From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report
During yesterday’s Christmas Bird Count the Newnans Lake boat team (Andy Kratter and John Mangold with Terry Cake in Terry’s boat) discovered a first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull, a bird never before seen in Alachua County. John got photos from the boat, but I don’t think they’re available yet. Anyway, John Hintermister, Phil Laipis, Mike Manetz, Greg McDermott, and I assembled at 7:30 this morning at the Windsor boat ramp (Owens-Illinois Park) in hope of seeing it. Perhaps “hope” is not the word, since John was the only one of us who was optimistic about our ability to identify a distant immature gull through spotting scopes. In fact, Mike was so skeptical about our chances that he almost stayed home. But we found it, and (to everyone’s surprise but John’s) it was actually identifiable at long distance, so it might be worthwhile to give it a try yourself.
I expected a big warm brown gull, like a first-year Herring Gull. But the brown tones on this bird are a darker, “colder” brown, almost sooty. The head and neck look white from a distance, the bill all black. There’s a dusky area, a “mask,” around the eye. In flight the wings look quite dark both above and below. The rump is white. Here are a couple of photos taken from the internet that will give you an idea of what you’re looking for:
Resting, as when floating on the water: http://www.nemesisbird.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_3303.jpg
In flight: http://www.nemesisbird.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/lbbg2.jpg
After we’d seen the bird, I had to head home – my son had bought tickets for a 10:45 showing of the new Star Wars movie – but the others went on to the Tuscawilla Prairie, where a Brown Creeper was found yesterday by the Christmas Bird Count team in the wooded area north of the marsh. It was found today as well, by John, Phil, Mike, and Greg. Mike wrote that it was “first heard making its high-pitched single-note call.”