Lesser Black-backed Gull on Baseline Reservoir
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Jeff Parks
Feb 29, 2016, 12:24:35 PM2/29/16
to Colorado Birds
Hi all -
On the 25th of February, David Waltman photographed a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull on Baseline Reservoir. Since I pass by there frequently, I decided to go take a look this weekend. There is a little sand bank on the southwest part of the reservoir that gulls like, easily seen from Cherryvale Road. After getting the scope set up, I observed a gull flying around with dark grey on the top side of the wings. Of course, it headed for the other side of the reservoir. After ten or fifteen minutes, it came back towards me, and landed close to the shore near the group of ringbills. I got a pretty good look at it, but it was not the same bird that David had photographed. I took a few photos through my scope with my cell phone, although they did not completely capture the details. The red spot on the beak appears dark in my pictures, but the darker grey back clearly shows when compared to the ringbills. It was most cooperative, staying put for about fifteen minutes so I could get a good look. It then took off to chase some other gulls that were bringing up crawfish.
David's eBird list, with photos - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27818844
My eBird list, with lesser quality photos - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27867008
On another note, there has been a pretty good showing of hooded mergansers on the reservoir for the last couple of weeks. One day, I counted 33 of them, which ebird flagged as a high count for the date/location. The goldeneyes seem to be happy here as well, and a decent sized flock of redheads has been present for the last week or so.
Happy birding -
Jeff Parks
Boulder, CO
On the 25th of February, David Waltman photographed a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull on Baseline Reservoir. Since I pass by there frequently, I decided to go take a look this weekend. There is a little sand bank on the southwest part of the reservoir that gulls like, easily seen from Cherryvale Road. After getting the scope set up, I observed a gull flying around with dark grey on the top side of the wings. Of course, it headed for the other side of the reservoir. After ten or fifteen minutes, it came back towards me, and landed close to the shore near the group of ringbills. I got a pretty good look at it, but it was not the same bird that David had photographed. I took a few photos through my scope with my cell phone, although they did not completely capture the details. The red spot on the beak appears dark in my pictures, but the darker grey back clearly shows when compared to the ringbills. It was most cooperative, staying put for about fifteen minutes so I could get a good look. It then took off to chase some other gulls that were bringing up crawfish.
David's eBird list, with photos - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27818844
My eBird list, with lesser quality photos - http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27867008
On another note, there has been a pretty good showing of hooded mergansers on the reservoir for the last couple of weeks. One day, I counted 33 of them, which ebird flagged as a high count for the date/location. The goldeneyes seem to be happy here as well, and a decent sized flock of redheads has been present for the last week or so.
Happy birding -
Jeff Parks
Boulder, CO
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