Posting for Martin Bowman who is subscribed..... Nice bird.
Mark Cranford Ontbirds Coordinator Dear Ontbirders, Seeing the Black-tailed Gull is feasible at least from eastern Ontario. I left my house 16 kms. from the Quebec border at 11:30 a.m. and was home at 8:00 p.m. See below for directions. Gillian Horgan and I got to Charlotte just after 3 and, with the help of Bryan Pfeiffer, who is co-author of a Vermont birdfinding guide, we saw the bird within 10 minutes of arrival. In fact, it flew directly over our heads at a height of no more than 10-15 metres. We clearly saw the "smudged head" and resulting collar, the red tip at the end of the bill, and the black tail with white terminal band. . . later we had scope views at a greater distance which showed the dark grey of the mantle. If you go and can't find the bird at the suggested spot, go further along the road and take the first left. On your left at some distance is a house under construction on the shore. Ask the workmen if you can go to the shore; they certainly agreed today. It was there we had the bird in flight. If you do decide to go, I suggest going down the New York side of Lake Champlain and taking the ferry from Essex to Charlotte. This avoids difficult roads north of Philipsburg, QC, and construction in Shelburne, VT. Ferry cost about $12 USD one way . . . don't know about return fares. Martin Bowman Williamstown, ON At 02:47 PM 10/19/2005 -0400, you wrote: >Thanks to Langis Sirois, the following is from the Quebec list, more >details may be on Vermont birds > >Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 10:09:37 -0400 >From: Pierre Bannon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Bonjour > >Je vous transmets rapidement ce message de Matt Medler. Matt m'informe qu'un >GOÉLAND À QUEUE NOIRE a été observé hier et à nouveau ce matin à Charlotte, >Vermont. Cette localité est située au sud de Burlington à environ 2 heures >de route de Montréal. Vous trouverez dans les messages suivants plus de >détails et une carte indiquant l'endroit exact. > > >À la prochaine > >Pierre Bannon >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Photos >http://pbase.com/pbannon >Le miroiseur informé >http://pages.videotron.com/pbannon/index.htm >____________________________________________ >________________________________________ >From: Matthew Medler [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: 19 octobre, 2005 09:51 >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Black-tailed Gull near Burlington, Vermont > >Pierre, > >I have been meaning to introduce myself to you for some time, as I read (or >attempt to read) your messages to Ornitho-QC with great interest--they are >of a very high level that I grew accustomed to while working at the Lab of >Ornithology and birding in Ithaca, NY. > >I am writing now because I thought that you and others on the Ornitho-QC >listserve might be interested in the sighting of a Black-tailed Gull on Lake >Champlain both yesterday and today. I will include my two messages to the >Vermont listserve below--feel free to forward and/or translate them for >Ornitho-QC. Unfortunately, I do not (yet) speak French, so I am unable to >do so myself. > >Best regards, >Matt Medler >Charlotte, VT > >P.S. For links to photos, visit the VTBird section of birdingonthe.net: >http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/VTBD.html > >Subject: BLACK-TAILED GULL on Lake Champlain >From: Matthew Medler <mdm2 AT cornell.edu> >Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:20:02 -0700 (PDT) >Earlier this afternoon (18 October 2005), Julie Hart discovered a gull at >Charlotte Town Beach, Charlotte, Vermont, that I strongly believe is a >BLACK-TAILED GULL. The bird is still present as I write this message. Here >is a >brief description of the bird: > > >Similar in size to the Ring-billed Gulls with which it is associating >Dark gray mantle, noticeably darker than Ring-billed Gull >Relatively long, straight bill with bright reddish tip, bordered by black >ring, >then yellowish-greenish on rest of bill (to base) > >Heavily-streaked/smudged head, especially on nape; smudging >blackish/charcoal >color; darkest smudging on nape, then extending forward towards neck, >forming a >fairly distinct semi-collar > >White tail with very distinct black sub-terminal band >Black primaries with at least five showing small amounts of white on the tip >Broad white trailing edge on inner half of wings >Yellow legs >Yellow iris > >Those are the major points that Julie Hart, Ted Murin, and I observed on >this >bird. They are now attempting to photograph/videotape the bird. Since we are > >all unfamiliar with this species, we would welcome any identification >comments >from gull experts. > > >Good birding, >Matt Medler >Charlotte, VT > >Subject: Black-tailed Gull Update >From: Matthew Medler <mdm2 AT cornell.edu> >Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 06:05:06 -0700 (PDT) >I stopped by Charlotte Town Beach very briefly this morning (19 October >2005) >at 8:15 a.m. Dick Lavallee and a few other birders were present, and they >*have >seen* the Black-tailed Gull this morning. It was not visible during my brief > >stay, but they believed that the bird is still in the area. Earlier in the >morning, they observed it attempting to land on a small concrete pier that >is >slightly north of the town beach. The Ring-billed Gulls in the area would >not >allow it to land there, so it ended up on a grassy area near the base of the > >pier. Dick and others temporarily took their eyes of the bird, and when they > >went to look for it again, they did not see it. However, they do not think >that >the bird flew away. Instead, they think that it is probably just on the far >side of the pier, out of view from the town beach. If I receive any >additional >updates, I will post them. > > >The following is a link to a "big picture" map of the Burlington area, with >the >village of Charlotte marked with a red star: > > > >http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&country=US&addtohist >ory=&searchtab=home&address=&city=charlotte&state=vt&zipcode > > >Zooming in two levels provides the detail necessary to follow roads to the >town >beach. From the red star, go west a short distance on Ferry Road until the >intersection with Lake Road. Turn right (go north) on Lake Road and follow >it >until you come to a 25 mph zone and then go under a covered bridge. The >parking >lot for the town beach is on your right almost immediately after coming out >of >the covered bridge. > > >Good luck! > >Matt Medler > > > > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------- >mail2web - Check your email from the web at >http://mail2web.com/ . > > >_______________________________________________ >ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial >birding organization. >Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected] >For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit >http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdshow.htm >ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm
