Verification of Unusual
Sight Record
For Utah
Rec. # 5-2000
| Common name: |
Sabine's Gull |
| Scientific name: | Xema sabini |
| Date: | 16 Sept 2000 |
| Time: | 12:50 - 15:10 am |
| Length of time observed: | 110 Minutes |
| Number: | 1 |
| Age: | Juvenile |
| Sex: | ? |
| Location: | Pangutich Lake |
| County: | Garfield |
| Latilong: | |
| Elevation: | ~8,500 ft |
| Distance to bird: | 60-130 M |
| Optical equipment: | |
| Weather: | 75 - 80 degrees F, clear, 5-15 mph winds |
| Light Conditions: | Good - no cloud cover; mid-day (sun high) |
| Detailed description of bird: |
Small Gull, about 1/2 size of California Gull, with
relatively short and thin black bill.
Perched on water, has elegant, small-headed look - sort of like Mew Gull. Mantle, hindneck & sides of neck and nape
are brownish-gray in color. White edging on scapulars give strong scalloped
effect. Primaries black, but white edging In flight, shows classic upperwing pattern, with black primaries and brownish-gray coverts & mantle contrasting strongly with white secondaries & inner primaries. Tail notched; white with black terminal band. (See Drawing and Photos) |
| Song or call & method of delivery: | Song or call: No vocalization observed. |
| Behavior: | Foraged by picking material from water surface or just below; foraged from water surface; flew twice, distance of ~500 m. |
| Habitat: | Open water, 60-100m from shore. |
| Similar
species and how were they eliminated: |
Immature 1st winter Black-legged Kittiwake, Little Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, or Common Black-headed Gull do not show well defined upperwing pattern of black primaries contrasting w/ solid brownish-gray upperwing coverts & mantle of Sabine's Gull. |
| Previous experience with this & similar species: | I've only seen this species once before - an adult off California's coast in 1994. |
| References consulted: | NGS Field Guide |
| Description from: | Notes Taken at time of sighting. |
| Observer: | Robert Dobbs |
| Observer's address: | 234 E. Cobble Creek Dr. #4, Cedar City, Utah 84720 |
| Observer's e-mail address: | rcdobbs@ilstu.edu |
| Other
observers who independently identified this bird: |
|
| Date prepared: | 20 Sept 2000 |
| Additional material: | Drawing and Photos |
Voting Form (send in vote)
Request Form (request additional material, hard
copies, etc.)
Go to Main List of Sighting Under Review