On Mon, Oct 15, 2012 at 6:01 PM, David Rankin <drankin@une.edu> wrote:
While out birding today on Hill's Beach, I noticed an odd gull. It was about the size and shape of a Greater Black-backed Gull, with a large heavy bill. It was an adult bird. The eye was a dusky gray, I couldn't make out the color of the orbital, it wasn't very bright, and the feet and legs were pinkish-flesh colored, matching nearby Greater Black-backed gulls. The odd part was mainly the mantle color: it was a much lighter gray than the nearby Greater Blacks and noticeably darker than the nearby Herring Gull. In color it more closely match a California Gull, maybe a shade darker. I'm assuming it's a hybrid with a Greater Black-backed Gull because of the size, but I can't say much beyond that. No pictures, unfortunately, but worth keeping an eye out for if you're birding the Biddeford area.Other birds of interest were 5 Red Knots, which are getting late according to Ebird, and a Peregrine Falcon thwarting my efforts to count the good number of shorebirds on the mudflats between Hills Beach and Sand Island.
Also, for the first time since August 24th, I failed to record a Blackpoll Warbler. Nothing but Yellow-rumped Warblers today. Fall is rapidly dwindling away!
David RankinBiddeford, ME
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