Black-tailed Gull - Washington

On 14 September Shep Thorp, Ruth Sullivan, and Roger Hunt reported an ABA Code-4 Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris) along the northeast shore of Commencement Bay in Tacoma, Washington. The gull was roosting on the log booms but might best be found at the mouth of the Puyallup River.  

In the ABA Area, Black-tailed Gull has been recorded on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. There are inland records from Nunavut, southern Manitoba, Great Lakes Region, Iowa, Texas, and New Mexico.  There is also a June report from Sonora, Mexico, and also one from Belize.  The first report of Black-tailed Gull from the ABA Area came from San Diego, California, 26-28 November 1954.  A good reference with many photographs written by Nick Lethaby and J. Bangma, “Identifying Black-tailed Gull in North America”, can be viewed in Birding 30: 470-483 (1998). 

Black-tailed Gull is a northeast Asian species breeding in eastern China, North Korea, southeastern Siberia, the Kuril Islands, and Japan.  It winters along the coast in its breeding range, south to Taiwan (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty et al.). 

Comments

[John P]

The bird was refound today, 15 Sep.

A boat would be needed to look for it at the river mouth, so the log booms in the afternoon seems to be the best place to look for it. It's the same location that a Black-tailed Gull was 2 years ago, and it's likely the same individual. You can find directions on my blog http://zbirdtours.com/blog/2009/11/05/black-tailed-gull-in-tacoma/ , but note that since this post 2 years ago, the pull-off has been paved and is now signed as public access (however this really isn't an improvement as there used to be more room for parking). Also, I mention in that post that late morning to early afternoon may be the best time to look for it, but it may be off feeding during that time. Late afternoon is the only time this bird has been seen so far, and it was the most reliable time for the previous bird (which very likely the same individual).

In 2009, a/the Black-tailed Gull was found in mid-Oct and it stayed until early Nov, and it's disappearing coincided with large numbers of California Gulls leaving the area.