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Bird I.D. (it's not a ring-billed gull!) Ottawa (1 Viewer)

Catherine3678

Well-known member
It's migration time and some different birds are passing through the area. Does anybody know what this bird is?

Thanks.
 

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Do you have a larger version of the picture? Maybe a Herring Gull?

No, I wish I did! That is the full-sized "crop" out of the large photo. I didn't "do" anything to the photo aside from cropping it. I'll be combing through the day's takes and hope to find some more of these. If I do I will post them also.
 
I can't see any reason why it's not a Herring Gull, which I suspect would be the default large non-white-winged larid in Ottowa.
 
Well I'm far from being a gull expert but all the pics I've seen of herring gulls, in none of them did they have a black head.

From what I've been reading there can be 5 or 6 types of gulls that have been known to show up at this location; the herring gulls being included in that count.

At any rate; I have posted the original file photos for this one and for some others taken in the same sky about the same time here.

The camera was hand-held (which didn't help!) and I used a polarizer lense (to cut the glare of light from off the water) however all the white and white/grey gulls definately appear as such. I may have a couple of black-backs in these; however as best I can see from my photos ... this bird has a black head, black wings, black tail and white ring around its neck.
 
You can just make out paler inner primaries, which would be in keeping with juv/1st winter Herring Gull, which is what it looks like structurally. I think the light is playing tricks on the camera
 
Okay, if it structurally looks like the herring gull ... and yes lighting has been known to do some interesting things with the camera's photos ... I'll label this one as one of my herring gull pics.

I thank you all very much!
 
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