Hey Everyone,
The Franklin's Gull was very unexpected! My wife and I decided to go on an afternoon drive, and we headed north around the beltway to the back roads of Baltimore Co. With her busy schedule as a first-year teacher, she missed most of fall, and we set out to log a few hours outdoors. I didn't even bring half of my optics.
As we wandered down Hydes Road, I saw a large flock of gulls and said, "Oh, cool, let me scan through this flock of Ring-bills real quick." Imagine my surprise when I saw that most of them were Laughing Gulls! We pulled into Hydes Road Park and I got out the scope. I started offering bribes immediately, and I was well in debt by the time I left. I found the FRANKLIN'S GULL rather suddenly and had two prolonged scope views. It is an adult bird with a pronounced partial hood and immediately noticeable "cute" appearance. It wasn't a hard Franklin's to pick out. It's bill was thin and delicate with no suggestion of a gonydeal angle. Its eye arcs and white primary tips were pronounced. Very cool!
I hope the flock sticks around and others get to enjoy this bird. I learned when I sent my texts that Matt Hafner had found one in Florida today as well. Hopefully this is the beginning of an invasion!
Last I heard Nico Sarbanes, Joe Turner, Leslie Starr, and Kye Jenkins had just seen a candidate. The gulls had flow further back in the field. Hopefully with the nasty weather, the flock will still be around tomorrow. There were roughly 435 Laughing Gulls, 260 Ring-billed Gulls, and 7 Herring Gulls.
Good luck if you try for it!
Good birding,
Bill
Bill Hubick
Pasadena, Maryland
http://www.billhubick.com
--- On Sat, 10/31/09, Nico Sarbanes <> wrote:
> From: Nico Sarbanes <>
> Subject: [MDOSPREY] Franklin's Gull in Baltimore County
> To:
> Date: Saturday, October 31, 2009, 3:58 PM
> Hey everyone-
>
> Bill Hubick just called to say that he found an adult
> Franklin's Gull with around 450 Laughing Gulls on Hydes Rd.
> off of Long Green Pike in Baltimore County.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Nico Sarbanes
> Baltimore
>
>
>
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