Herring Gull: that name covers a lot of stuff

A flotilla of Herring Gulls (mostly) floats in Lake Erie near downtown Cleveland. Quite a diverse crew, eh? Someone new to gulling could be excused for thinking them all to be different species.

It takes a Herring Gull about four years to achieve its adult plumage, and every age class floats in the scene above. The dark brown birds are first and second-cycle gulls; they'll become cleaner, neater, and grayer and whiter with age.

A young (second-cycle [I think]) Herring Gull protects its bloody shad by loudly bugling at some interloper.

Leg color can be an important identification characteristic; generally speaking, Herring Gulls have pink legs. I believe this is a first-cycle bird, with neatly patterned wing coverts and mostly dark bill.

On the day that I was at East 72nd Street - other posts from that trip HERE, and HERE - the bird in the center left of the photo grabbed everyone's eye. For one, it is already in its breeding finery, with gleaming white head and neck, none of the dirty brown mottling that winter-plumaged Herring Gulls should still be retaining.

There was much debate about its identity, and we'll come back to that momentarily.

This fellow sticks out like a sore thumb - an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, with its charcoal-gray mantle. The only likely source of confusion on Lake Erie, barring oddball hybrids, is Great Black-backed Gull. But adult Great Black-backeds are nearly black above, significantly larger, and do not develop the copious brown mottling on the head and neck.

Lesser Black-backed Gull is essentially part of the Herring Gull complex, and this closely allied species regularly hybridizes with Herring Gulls. Ohio did not record its first Lesser Black-backed until 1977, but the numbers of this European species have skyrocketed since. Along with them have come more records of apparent hybrids.

Back to the weirdo bird of two photos ago. Here we have the Lesser Black-backed Gull bookended by two Herring Gulls, and Mystery Gull is in the backdrop. This juxtaposition of these animals allows us to carefully compare mantle color. The Herrings are the palest gray, the Lesser Black-backed is jarringly dark in comparison, and Mystery Gull is somewhat in between.

At the time, in the field, we felt that it must be a hybrid, possibly between Lesser Black-backed and Herring. Later, I saw a note posted to the Ohio Birds Listserv by John Pogacnik, who was there later and saw the bird. John put forth the theory that it might be a Vega Gull, which is a largely Asian subspecies of the Herring Gull, and is treated as its own species elsewhere in the world.

I delved into the literature, and agreed that John might be onto something. The Kodak Gray Scale is used as a gauge for determining mantle color in gulls to a somewhat exacting degree, and according to Steve Howell in his book Gulls of the Americas, Vega Gull should read a 7-8 on the Kodak scale, versus a 4-5 for (American) Herring Gull. That seemed to match our bird.

However, there seemed to be problems with pigeonholing this animal as a Vega Gull. For one, it appears to have a mostly pale eye - Vega should be mostly dark - and the mantle is probably a bit on the dark side. What to do?

Find an expert. A major shortcoming for us who spend most of our time in the midwestern U.S. is that we just don't see or gain familiarity with Vega Gull. John pointed me to an excellent article detailing the Vega Gull, HERE, by Chris Gibbins. Dr. Gibbins spent time looking at scores of Vega Gulls in Japan, where they are common, and exhaustively documented and described what he saw.

I sent Chris a series of images of our mystery bird, and received a reply in short order. In a nutshell, he did not think it to be Vega, due to the darker mantle, pale eye, and wing pattern. He also noted that, if it were a Vega, it should still have a dirty brown head and neck as the bird still should be in winter plumage. Perhaps most importantly, his overall initial impression was not of a Vega Gull, and that means something coming from someone who has taken the time and effort to carefully study the species in the field.

So, to us at least, the gull remains a mystery. Here it is again, sandwiched between an adult Herring Gull, and an adult Great Black-backed Gull. I find the mystery bird to be very bull-necked in appearance and fairly stout overall - could one of its parents be a Great Black-backed Gull, if not a generation or two removed?

