Over the years, there are certain gulls that been identified as individuals, but have never been identified to species. Ole' One Foot, a dark-mantled gull that returned for multiple years to the same piling in Alabama was one such mystery gull. Another was the "1974 Brigantine Mystery Gull" (read more; scroll to page 37). Massachusetts' recent contribution to this field may be the "Kalmus Beach Gull." This adult gull, superficially resembling a Herring Gull but with bright yellow legs and a darker mantle, was first noted at Kalmus Beach xx Apr 2011, and lingered for many admirers and photographers through at least 17 April. During this period bird was extensively photographed by xxx, xxx, and Cape Lawyer. Much of its attention was due to the fact that many birders quite seriously put forth the idea that this was a Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis), a species with just one accepted record for Massachusetts. See the Yellow-legged Gull page for more information on the species and the lone Massachusetts record. The next chapter in this saga came 28 Nov 2011. Brian Parker stopped by Kalmus Beach and found a gull with yellow legs again. The back was intermediate between Herring and Lesser Black-backed, and while the soft parts were duller, the bird looked otherwise mostly like the bird seen here in April 2011. The streaking on this bird's head seemed too extensive for a Yellow-legged Gull on this date (and not quite as dense and "hooded" as L. m. atlantis would be). This seemed to eliminate Yellow-legged Gull from consideration and point strongly towards a Lesser Black-backed x Herring Gull hybrid. He got three photos including this one:  Kalmus Beach Gull. Photo by Brian Parker on 28 Nov 2011. Trevor Persons then visited on 4 Dec 2011 and obtained this set of photos. He also provided these comments: "Briefly, I would say that in life this bird was about the size of a Herring Gull, but a slightly darker shade of gray, and with dull yellow legs and feet. You'll note a few photos of nearby Herring Gulls for comparison (same time, substrate, sun angle, etc). The bill was a very bright orange-ish yellow. When I ran into Marshall earlier in the day and asked him about this bird, he noted the problematical nature of an imperfect (for YLGU) basic-plumaged bird showing up on the same beach where an alternate-plumaged "Yellow-legged Gull" was seen 8 months before. The few wing shots I got I think may also be consistent with this being the same bird. Whether or not this is the April bird, the obvious problem (as Marshall also warned me about) is the amount of head and neck streaking. I have never seen a Yellow-legged Gull anywhere in the world, but my understanding is that even atlantis-type birds should have the streaking mostly confined to the head."   Comparing Trevor's photo of the spread wing with the bird from April produced this image. Good photos obtained by xxx and then later by Trevor Persons helped with a detailed comparison of wing patterns between this bird and the April bird. It is ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contributed by Marshall J. Iliff (this record has yet to undergo MARC review) |
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The Kalmus Beach Gull |