[obol] Need Help WIth Pelagic Species ID - extra notes

[Cindy Ashy]

OBOL,

Thanks again for all the help in trying to figure out
what I saw flying with the pelicans at Yaquina Head
last Sat. Several of you have suggested Black-legged
Kittiwake and while it does sort of fit, the wing
pattern, both underwing and upperwing, just doesn't
fit what I saw. I understand about the flight
patterns/speed/etc but for the purpose of showing you
more clearly what I saw from the perspective of wing
pattern/color/overall shape, please refer to the
illustrations of the Northern Fulmar on page 32 of the
big Sibley Guide. The underwing looked more like the
Pacific light morph...but the dark was a bit more
demarcated....and definitely not just at the tip of
the wing as in the Black-legged Kittiwake but all
around the edge of the wing. The upperwing looked more
like the Pacific very light morph....lots of pure
white, not gray like in the Black-legged Kittiwake. 
The overall "bulkiness" of the body, especially the
neck/head region also fits well. The shape of the tail
matches as well as the dark tail band (although it
seemed darker than the Sibley illustration). Against
the grey skies on this day, the pure white on these
birds really popped out - even whiter than the white
on the adult Western Gulls in the area.

I do remember gliding as well as flapping but the
exact flight pattern I can't say with certainty. They
were definitely flying very low over the water.

Cindy Ashy


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