Hello Birders, I spent a chilly day today attempting to find Jeff's Slaty-backed Gull in Niagara.
At the control gates, there were several black-backed gulls, and I did view a Slaty-backed-esque Gull at the start of the day that was foraging with the others, but I did not get a chance to study the bird for long. I waited for a while, and then came back again to find more birders at the gates, but nobody could re-find it in the time I was there (although there was a sighting similar to mine of a peculiar gull flying about). There was hardly anything noteworthy but a handful of GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS above the falls itself. The best diversity was at Adam Beck. The following were observed - Ad. CALIFORNIA GULL - Perched on the rocks and then flying around, giving good looks at the extensive black on the wingtips. Ad. COMMON GULL - In the water near the rocks, stretched to give a fantastic view of all-black P8 and large, striking mirrors on P9 and 10. Several Ad. & 1st cycle KUMLIEN'S GULLS. Beautiful animals. 1st-cycle & Ad. GLAUCOUS GULLS 2 Ad. THAYER'S GULLS Ad. & 1st cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS - It is neat to see the 1st cycle bird! A couple of GREAT BLACKED-BACKED GULLS and as many of the life stages of HERRING and RING-BILLED GULLS as one could wish for! At the Whirlpool, there were only a few BONAPARTE'S GULLS, as previously noted. I didn't stick around for the flyby, unfortunately. One of the local PEREGRINES perched on the wires near the Burlington Lift Bridge. Happy Gulling! Lev Frid Maple, ON _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
