Birds and Other Nature Sightings

     Along with the recent alcid irruption along New Jersey’s coast, there have been more than the normal sightings of small winter gulls from land.  Four small gulls in particular are Bonaparte’s Gull , Black-headed Gull , Little Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake .  The kittiwake is the only true pelagic gull of this group, so land-based sightings of these are special.  In the adult breeding stage of the four gulls, kittiwake is easy to separate from the other three because it lacks a dark head.  But in subadult stage, all four have a black spot of some sort behind the eye, all have tails with black tips and all sport an “M” pattern to varying degrees on their backs.  Since this is the nonbreeding season, the focus here will be on nonbreeding, or basic, plumage. Black-legged kittiwake is the least likely to be seen from land here.  It is the largest of the four gulls, but that requires a direct comparison to the others.  Its legs are bla...