Birding!
- Thread starter jjohnwm
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Lol, I hope you got a bunch more pics of that mystery gull, Shadow. Of all the potentially-challenging bird groups...distant raptors, immature fall sparrows, Red Crossbill races, the dreaded peeps and LBJ's...I personally think that gulls are the most difficult, and they definitely bring the birding ultra-nerds out of the woodwork. It's a big group of generally similar-appearing birds, most of which have several plumage phases as they mature. They are among the most likely birds to travel long distances from their normal range...they definitely do hybridize a lot...and there can be significant individual variation between individuals. It's impressive to see and listen to birders of the highest experience level picking apart a pic like that an discussing the details. That third primary feather seems to be slightly shorter in relation to the second...the culmen is 5% thicker than expected...the iris is verrrry slightly oblong...the smudge behind the eye is 12.5% darker than it should be...the toenails are the wrong shade of grey. Honestly, I don't know whether to be awestruck or just to laugh out loud...maybe both... 
You saw the bird in person, saw it walk and preen, saw different angles and details...pics like the one you posted cannot possibly approach that. Not taking a shot at you in person; long-distance pics always suck. So don't be too disappointed if you never hear an accepted consensus as to that bird's ID. We don't need to ID every single bird; in fact, we shouldn't. The mystery of a bird like that is a big part of the charm of birding.
And, of course, since you got the best look at it...any failure to ultimately ID it is entirely your fault!!!
There are some things man was not meant to know...
You saw the bird in person, saw it walk and preen, saw different angles and details...pics like the one you posted cannot possibly approach that. Not taking a shot at you in person; long-distance pics always suck. So don't be too disappointed if you never hear an accepted consensus as to that bird's ID. We don't need to ID every single bird; in fact, we shouldn't. The mystery of a bird like that is a big part of the charm of birding.
And, of course, since you got the best look at it...any failure to ultimately ID it is entirely your fault!!!
There are some things man was not meant to know...
jokes on you it seems that the gull nerds have agreed on a Glaucous-winged x Western hybrid, Olympic Gull; probably the most common hybrid. I think the toenails were indeed the right color
No joke on me at all; in fact, that was the whole point I was trying, albeit poorly, to make. There are birders who cannot accept that some birds just can't be certainly ID'd, and simply must put a label on every individual specimen they see. If there's actually a common name attached to this hybrid, then it must be a relatively common one, but still a rarity. Do you always believe that each of these birds is correctly ID'd from a handful of fuzzy photos? I sure don't...and there is, aside from shooting the bird and analyzing its DNA, no way to be certain who, if anyone, is correct.jokes on you it seems that the gull nerds have agreed on a Glaucous-winged x Western hybrid, Olympic Gull; probably the most common hybrid. I think the toenails were indeed the right color
There's another extreme in the birding world as well: these are the guys who simply cannot accept that anyone other than they themselves is capable of ID-ing even the simplest most common bird. This type of expert points out that the robin that someone photographed in their backyard displays some subtle indications that it might be a hybrid, a robin crossed with some obscure Eurasian thrush that has been seen maybe 3x anywhere in North America. I knew a birder like this many years ago. Not only did he point out that anyone else might have been mistaken in their last ID, but by some incredible coincidence he found a string of incredibly rare birds that were never seen by anyone else. Moments after a group left a given spot, some unbelievably obscure vagrant would flash past him, giving him just enough of a clear view that allowed his superlative skills to ID the oddball. Sometimes hoards of birders would then stake out the spot and maybe scour the surrounding area, desperately hoping for a glimpse of the Grail Bird. It never happened; his discoveries were always one-day wonders, or even one-minute wonders, never to be seen again. His flock of followers dwindled over the years; I wonder why? Too many boy-that-cried-wolf events, perhaps?
I envy the skills of top birders; I'm especially amazed and awed by folks who can hear some obscure chirp or squeak or peep at a distance, perhaps from far up in the air after dark, and correctly identify the chirper or squeaker. I just don't believe that the available evidence...in most cases from a grainy pic or two...can always be used to ID everything.
This was certainly a pleasant surprise on my way home, a small group of Canadian Flamingos huddled close against this residence, hiding in plain sight so to speak. The photos aren’t the best, I was using my iPad and these birds are very skittish this time of year. During the winter months, with fresh shrimp not available, their color fades, but still, what a rare treat! I couldn’t wait to share!
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I just don't believe that the available evidence...in most cases from a grainy pic or two...can always be used to ID everything.
Nah, but if a couple birders agree I typically take their word.
Wow, what a treat! Must be super rare because theres nothing about them in my bird books! Ive heard of yellow snow, but i guess they seek out pink snow to maintain their color?
I just knew that somebody would do this...I even had a list of suspects in mind...but not this, not you, not now!
et tu, @RD. ???
And incidentally, I believe that species has been split recently into Boreal Flamingo and Arctic Flamingo. I'm pretty sure those are Boreals...but the one on the right looks like it might be a hybrid...
^ Case in point...and one of the first names on my list of suspects mentioned above...
You're too trusting, Shadow. If I had agreement amongst at least a half-dozen seasoned birders, who I knew to be trustworthy, then...I still wouldn't count it unless I had come to the same conclusion independently. But if I had decided that I had found a Pink-crested Gazork...but the experts put their heads together and convinced me that it was a Yellow-sided Gazork...then I just couldn't bring myself to count it. Maybe if I returned and re-examined it...maybe...
My list is a compendium of birds that I have found in the wild and identified...not a bunch of random sightings that were ID'd by others and required no thinking or research on my part. I hired a paid birding guide only once, in Panama, for only one day...and I didn't admit it to him but as far as I was concerned his only value was to show me a bunch of good places to visit that I returned to throughout the rest of the week, so that I could find those birds and ID them for myself. And considering that the field guide was the size of the Toronto phone directory...that took effort!
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I think it is different if you are somewhere where you don’t know the birds. For me, I posted the gull, the photo taken in noerthern california, where they get more species of pelagics, and also gulls accidental from siberia etc. I did suspect it was a hybrid, and my suspicion was confirmed. I also think that gulls are among the most frustrating birds to ID because they have such specific differences, so I’d rather ask the pro’s and have a suspicion, which was confirmed.