Now that I have Sibley in front of me, I'd say the bird corresponded best with the 2nd winter plumage: The darkish gray of the back and wings extended onto the sides of the breast and up the back of the neck to a darker bar which extended across the rear of the crown and down to the ears. The face and throat were whitish. There was enough gray around the eye to set off the narrow white arcs above and below the eye. The bill and legs were black. The wingtips, only seen at rest, were black. The size was definitely smaller than the nearby Ring-billed Gulls. In shape the head was relatively smaller and flatter than Ring-billeds. The body-and-wing profile was also long and slim compared to the Ring-billeds.
When I first saw it, the Laughing Gull was standing on the White Lighthouse jetty fairly far south. I think it was the southernmost gull. When a person climbed onto the jetty, the Laughing Gull flew east, dropping out of view, but later reappearing standing on the White Lighthouse Jetty considerably further north, and near some Ring-billed Gulls. At about 7:45 it flew again (the person was not to blame this time), again going east and dropping out of view as it took off, but I did not refind it. It was neither on the White Lighthouse Jetty nor obvious on the Red Lighthouse Breakwater, which had plenty of gulls and Caspian Terns. By then the light was pretty bad.
Gary Kohlenberg gets the prize for quick reactions. He made it over to Treman Marina in time to see the bird.
--Dave Nutter
On Sep 04, 2011, at 07:22 PM, [email protected] wrote:
CayugaRBA LAUGHING GULL is adult basic, not juv - sorry.
--Dave Nutter
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On Sep 04, 2011, at 07:16 PM, [email protected] wrote:
CayugaRBA LAUGHING GULL juv white lighthouse jetty 710pm
--Dave Nutter
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