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Thayer's & Iceland Gull Photos

Photos of these 2 confusion species

I put together these photos to show the variation that occurs with this complex here on the west side of Lake Michigan. All photos were taken with a Questar telescope and a Fujifilm digital camera, a technique known as digiscoping. See my Digiscoping with a Questar page for details. All of the Iceland Gulls on this page belong to or are assumed to belong to the subspecies Larus glaucoides kumlieni, the Kumlien's Iceland Gull. Adult Kumlien's have varrying amounts of gray in the outer primaries, as can be seen in the photos below. The nominate subspecies of Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides glaucoides, has not been officially recorded in Illinois.

Click each thumbnail to see the larger version. Hold your mouse over each to see the age.

Thayer's Gulls

  • First Year (fresh, dark)
  • First Year (dark)
  • First Year
  • First Year (worn)
  • First Year (very worn, pale)
  • First Year (worn)
  • Second Year
  • Third Year
  • Third Year
  • Adult
  • Adult
  • Adult (pale-eyed)
  • Adult
  • Adult

Iceland Gulls

  • First Year
  • First Year (worn)
  • First Year
  • First Year (worn, pale)
  • Second Year
  • Third Year
  • Adult (pale)
  • Adult (pale)
  • Adult (dark)

Thayer's/Iceland Gulls*

  • Adult

*This category is for birds that don't fit easily into either the Thayer's or Iceland Gull groups.