[cobirds] Re: Huerfano County Update: Lesser Black-backed Gull

Well done Polly!

On Sunday, December 6, 2020 at 3:01:19 PM UTC-7 Polly Wren wrote:

Hello birders,

As the day was so beautiful and calm, Paul and I decided to walk around Martin Lake at Lathrop State Park. It was dead quiet all around the lake. No sparrows, chickadees, bushtits, flickers, robins, solitaires, scrub-jays, nuthatches, woodpeckers...it was weird. 

We did have one Black-billed Magpie

A handful of Ravens on the ice

A whopping 2 Dark-eyed Juncos

1 Bald Eagle on the ice

1 Red-tailed Hawk

There was a good assortment of waterfowl...but just the usual suspects...

Common Goldeneye

Mallard

Canada Geese

Common and Hooded Merganser

Gadwall

Redhead

Bufflehead

American Wigeon

Pied-billed and Clark's/Western Grebe

Amongst a large grouping of Ring-billed Gulls we noticed one very dark-backed gull. When it finally lifted its head and eventually stood up...we were able to see the pale eye, with dense streaking around the eye. Bright yellow bill with red dot...it even yawned and allowed us to see its bright red-orange gape. It was slightly larger than the nearby Ring-Billed Gulls. Bright yellow legs make us confident it was Lesser Black-Backed Gull!  I have some verrrrry distant poor shots. This is a rare bird for us down this far South and in the back of beyond. It turned out the be the bird of the day. 

Paul and Polly Neldner

La Veta, CO 

From Polly's iPad

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