Rare Bird Report 4-A-08

IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES:  Heermann's Gull

HOW MANY:  One, third cycle, winter plumage

REPORTER: 
Chuck Trost, 225 N. Lincoln
Pocatello, ID 83204
208-233-4538
REPORTER EMAIL:  trostchuck@cableone.net

OTHER OBSERVERS:  Harry Krueger

DATE REPORT PREPARED:  11-23-08

DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:  11-7-08

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:
Snake River 1/4th mile below Am. Falls dam, north side, sitting on a rock, about 1/2 mile from American Falls, ID.

HABITAT:  Snake River edge

CONDITIONS:  Seven minutes between 1330-1337hrs.  Clear, calm, 60F, 50 yards from bird, sun to the west, Kowa 15-60X80mm scope, Swarovski 8.5X42mm bins. 

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:  Yes, later the same day

DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:  Yes, later the same day

WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:  The new Peterson guide to all of N. Am, Sibley's guide to N. Am., and Howell and Dunn's Gulls of the Americas.

DESCRIPTION:   It was a gull, Laridae, smaller than nearby juvenile Herring Gulls, about the side of a California Gull.  It was dark gray on the mantle and wings, with white tips of the secondaries showing as a crescent on the otherwise dark back, the legs and feet were black, the tail was black, but I didn't notice the white tip, the head was gray (not white) and it had light, split eyering above and below the eyes, The bill was bright orange/red, with a black tip. The chest, breast and belly were gray, lighter colored than the mantle.

BEHAVIOR:  Resting on a rock.  I took my eyes off it for a moment to look ar the nearby Herring Gulls, and when I looked back it was gone.  I didn't see it in flight.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?
Recognized immediately by both of us - the bright colored bill and dark back were diagnostic.

HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?
The size and color eliminated other species.

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES): 
 I have seen it in Oregon, California, Baja, Oaxaca,  Mexico, and in Honduras.

GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:    I've been birding for over 50 years and consider myself fairly experienced.

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?: 
None