Ethan Moon

An adult Olympic Gull (Western x Glaucous-winged hybrid) stands on some park grass, bejewelled with black and blue bands on the left leg, and blue and metal bands on the right. Report coloured gull bands in the Pacific Northwest region to the Salish Sea Gull Project: https://salishseagullproject.shinyapps.io/submit-observation-form/

Banded Olympic Gull.
(Vancouver BC, Dec 2 2025.)

#birds #birding #gulls #seagulls #olympicgull #glaucouswingedgull #westerngull #larusglaucescens #larusoccidentalis 🪶

A first cycle Thayer's Gull standing on a rock.

Thayer's Gull.
(White Rock BC, November 2025)

By the way, there's a new post about the range of American Herring Gull on my blog (link in profile).

#birds #birding #larusglaucoidesthayeri #larusglaucoides #thayersgull #gulls #seagulls #gullible #gullable 🪶

Tundra Swan standing near shore.

Tundra Swan.
(Vancouver BC, November 17 2025)

A 1st cycle Bonaparte's Gull in flight. The inner rectrices (tail feathers) have been replaced in the preformative moult, leaving behind an incomplete tailband.

Bonaparte's Gull.
(White Rock BC, November 8 2025)

#bonapartesgull #chroicocephalusphiladelphia #gulls #seagulls #gullable #gullible

A Snow Bunting stands low to the rocky ground--round and majestical.

Snow Bunting.
(Vancouver BC, October 30 2025)

#birds #birding #snowbunting #plectrophenaxnivalis 🪶

A juvenile Little Blue Heron perched on a branch. Juveniles are all white (like this one), but will eventually moult into a mostly grey plumage. This is the sixth record for British Columbia.

A juvenile Little Blue Heron, far from home.
(Burnaby BC, October 24 2025.)

#birds #birding #littleblueheron #egrettacaerulea 🪶

A Golden-crowned Sparrow perches on some barbed wire. The species portion of its scientific name Zonotrichia atricapilla means black-headed or -capped, referring to the lateral stripes on breeding adults. This is similar to the Black-capped Chickadee's scientific name Poecile atricapillus, and more apt for the latter.

Golden-crowned Sparrow.
(Vancouver BC, October 22 2025)

#birds #birding #goldencrownedsparrow #zonotrichiaatricapilla 🪶

Whoops. I'll fix that arrow button in the next update.

#gullable #gullible

A drab looking Mountain Bluebird perched on a post, lowered tail revealing a bluish rump.

Mountain Bluebird.
(Vancouver BC, October 22 2025)

#birds #birding #mountainbluebird #sialiacurrucoides 🪶

A male Harlequin Duck standing on a tidal rock.

Male Harlequin Duck.

(Victoria BC, October 9 2025)

#birds #birding #ducks #harlequinduck #histrionicushistrionicus 🪶

A Black Turnstone side profile. Can you guess how they got their name?

Black Turnstone.

(Sooke BC, October 9 2025)

#birds #birding #blackturnstone 🪶

For reference, this is a White-crowned Sparrow in juvenile plumage. Notice how streaky it is.

A hatch year (HY) White-crowned Sparrow perched on the tip of some pine needles. This individual is in its formative plumage, which replaced many of the poor quality juvenile feathers it grew in the nest. Once this bird moults into its 1st alternate (breeding) plumage, it will become almost impossible to distinguish from an adult. I have noticed some of my local White-crowns (pugetensis subspecies) retain some brown feathers in the hind crown, allowing me to age them as second years (SY).

A young White-crowned Sparrow.

#birding #birds #whitecrownedsparrow #zonotrichialeucophrys 🪶

An adult California Gull in flight. Dusky head markings are part of the basic (nonbreeding) plumage.

Adult California Gull.
(Vancouver BC, September 30 2025)

#birds #birding #californiagull #laruscalifornicus #gull #seagull #gullable #gullible 🪶

A Myrtle Warbler ("myrtle" subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler) on a tree branch, holding a stink bug in its bill.

Yellow-rumped warbler.

#birds #birding #yellowrumpedwarbler #myrtlewarbler #setophagacoronata

A Long-billed Dowitcher looking towards the camera, with its undulating reflection cast on the water below.

