Having some extra time today, I decided to head over to the Coxsackie area of Greene County, NY to do a little birding. While I was really hoping to run into a Short-eared Owl or two (which didn’t happen), I did have several nice surprises at the Coxsackie Boat Launch in the form of Larids, and totaled 5 species of gulls from this one site in 15 minutes.

Pulling into the parking lot and seeing nearly 200 gulls present, I had a feeling that I was going to find something other than the 3 usual suspects (Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed). Sure enough I was right! Within the first 60 seconds of scanning I was able to find 2 (of eventually 3) first winter ICELAND GULLS (Larus glaucoides), including the cooperative individual photographed below.

Looking at the photographed bird one can see the field marks that clearly make this individual an Iceland Gull: white primaries, patterned tertials, and small dark bill on a rounded head that gives it a gentle expression.

Several seconds after the photo above, the bird took flight clearly showing its white primaries as it flew away (below).

Another nice surprise, and another white-winged gull that was present at the boat launch today was a single juvenile GLAUCOUS GULL (Larus hyperboreus). It too was near shore, this time floating on a small pack of ice with several other birds. I first noticed it as I scanned when it bent into view using its strongly bicolored bill to probe at the ice. A quick glance at the bird’s primaries showed the clear white tips one would expect from a “White-winged gull” (below).

So with the presence of Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, on top of the three expected species, I was able to total 5 species of gulls at this one locale, making it perhaps one of my best days for gulls at a non-coastal site. I also had a good candidate for a Lesser Black-backed Gull, which would have brought the total to 6 species, but the individual in question flew off after only several seconds of observation.

While other birds of note were few, it was good to see the gulls in such numbers, particularly the presence of the white-winged species. I have tried for gulls at this location several other times this winter and have picked up Iceland on only one other occassion. However, to have 3 Icelands and 1 Glaucous present at one time with a possible Lesser Black-backed is more than anyone can ask for, especially with winter drawing to a close in several weeks.

~Chad (2/21/06)