Gull ID- Texas Gulf Coast (1 Viewer)

[onlybill]

This is most likely a Herring Gull, and nothing like a Lesser Black Backed or anything like that? The lighting wasn't too good today so the back looks a lot darker than in my guide books. Here on the Gulf Coast juvenile Herring gulls are not uncommon, but adults are, thus I have this ID problem. So this is a herring gull? regards~Bill

 

[Kratter]

That is something far more interesting than a Herring Gull or a Lesser Black-backed Gull. The massiveness of bill and body suggest Kelp Gull, but the mantle looks a bit too pale. It could be a hybrid Kelp X Herring (Chandeleur Gull). Another possibility is Yellow-footed Gull? I don't have any references at hand, so others will chime in I am sure,

Andy

It's late, but a quick look at Olsen and Larsson, and Yellow-footed Gull (L. livens) looks good. I think there are very few Texas records.

This is most likely a Herring Gull, and nothing like a Lesser Black Backed or anything like that? The lighting wasn't too good today so the back looks a lot darker than in my guide books. Here on the Gulf Coast juvenile Herring gulls are not uncommon, but adults are, thus I have this ID problem. So this is a herring gull? regards~Bill

 

[onlybill]

I forgot to add that this was a very large gull, twice the size(I'd guess) of a ring-bill. regards~Bill

 

[Gentoo]

It's not a Yellow-Footed Gull. The bill is actually still too small and straight edged for that. My guess would likely be a Chandeleur Gull. There are a few of them drifting around the gulf coast. The eye looks very Herring Gull like and the shape of the bill seems right in the middle as well as the mantel shade.

 

[Jim M.]

This is most likely a Herring Gull, and nothing like a Lesser Black Backed or anything like that? The lighting wasn't too good today so the back looks a lot darker than in my guide books. Here on the Gulf Coast juvenile Herring gulls are not uncommon, but adults are, thus I have this ID problem. So this is a herring gull? regards~Bill

Hi Bill,

For future reference, Herring Gulls almost always have pink legs. So the leg color here pretty much rules out Herring Gull, even before you get into more subtle things like mantle shade and structure.

Regarding Herring x Kelp hybrid (which Gentoo suggested), Gulls of the Americas states:

Interbreeding of these two species has been reported from Louisiana since the 1990s..., and hybrids probably range throughout the Gulf of Mexico and perhaps the Caribbean.

The presumed F1 hybrid adults resemble Lesser Black-backed Gull (graellsii subspecies) or Yellow-footed Gull in their slaty gray upperparts... they tend to be similar in size and structure to Kelp Gulls, with swollen-tipped bills, yellow to greenish yellow legs, and orange orbital rings.
​

This description seems to match this bird. Sibley's indicates that Yellow-footed Gull has a bright yellow orbital ring. The orbital ring on the subject bird appears to be orange or red.

Best,
Jim

 

[JANJ]

Very graellsii LBBG like exept for the bill, which is to heavy for LBBG!

So the hybrid suggestion seem very relevant.

JanJ

 

[Steve Gross]

This would be a good bird to post to TEXBIRDS, so that other TX birders might have a chance to see and document it.

Where was this photo taken?

www.texbirds.org

 

[onlybill]

Steve: photo taken on the beach south of the Quintana Jetty (Bryan Beach) Sept 7, 2008. There was only one such bird. If you would like to download and post this photo on TEXBIRDS you have my permission to do so. Say, you ever hang around at Anahuac NWR?
regards~Bill

I used google to check out Chandleur Gulls, and it appears one was observed in 1998 pretty much exactly where I saw this bird (Quintana), and there was the same yellow-footed etc. confusion as well at first. Starting to look like I have an ID. Thanks

 

[bitterntwisted]

Cool Bird! More on Chandeleur Gulls here... http://www.aba.org/birding/v37n3p266.pdf