I have a terrible time identifying gulls. I'm not alone as they are very difficult to ID since there are many that are very similar and some that cross-breed.I spent some time at the coast on Sunday. I stopped for about an hour and a half at Seaside in hopes of seeing the Painted Bunting that has been reported on OBOL, but did not have any luck. I then spent a couple of hours at South Jetty in Fort Stevens State Park.
It was cloudy, foggy and gloomy and the birds scarce, but I did see a new bird; the Bonaparte's Gull. I also am 90% I saw a Western Meadow Lark.
The Bonaparte's Gulls were among a flock of gulls on the beach. The flock appeared to be made up of mostly Westerns, however the one above looked different. I have incorrectly identified a Western and a Western x Glaucous-winged as Herring Gulls in a couple of past posts, however I think I got it right this time. Please feel free to let me know one way or the other if you agree.
I spent some time at the South Jetty a couple weeks ago and saw a Western Meadowlark right when I got out of the car- so I bet you did see one. Also, since I've been studying gulls since oh, last week, I will venture to verify your Herring Gull. When I enlarged the photo the light iris was clearly visible as were the pink legs and streaking on the neck. That first photo looks pretty much identical to the drawing in Sibley's. Yep, I'd have to agree with you that it's a Herring Gull.
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