MD/DC birders:

Below is a very recent posting from Delaware birder Andy Urquhart to the 
DE-Birds list-serv.  Given the importance of this sighting, if it can be 
confirmed, Delaware birders asked me to post it on MDOsprey as soon as I could.

Mike Bowen
Bethesda MD and Dewey Beach, DE




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>X-ASG-Orig-Subj: Probable Ross's Gull, Lapidum, MD
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>Date:         Fri, 1 Apr 2005 08:38:46 EST
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>Subject: [de-birds] Probable Ross's Gull, Lapidum, MD
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>To: 
>
>Hello DE-BIRDers -
>
>Yesterday in the late morning I saw what I now believe was an adult Ross's
>Gull at Lapidum, MD.  Here's what I saw:
>
>Small gull, comparable in size to the Bonaparte's it was with.
>
>Uniform medium gray underwing color (darker than any of the Bonaparte's but
>obviously much lighter than the underwing color of the Little Gulls).
>
>Uniform light gray upperwing and back  No white leading edge on the wings as
>with Bonaparte's.
>
>White rump with longish, wedge-shaped tail (seen clearly when the bird banked
>with the dark opposite shore as a background).
>
>Small bill.
>
>White head with dark spot behind eye.
>
>Comparing to the Sibley guide, these fit very well only with Ross's.
>However, I did not notice any white trailing edges on the wings or pinkish 
>color on
>the underparts.
>
>The bird was seen only in flight and only in the scope at a considerable
>distance under moderate viewing conditions.  The bird was foraging, not just
>flying by.
>
>At the time I was searching through a fairly large Bonaparte's flock for
>Little (I saw at least a couple) and Black-headed (I saw none) Gulls that 
>had been
>previously reported there.  When I saw it I had no idea what this bird was,
>and I was so focused on my target birds that I didn't even look in my field
>guide until late last night (hence the late posting).
>
>I have no prior experience with this species, but the distinctive field marks
>noted seem pretty convincing.
>
>Lapidum, MD is the first point of road access on the SW side of the
>Susquehanna River upstream from the I-95 bridge (opposite Port 
>Deposit).  See DeLorme
>p. 77, B/C 4.
>
>Good birding!
>
>Andy Urquhart
>Newark, DE

D. H. Michael Bowen (Mike)
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda MD 20817-3845
Tel/Fax: (301) 530-5764
e-mail: