Maybe more Thayer's Gulls, Santa Cruz County, California, USA (1 Viewer)

[rkj]

These two juvenile gulls were both on the wharf at Santa Cruz, California, USA on 13 Feb 2009. Both are perched next to Western Gulls; the birds I am wondering about are the bird on the left in the first photo and the bird on the right in the second photo. Despite their differences in color - one is distinctly a colder shade of brown than the other - I think they are both Thayer's Iceland Gulls.

 

[KenM]

I’m thinking immature Western on the left and Thayer’s on the right.

Cheers

 

[rkj]

Thanks for your comment Ken. This might not be clear from the photos, but at the time both of the birds in question looked significantly smaller than the neighboring Western Gulls, and had smaller bills.