I had been birding the lakefront in Milwaukee when I got a call from Mike W, thanks Mike. He stated Tom W had found a Slaty-backed Gull at Northridge Lakes. With a quick ride over there, and some birders having it in their scopes it put a spike in what looked like might be a quiet day birding. The bird stayed in one spot the whole time I was there of about 30 minutes. It stood and rested while I was there along with the preening. It raised its wings once and I capture a couple of shots of what is known as the ‘string of pearls’, spots on the outer primaries. Other birds to note, it was said that there were 2 Glaucous Gulls, 1-adult, 1-immature and 4 Kumlien’s, 3-adults, 1-juvenile, I did not see all of them. A big thank you to Tom W for finding this nice bird and getting the word out for others to see. A mild day with temps around 40 with full sun, light breeze made for a pleasant morning out. Images were taken on February 13, 2017.
Slaty-backed Gull, with the wing up you can see the ‘string of pearls’ on the primaries
Slaty-backed Gull
Binomial name: Larus schistisagus
Category: Gulls, Tern. and Skimmers
Size: 25” long, 58” wing span
Weight: 3.0 lb
Note: An Asian gull that is considered a rare breeder on the west coast of Alaska and is a very rare visitor to North America.
Standing in the middle
The way it was…
Going down to rest
Resting
Doing a stretch
Just another shot
Jim, thank you so much for posting your photos.
Like last year, your patience and photographic skill was able to reward us with a great shot of the open wing. My eyes didn’t register the image quickly enough to observe the “string of pearls”, but your camera did!
Great bird! I hope to see one someday. Thanks for sharing.