Havre de Grace Franklin's Gull
David W. Webb (webb@netfox.net)
Mon, 12 Oct 1998 01:26:35 -0700
Folks,
At about 6 PM Saturday evening, Rick Blom called me at
home to say the Franklin's Gull he found the day before
was back in Havre de Grace. I interrupted my home project,
and within ten minutes met Rick in town. It only took
another five minutes before he found the bird among
several hundred other gulls (Ring-billed, Laughing, Great
Black-backed, and Herring) and terns (Forster's and
Caspian) sitting on the exposed mudflat off the south end
of Tydings Island. I also identified the bird as a
winter adult Franklin's Gull. Here's what I saw:
A fairly small gull, very similar at first glance to
a Laughing Gull but differing in:
1. dark black hood extending over back of crown,
2. white broken eyering,
3. white spot on the end of each primary (3 or
4 total visible on the folded wing),
4. larger tertial crescent,
5. immaculate white breast and chest,
6. slightly smaller length,
7. slightly smaller bill,
7. slightly shorter legs.
For anyone hoping to see this bird, your best chances are
probably within an hour or two of the low tide. For the
next week, the daylight low tides in HdG are
Mon, 12th: 11:08 AM
Tue, 13th: 12:14 PM
Wed, 14th: 1:14 PM
Thu, 15th: 2:06 PM
Fri, 16th: 2:49 PM
Sat, 17th: 3:27 PM
Sun, 18th: 4:01 PM
Even if the Franklin's Gull is not around, there are
many nice birds being seen regularly such as PB Grebe
(as many as 42 reported on 10/7), N Shoveler, A Wigeon,
N Pintail, GW Teal, Gadwall, and RN Duck. Lots of
other one-day wonders have been popping as well (e.g.,
Rick's earlier reports from over this past weekend).
Good birding,
Dave Webb
webb@netfox.net
Havre de Grace, MD