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@brownsbay nice selection! gulls are endlessly frustrating, ha ha. i enjoy the id process (tho I have them all pretty well done for my area; at least for the adults ) but have slacked off taking pictures of them unless it's something really cool. which cormorant is that? neotropic?

@browneyedgirl The cormorant is a Pelagic Cormorant (should show with your cursor over the photo). I take a lot of gull photos because gull hybridization creates havoc with ID, and the large gulls go through a four-year cycle before reaching adult plumage. The photos give me an opportunity to study the finer features.

@brownsbay ah, so it does! i need to develop the habit of checking that.

That's fascinating, we have pelagic cormorants here (san diego) and they do not look like this, they are jet black. Could be the lighting and/or breeding/non-breeding plumage? They seem to be here year round, albeit in smaller numbers than the Double-Crested or even the Brandt's Cormorants...

Yah, the four year growth cycle of gulls also plays havoc It's a long, but fun, process for me as well.

@brownsbay ok, quick check with All About Birds and yep, I only see non-breeding here! Now I have to check the timestamps on my photos, I really thought I was spotting them all year...!

@brownsbay ooh, that's a nice summary. I know we get herring gulls here but I suspect I drop them into the 2nd/3rd year western gull group...