Hi Sean,

I had a 1st year Thayer's on a CBC three weeks ago here in VA, and your bird
sounds similar.  The thing about this bird that stood out was the fairly
sharp definition of the pattern on the mantle - almost like a checkerboard -
which was reflected in the undertail coverts to a degree.

Jay



----- Original Message -----
From: "sean mccandless" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2005 5:32 PM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Cecil Landfill


Just a quick update on the Gull situation here in Cecil County. I arrived at
the landfill
at 7:30 this morning with the only birds flying around were Starlings and
Both Crow species.
Oh and I did have several Savannah Sparrows. No Gulls. 30 minutes later the
man showed up
and started up the machine that smashes the trash down. 20 minutes after
that he started
moving. The Lunch Whistle started. I think it happened when the machine
would start
beeping in reverse. The gulls showed up like the snow this morning. They
dropped out of
the clouds. There was only about 1000 birds but the first bird that showed
up was the 1st
year dark Iceland I had yesterday at the park. Beautiful bird!  Then twice,
I noticed what I
thought was another Iceland. The back coloration and light flashes in the
secondary into the
primaries. It had a solid back bill. Much smaller than the Herring Gulls
bills that were around.
The primaries were much darker than the dark Iceland that was flying around.
When it would
land for about 3 seconds the primaries were a light brown. They were edged
with a white
pattern equal on each primary, the light color started on the bottom of the
outside edge for
the primary feathers and rounded the tip and ended up much more on the top
of the feather
 of the primary.I also noticed that the secondary were trimmed on the
outside with white. Much more than the primaries. When in flight the birds
primaries
had a white and light brown stripe flash. Almost looked like a Iceland from
the top. Just
slightly darker back, mantle and primaries.
The basic look of the bird was light with lots of fine brown markings and a
lighter head.
I think this is the bird that John Churchill had last week. It looks like a
1st year Thayer's to me.
I hope someone else will come and look at this bird.
Well, the snow machine was pumping away and I couldn't last more than 2
hours out there.
It was nice that Chris Starling finally got his over due Iceland Gull Life
bird today. Congratulations!
He joined me late and found the bird on his own. That's how you get your
life bird. Good Job.
Happy birding.
Sean McCandless