Late last August, I saw my first Heerman's Gulls at South Jetty in Fort Stephens State Park. I commented on how they were mostly transitioned to non-breeding plumage.During my Bandon trip on the 4th, I had my seconding sighting of a Heermann's Gull, but this time, being early July, it was still in breeding plumage.
Also, if you look closely, at the top image especially, you can see just how worn most of its feathers are and that it has a few new primary feathers. Primaries 6 - 9 are new with 6 not fully grown in. It also looks like the primary coverts above the new primaries are new. I'm not versed enough on mottling yet to know exactly if this part of breeding change or an aging rotation. Not even sure if that makes sense. :-)
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