GLAUCOUS GULL Cape May Point State Park

Photo courtesy of Michael O'Brien

Upon walking in to the Northwood Center this morning, a phone call was received from Tom Parsons indicating that there was a GLAUCOUS GULL at the Cape May Point State Park. Wanting to delay the return to real work just a little longer, Laura and I headed out to see if the bird was still there.

Sure enough, when we arrived we found Tom siting on the hawkwatch platform looking at a small group of gulls on the Bunker Pond ice. Even naked eye you could make out the gleaming white plumage of the Glaucous. In a quick look through the scope (it's cold and windy here in Cape May and we hadn't dressed for the weather) you could note the size, body size slightly larger, in comparison to the surrounding Herring Gulls. For me this immediately removed any chances that this bird might be an Iceland Gull. Also of note were the blocky head with a sloping forehead (somewhat reminiscent of a Great Black-backed Gull in my mind) in comparison to the more rounded head of an Iceland Gull.