Trip to Cape May

[sbruenjes]

I went to Cape May today, and have a lot of birds I'm trying to process. I'm not sure of what I have here.. Is this s tundra swan, herring gull (it was really a large gull), and I'm not sure what type of gull the last one is... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

 

[Aaron]

You’re right about the tundra. Gonna skip the gulls because well, they’re gulls. However, the last one might be Great Black-backed looking at that big bill. 

[AlexHenry]

The second photo is indeed a Herring Gull. In addition to the large size which you note, the pale golden iris is visible if you zoom in a bit - iris color can be helpful when IDing gulls.

The last photo is Black-backed Gulls. Not sure if they’re Lesser or Great - it’s been a while since I birded on the east coast!

[Seanbirds]

Bump.

[Phalarope713]

The last birds look fine for Great Black-backed. 

[IKLland]

19 hours ago, AlexHenry said:

The second photo is indeed a Herring Gull. In addition to the large size which you note, the pale golden iris is visible if you zoom in a bit - iris color can be helpful when IDing gulls.

The last photo is Black-backed Gulls. Not sure if they’re Lesser or Great - it’s been a while since I birded on the east coast!

Agreed