Long-billed Dowitcher.

#birds #birding #longbilleddowitcher #limnodromusscolopaceus 🪶

Lincoln's Sparrow.

#birding #birds #lincolnssparrow #melospizalincolnii 🪶

A young Olympic Gull (Western Gull x Glaucous-winged Gull hybrid) stands on the edge of an urban water feature, with water frothing from a fountain behind. This bird is starting to replace body feathers in the 1st prealternate (prebreeding) moult. The Lower Mainland is right above the intersection of the breeding ranges of Glaucous-winged Gull to the north and Western Gull to the south. The resulting hybrid swarm produces a vast array of phenotypes--birds with a unique set of characteristics--as multiple generations of mixed gulls interbreed.

Overlooked Olympic Gull.
(Vancouver BC, Sept 23 2025)

#birding #birds #gulls #seagulls #gullable #gullible #olympicgull #westerngull #glaucouswingedgull #larusoccidentalisxglaucescens #larusoccidentalis #larusglaucescens 🪶

This 1st cycle Ring-billed Gull confused me. It resembles a Short-billed in build, but the plumage aspect is Ring-billed. The dark grey chevron pattern on the scapulars is also interesting. This is a good reminder to myself to look out for individual variation that deviates from expectations.

A more typical first cycle Ring-billed Gull.

2 Ring-billed Gulls of different stature.
(Vancouver BC, September 12 2025)

#birds #birding #ringbilledgull #larusdelawarensis #gulls #seagulls #gullable 🪶

A juvenile Sabine's Gull in flight, with tri-coloured wing pattern on full display. In Greater Vancouver, Sabine's Gulls are usually seen flying out at sea or high above as they migrate between their Arctic breeding grounds and wintering locations in South America. All age groups have a distinct tri-coloured winged. Definitely one of the easier gulls to identify.

Juvenile Sabine's Gull.

#birds #birding #gulls #seagulls #sabinesgull #xemasabini #gullable #gullible

A Savannah Sparrow perched on a leafy Blackberry branch, cast in a warm light.

Savannah Sparrow.

#birds #birding #savannahsparrow #passerculussandwichensis

The diet of Pacific gulls (Larus pacificus) breeding at Seal Island in northern Bass Strait The endemic Pacific gull (Larus pacificus) is Australia’s largest larid, and though little is currently known of its foraging ecology, its size and wide distribution suggest that it may play an import...

"The Pacific gull...is Australia's largest and only endemic gull, possessing a distinctly deep and massive bill, with a very prominent gonys (Higgins and Davies 1996).
The adaptive significance of this feature is unknown but it may be related to prey capture and handling."
(doi.org/10.1071/ZO13...)

Female(?) Western Tanager on a lichen-blanketed branch, holding a wasp.

Western Tanager.

#birds #birding #westerntanager #pirangaludoviciana

Rhinoceros Auklet.

#birding #birds #rhinocerosauklet #cerorhincamonocerata 🪶

A Northern Waterthrush perched on a thorny branch, bobbing its tail high above its head. What a strange warbler. (Yes, it's a warbler, don't get me started.)

Northern Waterthrush mid bob.

#birds #birding #northernwaterthrush #parkesianoveboracensis 🪶

Birds in moult tend to be overlooked, including when being rated in the Macaulay Library.
I wish photographers gave these interesting individuals the love they deserve--especially since moult is an important aspect to a bird's life history.

Belted Kingfisher.

#birds #birding #kingfisher #megacerylealcyon 🪶

California Gull in flight, displaying its flight feather moult. Mix of grey and brown upperparts are largely 1st alternate (breeding plumage). The inner 4 primaries (p1-4) are 2nd cycle, with p5 and p6 growing; p7 is shed or not visible. Primary coverts are also being replaced in similar sequence. Secondary moult has also commenced, with s1 growing, well after start of primary moult. (Vancouver BC, August 2 2025)

Immature California Gull moulting flight feathers.

#birds #birding #californiagull #laruscalifornicus #gulls #seagulls #gullable 🪶

Harlequin duck mid jump from tidal rock into water below.

A leap of faith.

#birds #birding #harlequinduck #histrionicushistrionicus #ducks 🪶