After pointing Jim Moore to the W-w X-bills at Resthaven Cem, he later returned the favor 100-fold by telling us of the Franklin's Gull off Rt 15 - in a group of gulls we had earlier passed up because of the "Emergency Stopping Only" signs. ("But officer, this IS an emergency -there's a new county bird out there and has to be documented before it gets away!" Seriously, this is not a good place to stop.) We arived a little after Marcia Balestri.
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The bird stood out among ~ 20 Ring-bills because of its small size, much darker mantle, and black hood - so far, like a Laughing Gull. (Bonaparte's of course ruled out by the very dark mantle).��Points of difference we noted were - hood terminating much farther up the nape, at about�eye level; bill narrow and *uniformly* thick, not contoured; white in folded wing tips; faint pink tinge on the breast - which unfortunately does not show in my photo, the head being turned into the back. The quality of the photo is very poor due to the faint light and distance; while I worrying with the camera Jane saw it in flight over us, showing dark, white-bordered wing-tips. As for eye-crescents, they were prominent but w/o a LAGU for direct comparison that might not stand up in court.
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Also here, one (that we saw) Herring Gull.
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Besides this, we had excellent views of the W-w X-bills at Resthaven Cem on this my 4th try, the birds displaying enough variation in age and sex of plumage to befit half-a-dozen species. But all we saw were White-winged's, 16 in the air at once.
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An added treat - at Nolan's Ferry, across the river, called a Barred Owl - a nemesis FR Co bird for me. But a small trickle of thePotomac running behind Nolan's I. puts inside MD. Thank you, Lord Clavert, for thinking of this so far ahead.
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Fred & Jane Fallon
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From: Balestri Marcia <mebalestri...>
To: MDBirding <mdbirding...>
Cc: Marcia Balestri <mebalestri...>
Sent: Sunday, March 31, 2013 3:50 PM
Subject: Re: [MDBirding] Franklin's Gull-Frederick County
Now that I am home and my fingers are thawed�
Thanks, Jim, for finding the Franklin's Gull, a state bird for me. When I saw it, it was on the WEST side of the road about 1/2-1 mile south of the cemetery, but after about 10 minutes or so, it flew to the east out of my sight. �By the time I got there there were at least 7 Herring Gulls, maybe more. �All the gulls (RB and Herring) were flying back and forth, so you might want to check both sides of the road. �Fred Fallon and his wife pulled in behind me shortly after I arrived and was better equipped than I to take pictures (I do have some bad digiscopes that may or may not be good enough for any documentation). �We both noted the relevant field marks (black hood; darker mantle; smaller than RB Gulls; slimmer, shorter, less "hooked" bill than Laughing Gull, prominent white eye arcs), and when it flew we saw the white spots on the limited black wing tips (so an adult). The bird also has a faint pink cast to its chest and belly. �I am sure Fred will
have more to add.
BTW, there is at least one record of FRGU in Frederick Co that I know of. �One was found by David Smith and Kathy Calvert on a count (I don't remember which one) several years ago, but I will let them tell that story.
Nice gull day for Frederick County with the Bonaparte's at Kershner's Pond. �We don't get the good ones like we used to when we had an active dump site.
____________________
Marcia Balestri
Frederick, MD
<mebalestri...>
On Mar 31, 2013, at 12:08 PM, Jim Moore <epiphenomenon9...> wrote:
Now in field visible from route15 south about 1 mile south of Resthaven Cemetery.� East of rd in field with hegu and rbgu.
>Jim Moore
>Rockville
>
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