Nature Note #98: Winter Gulls

There are both Glaucous and Iceland Gulls in this picture, but which is which? Can you tell the difference?
After spending my birthday weekend birding with Alison, we decided to to hit up Jodrey Fish Pier in Gloucester in order to locate the Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia) that had been spotted in recent days. We came up short on that front, but came across a fairly uncommon winter sight. This lead not only to seeing both our first Glaucous Gulls (Larus hyperboreus), but also how they differed plumage-wise, from the nearby Iceland Gulls (L. glaucoides).

After snapping a few pictures, I was initially at a loss to try and identify them. Since I'm newish to gull ID (my favorite plumage is that of a Ring-billed Gull (L. delawarensis) in its 1st winter plumage), I looked through my preferred guides and came up with a diagnosis.


After browsing through the basic guides provided by Kaufman (least helpful) and National Geographic: Eastern Region (somewhat helpful), I confirmed the Glaucous and Iceland Gulls using Sibley (long may he reign) and my newest acquisition, Gulls of the Americas by Steve N. G. Howell and Jon Dunn.

Gulls weren't our only sightings today. Despite missing the murre, we got to see 75+ Red-breasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator) and 40 or so Common Eider (Somateria mollissima), as well as a Common Loon (Gavia immer) and a few Harbor Seals ()!




So while the murre may have snubbed us this time, if it sticks around, we might try for it again. In the mean time, there are a few other birds that are vying for my attention, including my current waterfowl nemesis, the Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica).

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