Message:

[

Previous   Next

]

By Topic:

[

Previous   Next

]

Subject:

Black-headed Gull- OC Inlet

From:

Alexander Baish

Reply-To:

Alexander Baish

Date:

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:05:33 -0500

From the birder's whom I met while scoping the kittiwake...apparently my
excitement and attention to the kittiwake made me miss a second lifer! :-)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Julie Keefer <>
Date: Fri, Dec 25, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Subject: kittiwake
To: 

Hi Alex,

I hope you don't mind, I got your email from your msg on the MD bird list on
birdingonthe.net.  My husband Chris and I are the 2 birders you met at the
inlet and showed us the kittiwake!  After looking in our Sibley we agree
with your ID, there just doesn't seem to be any other gull it could be!  It
stayed on the rocks then flew off when we weren't looking.  Thanks for
pointing it out as we would have missed it and it is a lifer for us.  We
stayed for maybe 20 minutes.  As we watched all the birds and tried to see
if we could find the kittiwake flying, my husband noticed one of the
Bonaparte's Gulls looked to be bigger than the rest.  So we watched it for
awhile.  It was definitely larger, it had reddish legs, a dark-colored
bill and the underwing primaries were dark and the upper wing primaries were
white.  According to our book, this is a Black-headed Gull, which appears to
be a pretty rare find!  Could you please post this to the message board for
me, since I am not a member?  I would like to get the word out!  I hope it
sticks around and others can go see it and confirm.  Thank you so much for
pointing out the kittiwake and letting us see it through your scope.  We
would not have seen either gull otherwise!

Merry Christmas and good birding!
Julie Keefer
OC Native, transplanted to CT but home for the holidays





-- 
Alex Baish
Ocean City, MD (home)
Baltimore, MD (work/school)