When:

Who:

Where:

County:

Location:

Exact Site:
Presque Isle State Park at the west pier

Details: (To view more text, grab the lower-right corner of a field to widen or lengthen the box)

For older records, view original documentation here.

How Many:

Age/Plumage/Sex:
adult in basic plumage

Habitat:
over open water

Distance from bird:
200 to 300 yards

Viewing Conditions:
good

Optics Used:
Kowa TSN 884 Prominar spotting scope from 20X to 60X

Description:
While scanning the numerous gulls flying over Presque Isle Bay I spotted a gull flying directly towards me about 200 to 300 yards out. I recognized it as something different by the way it flew. It then turned and I immediately recognized it as an adult Black-headed Gull. It was like a larger version of an adult Bonaparte's Gull, and slightly smaller than the nearby Ring-billed Gulls. The most obvious field mark was the black under primaries. The bird was in basic plumage so the head was all white with a black smudge behind the eye. The nape was white, which is gray in Bonaparte's Gulls. The bill appeared to be all dark. The mantle and upperwings were pale gray with white outer forewing wedge and trailing black edge to tips of primaries, noticeably lighter than the nearby adult Ring-billed Gulls. I saw the bird three times and all looks were rather brief. Whenever I took my eyes off of the gull, I was not able to find it again among the many gulls flying with it, so I could not obtain any photos. Fortunately I was able to get Jennifer on the bird and she was able to snag a couple of pics before we lost it again. I spent about another hour looking for the gull after Jennifer left, but was not able to find it.

Behavior:
Mainly flying around with a mix of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls. On one occasion it dropped down to the water and grabbed a small fish

Separation from similar species:
See in description section above.

How positive are you about the identification:
Yes. Separated from adult Bonaparte's Gull, which is the only gull similar, by larger size, upperside paler, and most importantly black under primaries. I have seen several others over the past few years mainly at Presque Isle.

References:

During the observation:
none

After the observation:
none

Media: