at Ocean Shores, WA; March 14, 1998
photos courtesy of Ryan Shaw, copyright 1999
comments by Steve Hampton
Fig 1) That's a Western Gull in the background. The short primary extension and bulk of the bird puts it firmly in the large large-gull camp; not Iceland at all. The head shape seems like Gl-W, but the bill shape favors Glaucous. The bill color is intermediate, and extreme for either in first winter. Because it's March, I'm tempted to say it's a washed out Gl-W, but this is extreme, and the fine patterning on the coverts and cross-hatching on the scapulars, as well as the white tertials with a few subterm marks, all look very trademark Glaucous to me. I'd even bet it was a darker bird but is now a bit faded.
