 1st and 2nd cycle Glaucous Gull (Larus Hyperboreous)

This is just a short article in response to a recent discussion on the North American Gulls facebook group regarding ageing Glaucous Gulls and separating 1st and 2nd cycle birds in particular. During fall and early winter most individuals can be separated easily enough, but as birds begin to wear and bleach things can become a bit more tricky for people that aren't fortunate to have the daily access to Glaucous Gulls of all ages like we have in Newfoundland in winter.

In general 2nd cycle Glaucous Gulls in fall and winter are relatively unpatterned or blotchy looking birds, but are never as neatly pattered as some first cycle birds, particularly in wing coverts. Things get tricky when some first cycle birds are particularly pale or become faded and bleached later in the season. As as general rule if you see a pure white glaucous gull (Oct-February) it will most often be a 2nd cycle bird (at least, this holds true for birds I see in eastern Newfoundland). One should also be sure to check the eye color. All 1st cycle Glaucous Gulls in fall and winter have dark eyes, while 2nd cycle birds can be variably pale, some being, clear yellow or creamy yellow, as in adults.

Occasionally, 2nd cycle Glaucous Gulls can appear to have dark eyes from even close range. Very close inspection of these individuals reveals the eye to be honey brown and not as dark as in 1st cycle birds. These bird can be accurately aged by combination of pure white or blotchy plumage and bill pattern with slightly reduced black and small pale tip.  Beware of  2nd cycle Iceland Gulls (Kumliens) show a bi-colored bill and can match Glaucous Gull in plumage in their second cycle. However, these birds are often much smaller, smaller billed, with a more rounded head and longer wings than any Glaucous Gull. As well, on close inspection the bills of 2nd cycle Iceland Gulls are often have fleshy or greenish tones in the base of the bill and not the pinkish tones of Glaucous Gulls.

Below are a series of photos of both 1st and 2nd cycle Glaucous Gulls, highlighting the features discussed above.

1st cycle Glaucous Gull, St.John's, NL, Jan. Note finely patterned wing coverts, dark eye and bi-colored bill, with all black tip.

1st cycle Glaucous Gull, St.John's, NL, December. A particularly well patterned individual that should never be confused with a 2nd winter bird. Note also, dark eye and typical bi-colored bill with all dark tip.

1st cycle Glaucous Gull, St.John's, NL, Jan. Again note patterning on wing coverts and lack of blotchy appearance. Also, dark eye and bi-colored bill, with all dark tip.

1st cycle Glaucous Gull, St.John's, NL, Jan. A somewhat pale individual, though note consistent patterning throughout scapulars and wing coverts- dark eye, bi-coloured bill, with pink base and all dark tip.

2nd cycle Glaucous Gull, St.John's, NL, January. Note much plainer body plumage than 1st cycle birds. Overall much whiter, and lacking consistent pattering on scapulars and wing coverts. Differing from 1st cycle birds above is pale eye and bill, with slight pale indentation along the cutting edge and slightly pale tip.

2nd cycle Glaucous Gull, St.John's, NL, December. A fairly typical individual, note pale eye, pale area at very tip of bill and overall more blotchy plumage than 1st cycle birds.

2nd cycle above, 1st cycle below. Aside from the difference in eye color, not the subtle difference in the bill pattern. In the 2nd cycle bird above the black at the tip is slightly more diffuse and the very tip of the bill is pale. Note also the small pale triangle along the cutting edge of the bill in the 2nd cycle bird above, this is a fairly consistent feature in 2nd cycle Glaucous Gulls.

2nd cycle Glaucous Gull, January, St.John's, NL. Note the very pale, unpatterned plumage and bill with small pale area at tip and pale triangle along cutting edge as described above. This individual appears to have a dark eye, which does happen occasionally in 2nd cycle GLGU.

From left to right- 2nd cycle GLGU, 2nd cycle GLGU, 1st cycle GLGU. St.John's, N:, January

To finish things off here is a shot of two 2nd cycle Glaucous Gulls (one with a dark one, with a pale eye) and a pretty regular looking 1st cycle Glaucous Gull. Hopefully, this helps people who have been struggling with ageing Glaucous Gulls.