Sometimes, and this is very dissatisfying to some of us birders, a label just cannot confidently be placed on certain birds. But perhaps you know what this Mystery Gull is. If so, please do tell.

When stumped by oddball Herring Gulls and their ilk, I can take solace in this quote from Steve Howell's Gulls of the Americas: "The Herring Gull complex... constitutes one of the most problematic issues in contemporary avian taxonomy". Couple that statement with the large white-headed gulls' penchant for mating with other species, and we sometimes end up with weirdo birds that'll drive you up the wall.

I promise to steer clear of gulls for a while.

Kirtland Bird Club - Wednesday night

A late fall storm clears out of Lake Erie at Fairport Harbor, Ohio. The five Great Lakes are among the most dynamic and diverse freshwater aquatic systems on the globe, and support a staggering amount of biodiversity. Collectively, lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior harbor 20% of the world's fresh water, and it takes a drop of water entering the system at Superior's upper end 320 years to travel through the system.

I get to travel to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History this Wednesday evening, and present a program on the Great Lakes to the Kirtland Bird Club. We'll take a virtual trip through the Great Lakes, and circle back to the most diverse lake of them all, Erie, which sits but a few miles to the north of where we'll be gathering.

Should you find yourself in Cleveland or vicinity this Wednesday, feel free to stop by. The meeting commences at 7:30, and the Kirtland Bird Club welcomes guests. If you're around earlier, be sure and explore the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which is full of fascinating exhibits and is a true state and national treasure.

Some more gulls, and beautiful creatures they are

An adult Ring-billed Gull with gizzard shad. Like a kid in a candy shop. This and the following photos were made last Saturday at Cleveland's East 72nd Street park on Lake Erie. There, the shad pile up in the wake of a power plant's warm water effluvia like scaley locusts in an aquatic wheat field. Unfortunately for the nonnative shad, most die and are consigned to be expelled as gull guano.

At most seasons and in most areas in Ohio, the Ring-billed Gull is, if not the default gull, certainly the most common. This adult in flight shows its clean white tail, and mostly black outer primaries. Of course, that black ring around the bill is a pretty good clue to its identity. The bird is in winter plumage, as indicated by the light brown flecking on the head and neck. As it enters breeding condition in spring, those areas will become bright white.

This is a "second cycle" Ring-billed Gull. When "cycle" is applied to a gull, it indicates a distinct plumage sequence within a series of molts. All gulls take multiple years to attain full adult plumage, which is one of the reasons that they're confusing to identify. Different ages of the same species can look like completely different species.

Ring-billed gulls require about three years to achieve fully adult plumage, as in the birds in the previous two photos. This second cycle animal differs from an adult in its almost entirely black wingtips, and the prominent black terminal tail band.

This is the largest gull that you'll see on Lake Erie, or anywhere in the world. It is a Great Black-backed Gull, and one of these bruisers weighs three times as much as a Ring-billed Gull. The "GBBG" in the photo is a first cycle bird - mostly brown but showing the semblance of a dark mantle on the back. The head and neck are suffused with a dirty brown wash. Note the gargantuan bill.

I suspect that this Great Black-backed Gull is a second cycle bird. Its mantle is darkening up, and shows less of he checkerboard pattern caused by the copious white flecking of a younger bird.

No problem telling an adult Great Black-backed Gull, with its sooty-black upperparts and giant size. These birds are so large that nonbirders sometimes mistake them for Bald Eagles. The individual in this photo would be at least four years old - it takes that many years to achieve fully adult plumage. If it makes it to this stage, it could live for a long time. The oldest known wild bird lived for nearly three decades, and some of the large gull species probably manage to survive for far longer than that.

Big, pale, and ghostly, a Glaucous Gull sticks out like a sore thumb. This is another big boy, second in size and scale only to the Great Black-backed Gull. The Glaucous dwarfs the adult Ring-billed Gull directly behind it. Most of the other birds in the shot are Herring Gulls of various ages. The Herring Gull complex is an interesting group, and we found a real oddball Herringwhatever in this crowd. More on that later.

