Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Iceland or Thayer's Gull?

Gull identification, especially for juveniles, can be very challenging. Many an expert birder will take a pass on ID'ing them. This past January, while in Duluth, we stopped at Canal Park to work through the resident Herring Gull flock looking for any rarities (Glaucous, Iceland and/or Thayer's Gull). We found one very interesting 2nd cycle Gull, that the locals had named "Herman".  It was named "Herman" because the locals could not decide on whether it was a Thayer's or an Iceland Gull (split about 50-50 on the ID), with it being a hybrid as a third possiblity.  I made sure I took a lot of pictures of "Herman" and then sent several of my best photos to my New Jersey experts for their opinions on "Herman".  Six New Jersey experts looked at my photos, two said it was a Thayer's Gull, two said it was an Iceland Gull, and the last two punted (one stating that he does not do juvenile gulls).  Still a 50-50 split.  Sometimes you just have to accept that you will not be able to identify a bird, even when you have good photos.  Any opinions on what Herman is?

"Herman"


2nd Cycle Herring Gull & "Herman" (behind), note differences in their wings