Birds: Glaucous Gull

What a beautiful bird! This afternoon I had my first GLAUCOUS GULL (above) since 2003. It was a beautiful, near adult-plumage bird seen near Lock 3 in Fulton from the parking lot directly across from the Fulton Savings Bank. Oddly enough, this is exactly the same spot where I had my Iceland Gull earlier this month. It had very little of the typical light brown markings of younger birds, and the back had some light gray like you'd expect on a normal plumage adult. Long, somewhat heavy bill was distinctly two-toned with a strong gonydeal angle. It was much larger than the Ring-bills, comparable to the Herrings but maybe a tad larger still. Head was a little more rounded than normal for a Glaucous, but I feel the ID is very solid. Strikingly pure white; actually reminded me of a Snowy Owl in flight (plumage wise). I took a bunch of photos but this was the only one that the camera remembered. This was year bird number 70 - quite exciting since in the 6 years I've been listing I've never been able to break 50 by the end of February. This bird just made my day...