I've previously photographed the American herring gull outside Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. Those were gulls in their summer plumage. I recently photograph some American herring gulls in winter, February 2020, at Jones Beach Island in Nassau County, Long Island, New York.
In winter plumage, the adults have white heads and necks streaked with brown, while in summer the head and neck as all-white.
 |
| The bird to the left has the brown streaked head and neck, while the bird to the right does not have the brown streaking. |
 |
| Front view of the brown streaking. The bird to the back right is a ring-billed gull. |
I also photographed a dark juvenile in flight.
 |
| Juvenile American herring gull |
It's hard to believe that the juvenile in the last picture is the same species as the ones above.
ReplyDelete