**Want to learn more about ageing Gulls?Consider joining a Gull ID workshop, or if you are really want to learn Gulls, inquire about the January 2020 Newfoundland Winter Birding and Gull Extravaganza trip! I can be reached through the blog, also my website at https://birdingnewfoundland.com

I am thrilled to be able to provide educational and entertaining content. However, these articles are very time consuming to write. If possible, please consider subscribing to the blog with a very small monthly fee via the subscribe button. This will help to cover costs of website maintenance and all the other expenses that go into producing the content. Whether you subscribe or not, you will still have access to all the content, the small subscription fee is just a means of showing your support. Thank you!

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American Herring Gull Photo Gallary: Variation in Primary Patterns

The purpose of this blog is purely to provide a large collection of photos of American Herring Gull wing tips. All photos are of adult birds and all are taken December-February in St.John's, Newfoundland.

For those unfamiliar with Newfoundland Herring Gull you will likely be very surprised with their extreme variation and the excessive amount of white in the wings of some birds. Commonly, Newfoundland Herring Gulls have a large white mirror on p10. A decent number have a fully white tipped p10, but more commonly there is a variable thin black subterminal band separating the mirror from the tip. The vast majority of birds have a large mirror on p9 with some spanning the width of both webs. When this is combined with a white tipped p10, this can make for some exaggerated wing tips, that closely resemble Argentatus Herring Gulls from Northern Europe. Note also the presence of long white tongues and large white tongue tips present on p8-p7 on most birds. While most birds have some type of black band on p5, this is lacking in a percentage of individuals.

For a thorough examination of Newfoundland Herring Gulls, I'd suggest this following paper by Bruce Mactavish and Peter Adriaens. Note the article is meant for European birders who seek to identify American Herring Gulls in Europe. The author caution against using it in the reverse, to find European Herring Gulls among the more poorly understood American Herring Gull flocks in North America.

Over time I will add more photos to this collection and I will also add and improve on the quality of the captions. For now I wanted to start getting the photos online. I welcome any comments and suggestions.

An unusual pattern here with a faint complete  band on p4- Jan

This a fairly typical theyeri-like primary pattern, note also the deep tongue on p8 and p7- Jan

slightly unusual with the p10 mirror including the tip, but no mirror on p9. Usually when p10 is white tipped there is a large white mirror on p9 or a thayeri-like p9. Feb

When p10 is not white tiped, the mirror is often separated by a thin subterminal band, as in this bird. the theyeri-like p9 is fairly typical.

Note the black marking on the outer web of p7 is flat topped and lacking a bayonet pattern, this is somewhat unusual in Newfoundland Herring Gulls.

Perhaps smaller than usual grey tongue on p8 and also smallish white tongue tips p6-p7

A typical wing tip pattern, with bayonets on p7, p6. The black mark on p4 is not too common.

Maybe 10-155 of Herring Gulls in St.John's, lack a mirror on p9. this bird has a characteristic long grey tongue on p8, but lacks bayonets on p7 and p6.

Another bird with a lot of black in the wing.

Quite a typical pattern

Limited black on p7, which is common in these whiter winged individuals.

A darker winged bird lacking p9 mirror and full band on p5.

A common pattern

Its not that unusual for our Herring Gulls to have assymetrical wings. P7 in this case is unusual, in that the black on the outer web is interrupted by the grey tongue.

Perhaps slightly wider sub terminal band on p10 than usual.

a typical bird- Feb

typical pattern- Feb

Note that p10 and p9 are still growing. Unusual in that there is a complete black band on p4. I will have to check the date for this individual.

I am thrilled to be able to provide educational and entertaining content. However, these articles are very time consuming to write. If possible, please consider subscribing to the blog with a very small monthly fee via the subscribe button. This will help to cover costs of website maintenance and all the other expenses that go into producing the content. Whether you subscribe or not, you will still have access to all the content, the small subscription fee is just a means of showing your support. Thank you!

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