After departing Mokane a bit after 5 Am, I pulled into The first parking lot south of Sailboat Cove at Creve Couer Park at 6:58 Am. Sunlight had not yet hit the water or even the trees on the opposite (west shore).At least 3,000 gulls were on the lake many not too far out.
After getting the scope set up, I started at the north end of the birds and soon found the bird in question. However, I suspect every bird was in flight within 1-2 minutes. By this time the light was on treetops on the far shore.
I was easily able to see the dark back, large and prominent tertial crescents, and the small rounded head with the small yellow bill which was distinctly lacking a black ring. The bird was facing NW. I had little more than one minute to study the bird.!@!
As I readjusted the scope cover, nearly every single birds suddenly flew up as if startled by a Bald Eagle. No Eagles were in the air. About 300 gulls turned back toward the surface of the water , but not that bird....
As I had hoped to study the primaries with the patterns in particular on P8-P5. I feel this mission was a failure- Much like the Slaty-backed Gull long ago. For those of you who know the involvement I had with that bird- you will know what i mean.
Several people shared images last night with me, and I had my Sony 4k camera with me which is capable of shooting 120 frames of 4k per second (even in fairly poor light).
The distance was not so bad, but the timing was horrible.
At least the bird is still in the area. So perhaps more details can be uncovered. Since I was able to study the Short-billed Gull at Riverlands on Jan 31, 2024, I wanted to help unlock the ID which seems uncertain between, L. brachyrynchus, L. kamchatkensis (sp?) and the possibility of a very dark L. canus.
While the bird in question is far darker than all nearby Ringbills, I was still thinking it was lighter than a Lesser Black-back. This is very intriguing. I have spent quite a bit of time in the Pacific Northwest the last few years- and time in winter France too. This bird is dark compared to 80-90% of any Mew type gulls. My study of this complex has not yet gone deep enough to make any better or more helpful statements at this time.
My aging father in Minnesota requires my company- so the stage is set for some enterprising young birders to clinch this ID.... :) And that is how it should be! Best,
Tim B. Mokane, MO
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