This is a first cycle Glaucous Gull, with dingy white plumage throughout, no obvious gray mantle differentiation, and a dark eye. Glaucous are among the "white-winged gulls", which includes the Iceland Gull. These Arctic-breeding birds of the far north lack, or mostly lack, dark pigment in the wingtips as can be seen on this bird.

They don't call 'em white-winged gulls for nothing. Glaucous Gulls are always a treat to find. While they are regular along Lake Erie in winter, we don't get very many. They're big, fierce animals capable of domineering the lesser gulls. This is another "four-year" gull - like the Great Black-backed Gull, it takes a Glaucous that long to reach maturity. This was the only of its kind at East 72nd on this day, so I was unable to make images of other age classes. But they look large, white, and cool no matter their age.

New moth discovered for U.S.!

Photo: Rick Nirschl

Ohioan Rick Nirschl, who migrates south to Texas for the winters, has done it again. This time it's a moth species that he's added to his ever growing stable of United States firsts, which include dragonflies and a bird. CLICK HERE for more on Nirschl finds.

While patrolling the National Butterfly Garden in Mission, Texas, Nirschl noticed and photographed the shiny animal in the photo. It turned out to be Napata leucotelus (no common name insofar as I am aware), which has not previously been documented north of the border. It belongs to the huge family Arctiidae, or the tiger moths, and is in subfamily Ctenuchinae. Moth enthusiasts may notice its similarity to a related species common in these parts, the Virginia Ctenucha, Ctenucha virginica.

Napata leucotelus ranges widely throughout Mexico, Central America, and into at least northern South America. South Texas, where Nirschl made this find, has proven to be highly productive for finding southern moths and butterflies previously unknown in the United States. The proliferation of planted gardens specifically designed to attract Lepidoptera, and the ever-increasing sophistication of skilled observers such as Nirschl, have led to numerous new U.S. finds in recent years. Congrats to Rick, and I suspect this won't be his last major find.

For a major mothing adventure closer to home - at least if you live in or near Ohio - check out Mothapalooza, RIGHT HERE.

Major Gull-fest on Lake Erie

The fabled East 72nd Street park, along Cleveland's Lake Erie shoreline. This site is one of the best places to seek gulls in the Great Lakes, and North America for that matter. And why, you might ponder, would anyone in their right mind want to chase after "sea gulls"? Well, because gulls (decidedly NOT "sea gulls"!) are among the coolest, most visually stunning, aerobatic, and interesting of any of our bird families. Throw in the fun, and at times majorly vexing, identification challenges and the ever-present possibility of a major rarity, and what's not to like?

Reports of massive gull concentrations were coming hot and heavy from E. 72nd last week, and I could finally stand it no more. So, last Saturday I departed from Columbus at O'dark:thirty and arrived in Cleveland bright and early.

Intrepid birders scan the waters. This type of birding is not for the fair weather binocular-toter. Gulling is at its best when frigid temperatures have caused Lake Erie to ice over, and the hot waters (more on that in a bit) is the only open water in the immediate vicinity. It wasn't so bad this morning, actually - temps were in the low 20's, and the wind was fairly mild.

This video reveals a bit of the ambiance of gull-choked waters. The scene is one of constant cacophony and action, as the gulls loaf, fight, fly, spar, and bugle. It's a bit like packing thousands of thugs, all representing rival gangs, into a small room.

This power plant, located across I-90, is the reason that E. 72nd is so good for wintertime gulling. As part of its operations, the plant discharges warm water into Lake Erie, which causes a sizable open water area to form, even in the coldest weather. The warm water also attracts scads and scads of a fish species known as Gizzard Shad, Dorosoma cepedianum. The shad are not native to the lake, and fair poorly when water temperatures plummet. They're easy pickings for the opportunistic gulls, who make the most of the fishy bounty.

It's always worth scanning the tops of the power plant's stacks. The broad-shouldered lump on the left side of the stack is one of the local Peregrine Falcons. All is as tranquil as can be in gull land as long as the falcons remain dormant. When one makes a pass over the waters - they feed on gulls and ducks - hold on to your hat! Pandemonium is likely to ensue.

It doesn't take an ornithologist to determine when a falcon is afoot. Most of the gulls explode skyward, creating a fabulous visual spectacle. Last Saturday, there were perhaps 20-30,000 gulls in the immediate area; certainly enough to create a cloud when spooked. Die-hard Cleveland birders were tallying as many as 100,000 a few days prior!

Although it is exciting when a falcon or perhaps a Bald Eagle sends everyone aloft, it is often maddening for the birder. It takes a lot of time to scope through the masses, and some tricky individual gulls require detailed study. When you've found something especially noteworthy, say an Iceland Gull, and all of a sudden the birds explode into the air like 20,000 pieces of confetti caught up in a hurricane, it can be a chore to relocate the bird when they all settle back down.

The shot above reveals a taste of the interesting gulling that E. 72nd can offer. Most of the birds are Herring Gulls of various ages, along with a few Ring-billed Gulls. These two species are far and away the most common, with Herrings often dominating when weather conditions are at their most brutal and wintry. There are also a few Great Black-backed Gulls, and a Glaucous Gull.

When there are so many birds constantly milling about, photographers all too often end up with shots like this. I was after a first-cycle Herring Gull when this Ring-billed Gull had the bad manners to fly right in front of my camera. The intended subject can be seen as a brown lump with a foot sticking out, directly below the offending gull.

I clicked off 1,450 images this day, and a few of them were keepers. Gulls are lots of fun to photograph, and I'll share some of my images of specific species, including a few of the rare species, in later posts.

This turned out to be a fun shot. I was after the bird in the direct center of the shot, with the bright yellow bill and gleaming white head and neck. It turned out to be the most interesting gull there, and I'll share more about it later. When I reviewed this image later, I was pleased to see that I had inadvertently captured a young Herring Gull kamikaze'ing at the water in a very steep angle of attack. Gulls are extraordinary aeronauts and spectacular aerobatics are just part of their daily routines. I sometimes wonder, as Jonathan Livingstone Seagull's cohorts failed to do, if they realize just how good they really are. Regardless of what thoughts or consciousness streams through the minds of gulls, they sure are fun to watch.

More on the gulls of Lake Erie to follow.

Quite the cardinal, this one!

Photo: Bruce Hayes

Every now and again, the common becomes decidedly uncommon, and that's certainly the case with this Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis. Bruce and Mary Hayes, who live in northwestern Franklin County, Ohio, glanced out their window and were stunned to see this cream and pink showstopper hitting the bird bath. Bruce managed a few photos before the oddball cardinal took flight, not to be seen again.

This Northern Cardinal is leucistic, and I've written about this pigment abnormality numerous times, such as HERE. In fact, CLICK HERE to see a very similar cardinal, which Paul Hurtado found about a year ago elsewhere in Franklin County. Paul's bird is nearly a match for this one, although he found it about four or five miles away. Could it be the same bird? I'm not sure.

Thanks to Mary and Bruce for sharing their find with us!

Lake Erie birding

An intrepid crew of birders endures temperatures in the low 20's (F) to scan for rare gulls at Cleveland's East 72nd Street park. A nearby power plant releases warm water into Lake Erie at this point, creating an opening in otherwise frozen Lake Erie.

I did over 350 miles yesterday, exploring a couple of Lake Erie's best wintertime birding haunts. The Canon was click-clicking away, to the tune of 1,450 images. Most are NOT keepers; some are, but I've not yet separated the wheat from the chaff.

A Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, glares at your narrator. It was one of a half-dozen species of gulls seen, along with a few oddballs who at least for now shall have to remain nameless.

I'll have a fuller accounting of this trek, along with more photos, in the near future.