Stunning White Bonaparte's Gull

 This stunning, nearly pure white Bonaparte's Gull was seen by Dr. Dan Cristol and his William and Mary biology class and me on March 26th in a flooded field in James City County during a heavy rain storm. Hundreds of gulls and hundreds of Wilson's Snipes were also enjoying the scene. Michelle Gianvecchio then re-found the gull on March 30th  and got these great close photos. The bill shows reddish coloration, instead of the usual black, apparently further demonstrating the bird's inability to produce the proper pigments. I'm not aware of a similar-looking Bonaparte's in Virginia, though there are internet photos of a similar bird in Connecticut in 2013, thought to be either Black-headed Gull or Bonaparte's, as size apparently couldn't be accurately determined. Comments welcome...send to taberzz@aol.com.

Brian Taber

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch!

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches live in the western U. S., western Canada and Alaska, often at quite high altitudes, but in recent months there have been some eastern records...including Virginia's first at a rocky overlook at 4,000 feet on Mt. Pleasant in Amherst County a few days ago! This stunning frontside photo, by Nancy Barnhart, was from Feb 11. The backside view is my photo from Feb 13.

Rosy-Finches nest in rocky crevices and interestingly, from Kaufman's "Lives of North American Birds," they eat, in addition to berries and seeds, insects that are carried up to higher elevations by updrafts and then freeze!

Brian Taber

Storm Wigeon!

 I've seen plenty of American Wigeons, but until today I wasn't familiar with the term "Storm Wigeon" for one with white on the face below the green patch and white forehead and crown, but this striking bird was in Portsmouth today at a site not open to the public. Hunters apparently felt this very rare form appeared after northerly storms and gave it the name. I'll do some more research to see what others have to say.

Brian Taber

White-crested Waxwing

 As if Cedar Waxwings weren't stunning enough, with smooth, velvety feathers, blended bronzy-yellow shades, colorful wingtips, colorful tail tips and a dark mask...this one on New Year's Eve near Jamestown, photographed by Deborah Humphries, also had an amazing white crest! I had seen it a few days earlier at this berry-laden privet bush, along with about 50 other Cedar Waxwings, but couldn't get a decent photo. Happy New Year!

Brian Taber