Larimer Laughing Gull

[Nick Komar]

Late this afternoon I headed to Loveland on a tip from Cole that a Purple Martin had been seen flying east at Madison and 29th Ave. I briefly searched this area. No Martin but I did find a Wild Turkey perched on a rooftop! Thinking the swallows may be swarming the lakes in the area, I headed to Boyd Lake State Park, which was quite birdy. Many Violet-green Swallows were foraging over the lake, but my attention was drawn to a flock of 600+ gulls (mostly Ring-billed) at the swim beach. The highlights here were:
Lesser Black-backed - 3 immature
LAUGHING GULL - 1 adult
Franklin's Gull - 5 including one partially albino that had entirely white back and wings, pink underparts and a gray hood!
Semipalmated Plover - 2

I did not have a decent camera with me, but Cole was able to arrive in time to get good shots of the Laughing Gull before it got too dark.

Nick Komar
Fort Collins CO

Sent from my iPhone