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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Hooded

A Laughing Gull was photographed in Bodega Harbor on 3 May 2014, so as we drove along Westshore Road this afternoon, I kept an eye out for dark-headed gulls.  I spotted a few, but there weren't any Laughing Gulls among them.  Still, we had beautiful looks at adult Bonaparte's Gulls (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) in breeding plumage: 


All told there were about 22 Bonaparte's Gulls, but most were immature birds, lacking black hoods and red legs.  The immature birds had various amounts of gray smudging on their heads, pale pink legs, and darker feathers (carpal bars) interrupting their gray wings:


It was extremely windy throughout the day today (it's still blowing 25 mph at 8 p.m.).  I'm guessing these Bonaparte's Gulls were looking for a little shelter in Bodega Harbor. 

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