Re: [cobirds] Jaeger sp. , Boulder Res. , Boulder Co.

Thanks Christian!  It is very helpful to have as much expertise in Colorado as we do to help us non-experts who sometimes go down the wrong track with an ID. (Guilty as charged - I had incorrectly thought both Pomeraine and Parasitic before Long-Tailed).

Regards,

Mark Minner-Lee

Superior, CO

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 16, 2014, at 8:23 PM, Christian Nunes <pajaroboy@hotmail.com> wrote:

Dear Birders,

I went down to the north shore of Boulder Reservoir from around 5:15-6 pm this evening. For most of the time, the jaeger was sitting on the water just beyond the buoys. The bird wasn't all that big, noticeably smaller than a relatively adjacent Ring-billed Gull. The overall color tone was cold, especially noticeable on the head and neck. In good low afternoon light, there was sometimes a hint of brown in the  head/neck, but it wasn't as apparent as one would expect on a young Parasitic. It also lacked a pale crescent above the bill. The bill was slight and tipped with black, and I did not rely heavily upon the gray/dark ratio or bill shape at such a distance. There are better field marks to focus on. The back, scapulars, and wing coverts were all dark with pale yellowish tips, giving the bird a well-patterned look. The primaries were solid black with no pale tips. The under tail coverts were pale, almost white, with black bars. The wings were very long, extending well past the tip of the tail while sitting on the water. While floating, the caboose rode high in the water, and combined with the small size it gave the bird a very dainty and Sabine's Gull-esque feel. 

Eventually, the bird took off and made a few wide circles fairly close to the shore. In flight, one very bright white primary shaft was apparent, with a second fainter shaft being just visible. The rest of the flight feathers were distinctly dark from above. The auxilaries below were patterned with black-and-white, with no noticeable color. The belly was the palest part of the undercarriage, with the head and chest being darker and the barred under tail coverts contrasting as well. 

All of these details make me settle upon a juvenile intermediate-morph LONG-TAILED JAEGER as the likely identification. No photos to corroborate, but maybe others obtained some. 

Thanks,

Christian Nunes

Boulder, CO

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CC: cobirds@googlegroups.com
From: markrminnerlee@gmail.com
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Jaeger sp. , Boulder Res. , Boulder Co.
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 18:00:32 -0600
To: goldeneagle90a@gmail.com

At Boulder Res right now and Jaeger took flight towards SE corner.  Looks to be a Juv Pomeraine Jaeger based on rounded tail, bulky bill, and noticeable hook to bill but didn't see it in flight long enough to see underwing/upperwing clearly.

Would appreciate clarification from anyone else who sees it.

Regards,

Mark Minner-Lee

Superior, CO

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 16, 2014, at 3:24 PM, Todd Deininger <goldeneagle90a@gmail.com> wrote:

NE corner, found by David Dowell

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