Hudsonian Godwit

Sometimes getting a picture of a rare bird is just a matter of "right time; right place." This Hudsonian Godwit just appeared as I was walking around Quidi Vidi Lake in October. I had my Sony point and shoot camera and sat on the bench to fire away. For a long time he remained hidded behind the many ducks in the area, but in time he did finally move out on his own.

When I got home, I searched all of my books to find out what kind of bird this is. I couldn't find anything to match. In January I finally sent it off to a real birder who came back with many questions: "Where did you find it?" "When did you see it?" and more. The birder thought it is a Black Tailed Godwit. In fact, it looks more like a Black Talled Godwit than a Hudsonian. He sent the picture to two other birders who finally decided that it is a Hudsonian. What is the difference?

Well, there are slight differences in the tail bar and in the shape of the beak. The Hudsonian apparently has a slightly greater bend in the beak than the Black Tailed. The other main difference is the origin. The Black Tailed Gotwit is an Eurasian bird that can most often be found in Asia. The Hudsonian is an Arctic bird that is most often found in western North America including Alaska. In either case, the bird was well off course, and I was there to capture its presence and to help document the bird traffic in Newfoundland and Labrador.

If you ever come across a bird that you don't recognize after a fair amount of research, consult with a regional expert. It might be a very important find - like the Pink-footed Goose. It seems that our visitor this year is the first recorded visit since 1995. Bird records are important.

Don't miss out on the Beak display at The Rooms. Free on Wednesday night, you can view a very old and well-maintained collection of birds in the province. Most of the collection belongs to Memorial University. It is a great place to take children. There is even a birder backpack for them to use and identify birds while viewing the large exhibit.

Iceland Gull

Who knew there were so many different kinds of gulls? Before when I saw flocks of gulls on the ice, on the fields or in the air I thought they were all the same. This winter, I learned different. There are many species of gulls; some very common and some quite rare to this part of the world.

Today, I sorted through my images of the Kumlien Iceland Gull. I almost started to shiver as I reviewed them. Not only did I have to battle gull accessibility, lighting, and lens limits, I also endured some very cold and windy days to take pictures. The snow and rain gets on the lens causing problems, and the wind blows the camera around adding already to my camera shake. Somewhere in between the shivering, I was able to snap a few shots


The above image was taken at QV Lake. The bottom half of that image had buildings showing too prominently behind the gull. It distracted a lot from the image of the gull, so I experimented with the smudge tool in Photoshop to bring the focus back onto the gull.



An Iceland Gull is most easily identified by the absence of black on the wings. The Kumlien variety has grey primaries and tips. The Iceland also has very pink legs, brighter pink than the Herring. Its head is often snow white but it does get streaks on the head during the winter. The beak is more narrow than the Herring Gull but does have the same kind of red mark on the lower beak. The yellow eye has a red eye ring.


This close-up provides a clear view of the red eye ring and beak markings.

The Iceland Gull is a four-year gull. In the four years before it reaches adulthood, the Iceland undergoes several transformations. To illustrate I have provided a picture of an immature Iceland. The mantle has not yet become pale grey, and the bill is still partly back. Over time, the black will lessen and the yellow will appear. The legs will also change from pale pink to bright pink when the gull reaches adulthood. The constant identifier of this gull is the absence of black on the primaries.

I am looking forward to working toward better shots of all of the different kinds of gulls when the weather is warmer. I will have a lot more patience to wait for the bird and the elements to cooperate.

Black-Headed Gull

The Black-Headed Gull is one of my favorite gulls to photograph. They are much smaller than all of the other gulls that frequent the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador. They also have a distinctive white color to their feathers. Their beak and feet are bright red/orange and stand out very well against their white coloring.


Even though the gull in this picture doesn't have a black head, it is a Black-Headed Gull. In the winter the dark head fades and leaves a distinctive black spot behind the eye.

While the winter BHG is a great subject to photograph, they also present a challenge. They, typically, stay to themselves often keeping a respectible distance with other gulls or birds in the same pool of water. However, when feeding they may ignore these boundaries. This gull tends to stay away from the water's edge and does not seem to grow accustomed to people. They will take flight with a mere move in their direction. This behaviour coupled with only a 250mm lens presents many challenges for me to overcome.

This image was taken at Pier 17 in the St. John's harbour. It clearly shows the long, narrow red/orange bill and bright feet. These gulls could be spotted on the north side of QV Lake and in the harbour during the winter months.This image is a juvenile BHG. There are several distinguishing characteristics of the juvenile. Note the brown carpal bar and the black plumage on the tail. Also, the bill has not yet become bright reddish orange. It still appears orange at this stage. The BHG is a two-year gull, meaning it takes two years for it to reach its adult plumage.

When Winter passes, the head of the BHG changes from white to very dark brown (no, not black). The change is first visible near the dark ear spot and spreads toward the beak. It is clear they have their own seasonal calendar that coincides with ours.

In addition to the head color changing, the breeding male will develop a bright pink coloring on its front.

Black-headed Gull Update! I was able to locate some transitioned Black-headed Gulls at Pier 17 this weekend and have included the new pictures to show the transition.

This a fully transitioned Black-headed Gull, with a brown head.

Compare the winter gull image (in flight) with this image. It would be very easy to think that these are two different species. The common denominator is the shape of the bill, the red legs and bill. Note that the legs and bill do darken during the summer.

In earlier blogs, I have talked about the Lesser Black-Backed Gull and the Herring Gull. This would be a good time to compare how each of these gulls is unique. This constitutes three of the ten species of gulls that visit St. John's.

Pink-Footed Goose & Belted Kingfisher

This small goose is a Pink Footed Goose native to Greenland but occasionally, a vagrant will find its way to Newfoundland. This one settled in a small drain pond off the Goulds access road and has been hanging around there for about three weeks now. It is considered a rare bird in this province. While I was viewing the goose, four more car loads of birders showed up. One of the great things about the birder community is that it is so open to sharing the experience with others. Once a rare or unusual bird it sighted, it goes onto the discussion group web site, and flocks of birders rush to see the rare bird.




While hanging around trying to get better lighting for a goose picture, along came a Belted Kingfisher. It was ready for its morning feeding and stayed quite a while. Birding is "like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get!"


Both the goose and the kingfisher are very skittish of people so I was limited to photos that I could take from my car window. I knew the minute that I would get out of my car both subjects would flee. Kingfishers are particularly hard to photograph because they move very fast and will not tolerate people. This is the best shot I have of this species.


A massive hybrid Mallard is also hanging out in the same pond. It is almost as big as the goose. Its head is mostly brown but does have some green. His size certainly helps him to have his way with the ladies.