My First Gull Frolic at North Point Marina in Lake County, IL

On Valentine's Day, 2015, I drove from the Quality Inn in Waukegan to North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, IL to the annual Gull Frolic of the Illinois Ornithological Society. I was greeted by Joan Norek, who gave me a program and signed me in as I walked inside, and then at another table further in, I found Greg Neise who was representing the ABA. Amar Ayyash was spending most of his time out on the front lines pointing out birds. I saw many familiar faces and met several birders for the first time.

Soon after I arrived, I made my way outside to where other birders were chumming and watching the gulls. It was a beautiful sunny day, but extremely cold and windy. So as I and faced the lake to watch the gulls, I breathed in the cold, freezing air and enjoyed incredibly up close looks at an amazing variety of gulls.

I had seen my first Thayer's Gulls earlier this Winter, but I was hoping to see a 1st Cycle Thayer's, and this was the first non Herring Gull I saw.





Here are some photos of other 1st cycle Thayer's Gulls we saw throughout the day.







Compare in this shot the 1st cycle Herring Gull on top and the 1st cycle Thayer's Gull below it.



We also had a 2nd Cycle Thayer's Gull. Notice the gray feathers on the mantle and coverts!









This look alike 1st Cycle Herring Gull almost had me fooled.



This 2nd Cycle Herring Gull was easier to distinguish.



Here are some of the adult Thayer's Gulls we saw.















This adult Thayer's with it's dark hood was a big hit!





There were four Iceland (Kumlien's) Gulls seen at the Gull Frolic--a 1st cycle, a 3rd cycle, and two adults. We saw the 1st cycle toward the end of the day, but I did not see the 3rd cycle, and I was only able to photograph the two adults. Here is the adult Kumlien's with the darker hood.



And here is the lighter adult Kumlien's.









There was a 3rd cycle bird that was intermediate between Thayer's and Kumlien's.



Glaucous Gulls were another treat at North Point Marina, and they put on quite the show. Here are some photos of the three 1st Cycles.



















Here are some photos of the two 2nd Cycles we saw.









And here are some photos of one of the adult Glaucous Gulls.















I saw one of the two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls. This bird did not show up until later in the day.





Perhaps the best bird of the day, however, was this gigantic 1st cycle Great Black-backed Gull not commonly seen in Lake County, shown below and at the top of this post.











The Gull Stew and the rest of the lunch at the frolic was delicious. Unfortunately, I paid the price for this wonderful experience. I guess I did not spend enough time inside drinking hot chocolate and warming up, and I should have had something over my mouth while I was outside. I found out Monday that I have pneumonia. I was able to catch it early so hopefully I will recover soon, but I will not soon forget my first year at the IOS Annual Gull Frolic!