#33-B-06

Idaho Bird Records Committee Rarities Report Form

(this form is available on www.idahobirds.net)

Reporter: (include address, phone, e-mail) Lisa Hardy

2153B Old River Rd.

Kingston, ID 83839

basalt@earthlink.net

Other Observers: Roland Craft

Date Report Prepared: 2 January 2005

Date Sighting Occurred: 2 January 2005

Locality of Observation: Harrison, ID: bird was located on south side of Coeur d'Alene River delta, viewed by scoping north from Harrison marina.

Habitat: lakeshore

Conditions: sunny, cold 25 F. Excellent light, distant view.

during the observation? yes

after the observation? ______________

later the same day? yes

What guide(s) or reference(s) did you consult? NG (4th ed.), Sibley, Audubon Master Guide, Grant (2nd ed.)

Description: Upperparts very dark gray, but a shade lighter than the black primaries. Smudging confined to head, especially around eye, and back and sides of neck. Probably light-colored eye. Yellow bill with red spot. Probably dull yellow legs. White primary tips.

Comparison with nearby gulls: Bird was in a group of about 25 Ring-billed Gulls. On the opposite side of the group was a Herring Gull. The bird was obviously larger than the Ring-bills, and about the same size as the Herring Gull. This was a fairly distant view, and though the lighting was excellent, I am not confident that I could distinguish the eye and leg color. I could clearly see the pink color of the Herring Gull's legs, so if this bird's legs were pink, they were a very washed-out, low-pigment level pink. The leg color was not distinguishable from the adjacent Ring-billed Gulls.

Behavior: Standing on mudflat, preening, loafing.

How and when did you positively identify the bird, and what clinched the identification for you? Identification suggested by looking in field guides for other adult dark gulls with yellow legs and head markings.

How did you eliminate similar species, and what were they? The possibilities for a gull this dark are Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, Western, Slaty-backed, Yellow-footed and Kelp Gulls. This individual was too small to be a Great Black-backed (which would be clearly larger than a Herring), and also showed contrast between upperparts and primaries. The bird had too much smudging on head and neck to be Western, Yellow-footed or Kelp. The lack of obviously pink feet suggests that this bird is not a Slaty-backed. Slaty-backed Gull is the only species not clearly eliminated.

Experience with this species (and similar species): liitle to none

General birding experience: intermediate

Were photo(s), video, and/or audio obtained by you? (If yes, please include or attach) no

Other comments: We spent only about 30 minutes observing this bird, as this was a CBC and we could not waste all day on it. The bird never flew. Shirley Sturts, Janet Callen and I tried to relocate the bird on January 3 without success.