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Coordinators: 1cy June 2cy Jan 3cy Jan adult Jan |
Ring-billed Gull delawarensis 1st cycle (2CY), March 09 2014, Chicago, IL. Picture: Amar Ayyash.Returning to the Great Lakes district last week, some 250 littered the beach at Whiting, all mostly adults with only one 1st cycle and a handful of 2nd cycles. At the time, most of the adults have pristine white heads and are in full breeding condition. A small percentage of adults do show light to moderate head streaking. All the 2nd cycles still show head streaking and so their prealternate molts may be later than adults. Why very few 1st and 2nd cycles are around is somewhat of a mystery to me. Are these ages still farther south on the wintering grounds with no urgent need to hurry back to the breeding grounds?
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delawarensis Ring-billed Gull
