Monday, March 21, 2011

Another Glaucous X Glaucous-winged Gull?




On Sunday I eventually gave up on Brant monitoring due to the extreme amount of human disturbance, and rode my bike over to Doehle Rd. to look at gulls. There are app. 80,000 - 100,000 gulls in the Parksville-Qualicum Wildlife Management Area right now, so there is plenty to look at. I always seem to fixate on the ones I just cannot unravel. This one is a perfect example. I only got brief looks at as it flew by, but it instantly impressed me with it's size, and pale mantle color. The bill shape and much of the plumage says 2nd cycle Glaucous-winged Gull. The mantle shade is quite pale, and the bird is overall, quite pale for this species at this age. Still, it isn't typical Glaucous Gull white. So, is it just an odd Glaucous-winged Gull, or perhaps a Glaucous-winged Gull x Glaucous Gull hybrid? I'm really not sure.

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