Slaty-backed Gull at Northridge Lakes in Milwaukee Wisconsin on February 13, 2017

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 'sting of pearls'

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

Standing in the middle

The way it was...

The way it was…

Going down to rest

Going down to rest

Resting

Resting

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Doing a stretch

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Just another shot

Just another shot

Slaty-backed Gull at the Johnson Creek Landfill in Jefferson County Wisconsin on January 7, 2016

I went out this morning to the Johnson Creek Landfill in hopes to see the Slaty-backed Gull that was reported by Tom W yesterday, nice find Tom and thanks for getting the word out! The exact location is a frozen pond on Waldmann Lane just west of the landfill. I had not been out there for about 3 weeks so I was due. I arrived around 9 am and looked the gulls over well on the ice. About an hour later Ted K showed up and we continued to look through all the gulls coming and going. After a while I spotted what I thought was the Slaty-backed Gull and we looked it over well, that it was. After about 30 minutes it took to the air and towards the landfill area. The images are rough, distant shots, this bird was at least 3/4 of the way across to frozen pond. Images show the “string of pearls” on the wings. Not a life bird as I got the one that was here on December 22, 2012. I fun couple of hours on a gloomy day. Other gulls to note that were present (3) Lesser Black-backed Gull and (2) Glaucous Gulls. Images were taken on January 7, 2016.

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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.

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