Posted by Nicholas Block (128.42.165.26) on April 06, 2000 at 08:31:07:
Warbler - Immature female Hooded Warbler
I think the bill alone points toward a Hooded Warbler rather than Wilson's. I can't recall ever seeing a bill this long on a Wilson's. The large eye and dark lores also support Hooded over Wilson's. I suppose the lores are darkened by shadow as well, but I don't think it can account for all of it. :-)
Gull - Juvenile Ring-billed Gull
Definitely seems to be a juvenile (or perhaps first-basic?) Ring-billed or Kamchatka/Mew/Common Gull. At first glance, the upper wing seems much to contrasted to be a L.c. brachyrynchus, and I believe we're left with Ring-billed, Kamchatka, and Common Gulls. On gut instinct, this looks like a Ring-billed, but I'll hold off for a second. The thing that seems the strangest for a juvenile Ring-billed is the tail. The fairly sharp tailband is more typical of a L. canus. However, Ring-billeds are very variable and I believe a tail pattern similar to this bird is well within the range of Ring-billed. Or, although I know almost nothing useful about molt, I guess this bird could be in the middle of its molt to first-basic and the tail could be fairly new (and the fresh-looking white tips support this, yes?). The upperwing on juvenile Kamchatka and Common Gulls is definitely more contrasted than a Mew Gull, but the markings on the outer primaries, secondary bar, and carpal bar still feel too dark for either L. canus (but I'm not really one to talk). The carpal bar, especially, forms a nice dark brown border above the pale gray midwing panel. In the pictures I could find, this amount of contrast was typical of Ring-billeds over Commons. Another mark I believe supports Ring-billed (but I don't know for sure) is the dark forehead. In the few references I have, Common Gulls always seem to have white foreheads. I could not find any pics of juvenile Kamchatka Gulls, so I'm not sure how dark the markings are around the bill, but I believe they should show at least some paleness.
Anyway, I've probably missed a lot on the gull (like underwing coverts, but I wasn't sure what to make of them) since I'm still very much in the dark on advanced gull ID. I look forward to hearing more comments and learning from people with much more experience with these species. :-) Good birding!