Poss. Slaty-backed gull/Key West

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: This morning at 9:30 Mark Hedden and Gerard Phillips discovered a possible SLATY-BACKED GULL at Higgs Beach in Key West. : Neither of us have seen this species before but we are confident that it is NOT a Lesser blacked-backed Gull or an unusually dark-mantled Herring Gull etc etc. : Basically, the bird is a very good candidate for SBGU, the big question is whether it might be a possible Slaty X Herring hybrid? : I am not certain what plumage the bird is in. It is mostly an adult (i.e., the mantle and wings are a dark ‘slaty-grey’). However the bill has a broad blackish sub-terminal band cross both mandibles. The tip is yellow while the base is pinkish. So my guess it that it is either a 3rd or 4th year bird? The legs are dark reddish (perhaps not as bright as one would hope) with almost a purplish tinge visible at certain times. : I was able to take many digital images of the bird, including flight shots. I’ haven’t seen the images on a computer monitor yet (no USB cable here) but on the camera’s LCD screen the primary pattern certainly looks very promising! : The tertiials appear to be new and show a very broad white edge while the bird is landed. The secondaires are very worn so there isn’t a broad trailing edge visible. There is active primary molt, with some outer primaries still growing in. Still, as i said earlier the pattern above and below looks good. : Birders should definitly come and check this bird out!!! : We saw the bird mostly on the southernish edge of Higg’s Beach, nearest to Reynolds Street and the Casa Marina. Look for the wooden pier. : Any questions please contat Gerard Phillips at gphillips@a-znet.com : or Mark Hedden (KW resident) at heddenkw@aol.com. : Mark Hedden/Gerard Phillips : Key West

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