Annoying Gulls Part 2

[BAL Land]

Orange County California, coastal. 
Thanks!

 

Bird 1. Glaucous winged or Olympic?

 

Bird 2. 
 

Bird 3. Olympic? 
 

bird 4. 

 

bird 5. Thayers?

[Birding Boy]

No wingtip shots for bird #5 🥹? Not sure if I’d call it a Thayer’s…structure doesn’t look super off though.

[AlexHenry]

Birds 2 and 5 look good for Thayer’s to me.

Birds 1 and 3, I think we would need additional angles to identify them. Bird 1 is not a pure Glaucous-winged, but some sort of hybrid.

Bird 4 I could see as Herring or Western.

[IKLland]

5 minutes ago, AlexHenry said:

Birds 2 and 5 look good for Thayer’s to me.

Birds 1 and 3, I think we would need additional angles to identify them. Bird 1 is not a pure Glaucous-winged, but some sort of hybrid.

Bird 4 I could see as Herring or Western.

Thanks!! Interesting. I called bird 2 Olympic. What rules that out?

[AlexHenry]

25 minutes ago, IKLland said:

Thanks!! Interesting. I called bird 2 Olympic. What rules that out?

Could be Olympic, I guess. Not definitely a Thayer’s at least. Tough to tell without having other gulls nearby for size and shape comparison.

To me the structure, especially bill structure, and plumage seem more consistent with Herring/Thayer’s type. I could see it as a Cook Inlet rather than Thayer’s.

Of course you should take any ID based on a single photo of a gull with a huge grain of salt. It’s really much easier to identify them in the field when you can study their size and structure relative to other nearby birds, study the plumage on the tail and spread wings better, etc.

Edited November 21 by AlexHenry

[IKLland]

22 minutes ago, AlexHenry said:

Could be Olympic, I guess. Not definitely a Thayer’s at least. Tough to tell without having other gulls nearby for size and shape comparison.

To me the structure, especially bill structure, and plumage seem more consistent with Herring/Thayer’s type. I could see it as a Cook Inlet rather than Thayer’s.

Of course you should take any ID based on a single photo of a gull with a huge grain of salt. It’s really much easier to identify them in the field when you can study their size and structure relative to other nearby birds, study the plumage on the tail and spread wings better, etc.

Thanks. I’m really trying to learn the gulls better and found a really great spot to do so-I found a Franklin’s there Friday!https://ebird.org/checklist/S154654727

Here’s the list from yesterday. https://ebird.org/checklist/S154884737
 

This has been historically known as a great gulling spot but for some odd reason in recent years, it’s been birded less. Really great spot for gulls-nice creek mouth with great viewing. 

[AlexHenry]

Yeah, gulls are tough. Unfortunately a lot of birders use that as an excuse to avoid them, rather than taking the time to learn them.

It seems like one of the most important skills with gulls is knowing when to not identify a bird. So while it’s a good practice to ask about confusing birds (that’s how we learn, after all), don’t assume the answers you get are accurate if you aren’t sure yourself! Just identify the birds you can and don’t be afraid to leave them unidentified if you aren’t sure.

[Charlie Spencer]

10 hours ago, AlexHenry said:

Unfortunately a lot of birders use that as an excuse to avoid them, rather than taking the time to learn them.

Man, let me get shorebirds down first!  I have a lot more of them than I do East coast gulls.

[DLecy]

The birding gods don’t appreciate it when you call gulls annoying, FYI.

[lonestranger]

1 hour ago, DLecy said:

The birding gods don’t appreciate it when you call gulls annoying, FYI.

I guess it's a good thing that I didn't confirm @IKLland's IDs as all being annoying Gulls then.  🤫

[Jerry Friedman]

23 hours ago, DLecy said:

The birding gods don’t appreciate it when you call gulls annoying, FYI.

The birding gods need to face facts.