About a thousand gulls were reported on Larimer County Christmas Bird Counts on Jan 1. On Saturday, Jan 2, I visited the Larimer landfill for gull viewing (check in at front gate for permission and parking instructions). Highlights included an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, juvenile Glaucous Gull and a small juvenile/first winter California Gull, plus some Herring Gulls and about a hundred Ring-billed Gulls. Most interesting was a putative 4th cycle Cook Inlet Gull (Glaucous-winged x American Herring), which in the field appeared as a Herring when sitting, and a Thayer's in flight. Photos told a different tale.
On Sunday afternoon, 3 January 2016, I watched gulls assemble for the nocturnal roost at Carter Lake's ice-free north end (fee area). Several hundred Ring-billed Gulls were accompanied by a dozen American Herring Gulls (mostly adults and a couple first-cycles), 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (a large first-cycle, a 3rd-cycle, 2 adults), 2 Glaucous (the juvenile and a magnificent adult), 1 juvenile Thayer's and the small 1st-cycle California. Birds were arriving from the south and the north. Telescope required at both sites (more so at Carter Lake).
Nick Komar
Fort Collins CO
Fort Collins CO
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