[MDOsprey] St. Mary's County, MD, Kelp Gull (YES--phew!) Update, 7/29/99

Jane Kostenko (jkostenko@somd.lib.md.us)
Thu, 29 Jul 1999 13:23:26 -0400 

    It is with tremendous relief that I report that the St. Mary's County,
Maryland, Kelp Gull is safely on its usual pier, from 11:20 a.m. 'til when I
left it at 12:45 p.m. today, July 29.
    With all of the excitement of a Kelp Gull in Rhode Island, I was
starting to get messages asking is our gull was still around. Having just
returned from vacation late 7/26, I pieced together sightings on the Kelp
Gull from visiting birders on 7/19 and 7/22, and the last reported sighting
by one of the regular staffers of the Sea Breeze, who saw the Kelp Gull fly
off around 3 p.m. on 7/24, just in advance of a horrific thunderstorm.
    Per daily phone calls to the restaurant since, the gull had not been
seen since, and I truly feared we'd misplaced it. Frantic at the thought
that I was about to lose my rare-bird-babysitter's license, I told the
restaurant staff today about the RI kelp gull. Within half an hour, I got a
call from the Sea Breeze, saying that ol' Shrimpy was back. After a quick
change of lunch plans, I ran out and saw the kelp gull for myself. Phew!
(BTW, Joe of the Sea Breeze said that on Monday some Rhode Island birders
had come for, and not seen, our kelp gull. Hmmm...)
    For anyone who's read this far, here are some differences that come to
mind in comparing "our" kelp gull to the one described in RI: The St. Mary's
County, MD, Kelp Gull has straw-yellow irises (described as "dark" in the RI
bird); our kelp gull also shows great variability in its head
shape--sometimes flattish, often round and dove-like. Leg color is always a
mix of yellow and green, though sometimes more green than yellow and other
times more yellow than green. The mantle color also varies with lighting,
being usually darker than that of the great black-back gull, but sometimes
actually brownish. Even the "heft" of the bird varies, depending on the
angle you're seeing it from, but it is always just about the size of a
herring gull, when viewed from the same angle.
    In any case, the St. Mary's County, MD, Kelp Gull is alive and well
(though panting heavily in the heat and humidity), and right where it
belongs. Too bad RI is such a long drive away; I'd love to compare the two
kelp gulls!

Jane Kostenko
jkostenko@somd.lib.md.us
California, Maryland

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