Sabine's Gulls galore!

[Joey Kellner]

19 Sabine's Gulls are currently on Chatfield Reservoir.  All but one are in immature plumage.

Small gulls riding high on the water, and have attenuated back ends.

1adult (black hood, yellow tip to bill), plus
18(!) immatures.

All were picking things off the top of the water and doing short flights; the distinctive three "triangle" panels of three colors on the upper wing was obvious.

Joey.

Joey Kellner
Littleton, Colorado
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[Buzz Schaumberg]

Got it, thanks!

Sent from the all new Aol app for iOS

Buzz Schaumberg 

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[Brenda Beatty]

Can you tell me where at chat field??

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[Charlie Chase]

Tell everyone if possible though of course with 19 they  are probably everywhere.

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[Brenda Beatty]

I didn't see them😔

[Joey Kellner]

22 Sabine's Gulls this morning at Chatfield (1ad, 21 imm) as well as 15 Franklin's Gulls (watch for the partial black hoods on the newly arrived FRGUs).

Likely other lakes in the area are seeing one or more Sabine's.

If coming to Chatfield, it's best to come when the water is like glass or nearly so and to park at the Lakeview parking lot, which is by the B and C Loop Campground.

[Andrews Robert]

Hello all,

The reports of 19 and 22 Sabine’s Gulls at Chatfield is quite intriguing, along with other reports in recent years of multiple numbers. When I started birding in Colorado in the late 1960s, finding even one Sabine’s Gull at Chatfield or Cherry Creek was a treat. Seeing them in September or October at local lakes was expected, but only singly or occasionally two. One could visit those lakes in the fall and maybe see only one or two for the whole season. But in recent years, larger numbers are being reported; perhaps 22 is record? I am not sure when larger numbers started to be observed, but for the 60s, 70s, and probably 80s there were many fewer birds.

The common question that arises is: have they been there all along and people have missed seeing them, or is there a genuine increase in numbers or a shift in distribution? This is often a hard question to answer definitively. But Sabine’s Gulls are typically conspicuous enough that it would have been virtually impossible to miss 19 or 22 at those lakes in previous years. So it seems there has been an increase in numbers and/or a shift in the migration route. One wonders what might be causing that.

Bob Andrews

Yekepa, Nimba Co., Liberia, West Africa

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[Brandon]

I think there are 8-10 Sabine's Gulls at least at Pueblo Reservoir this morning, also Parasitic Jaeger and Red-necked Grebe.

Brandon K. Percival
Pueblo West

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