While looking for, and finding, the iconic Sabine's Gull at East Fork
Lake on Saturday, I also found another interesting gull. I haven't been
around the internet since then, so I'm just now reporting it. I stopped
by briefly this afternoon, and did not see it.

I'm 95% certain it was a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull. That would be
quite rare for southern Ohio, particularly this early in the fall. It's
a call that I'm comfortable with for my own records, although I probably
wouldn't report it if it were a review list bird.

I saw the gull about halfway across the lake from the south beach,
something over a quarter mile, through a Questar. In flight and at rest
on the water, it was massively larger than nearby Ring-billed Gulls, but
I didn't have a Herring Gull for direct comparison. The primaries and
secondaries were much darker than the lighter wing coverts, back and
underparts. The tail had a fairly narrow dark terminal band (the
rectrices were not entirely dark), contrasting with the rest of the tail
and the uppertail coverts. The scapulars and wing coverts had a sharp,
noticeable checkered pattern. The lower body was distinctly streaked,
not blurred. The head was gray, with a paler forehead and throat. The
bill was large, and appeared to be entirely dark (but perhaps with a
paler base). My overall impression was that the bird was dark gray,
rather than dark brown; but that's not certain.

--
--
Ned Keller
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