Glaucous Gull in St. Louis County
2009-11-21

Uncommon in St. Louis County in the Fall season

This first-cycle Glaucous Gull represented one of eight species of gulls observed by Mike Hendrickson and Peder H. Svingen between 1:35 and 3:05 PM at the Superior Entry, 21 November 2009. Most unusual was a first-cycle California Gull spotted by Mike on the Minnesota breakwall at 1:50 PM. The other seven species were seen on both sides of the state line. Our totals for the afternoon included 19 Ring-billed Gulls, 512 Herring Gulls, 8 first-cycle and 3 adult Thayer's Gulls, 2 first-cycle and one adult Iceland Gulls, a first-cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull, three first-cycle Glaucous Gulls, and one first-cycle, one second-cycle, and one adult Great Black-backed Gulls. Later that same afternoon, we joined Karl Bardon, Jane Hosking, and Andrew Longtin at Canal Park and saw an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, two more Glaucous Gulls (one of these in second-cycle plumage), and another adult Great Black-backed Gull.

Digital image by Peder H. Svingen, Nikon Coolpix P80, f5.6, ISO 64.