Twitching: Grey-headed Gull

A Grey-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus), native to the South America and Africa, has been spotted on Coney Island. Where else? It’s been there several days now, often hanging out in front of the WonderWheel and living on the castoff of beach-goers. This may be only the second confirmed sighting in the U.S. As a result, twitchers are congregating at the beach, myself included (although I lack the Full Birder outfit), for what may be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to observe the animal. I went Saturday evening, had no luck, but witnessed Coney in its hot, sticky summer glory (fake cocoanut, real sweat, deep fat), complete with shrieking riders on the Screamin’ Eagle and unfortunate captive parrots for sale. Twitching: the state of excitement over a new bird species, a term of disparagement originating in Britain that has now been adopted by those so called (like many a term of disparagement). Twitching means being unafraid to train your binoculars or scope onto a crowded beach. I got back on the F train this morning. The bird was easy to find: I went towards the tripods. The grey hood, red feet, and red bill are the field marks to look for. In flight, the white on the upper wings is another good sign. (Much better shots found at the Birding Dude’s blog.)

New York City’s year-around resident gulls are the Ring-billed, Herring, and Great-Black-backed. In summer, Laughing Gulls join the mix. Here’s one scrounging wasted people food: These black-headed birds — the hood is breeding plumage which they lose for the winter — sound somewhat like crazed laughter. In winter, Bonaparte’s Gulls can been seen off-shore. Other gulls that may be seen here include Lesser Black-backed, Glaucous, and Iceland, although these are rare. The beach is the best place to see our gulls, but watch the skies wherever you are in the city. UPDATE: Monday 8/1, according to a source, as of noon an estimated 100 birders were searching fruitlessly for the gull.