Six avid gull-watchers got together for a day of birding the river Tuesday (Jean Iron, Ron Pittaway, Kevin McLaughlin, Declan Troy, Ross Harris, Betsy Potter, and me). There were lots and lots of gulls to study, both at Adam Beck (the power plants) and above the falls. At Adam Beck, we had about 15 ICELAND GULLS, 4 GLAUCOUS GULLS (2 adult, 1 juv, 1 second basic), 4 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, 2 adult and one juvenile THAYERS GULL, and a possible CALIFORNIA GULL. The latter bird was about in the middle between a Herring and Lesser BBG in mantle shade, was slightly smaller (seen in flight only), had lots of black in the wingtips that cut straight across the wingtip, and two large mirrors. We had this bird for a few minutes but nobody managed to get it in their scope to see bill pattern, leg color, or eye color, so we consider it unconfirmed. We had another bird here that was very similar to a California Gull which appeared to be the same bird that Betsy and I saw on Christmas day. All of us agreed that this was not a California Gull - it only had one small mirror and the leg color was a pinky yellow, features that are not right for a California Gull. We think that it was probably a Herring x Lesser BB Gull hybrid.
At Queenston (from the boat ramp below the escarpment), we had one adult LITTLE GULL and four DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS. Above the falls of Niagara, we had four more GLAUCOUS GULLS (all juvenile or second basic), six ICELAND GULLS, six LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, and one adult and one juvenile THAYERS GULL. In addition we had the same HERRING x GLAUCOUS GULL hybrid (also known as NELSON'S GULL) that we had on Christmas day. With a better view today, I could see that it was not in adult but rather in third basic plumage or possibly in advanced second basic plumage. As three days ago, this bird was roosting on the rocks out from the Greenhouse. Our total of 8 Glaucous Gulls on the day was the most on the river in several years. We also had two PURPLE SANDPIPERS on the usual rocks between the large power building above the falls and the gatehouse (a much smaller building just upstream). We kept our eyes up in the Queenston area but never saw any Black Vultures. We tried to find the mega-rarities that have been reported recently - first-winter and adult Mew "Common" Gulls and Slaty-backed Gull - but came up empty. If you want people to have the best chance of relocating your mega-rarity, then when you report it to the bird lists, PLEASE provide a reasonably THOROUGH DESCRIPTION of the bird that includes: 1-Size relative to Herring or Ring-billed; 2-Headstreaking; 3-Leg color; 4-Bill shape and pattern on the bill; 5-Mantle shade relative to other species; 6-Eye color; 7-Wingtip pattern; and 8-Other details specific to your rarity such as the tertial crescent on a Slaty-backed Gull or Common Gull compared to other species. In addition there is usually other information that could possibly help (what species the rare gull was associating with, what it was doing, did it have any noticeable habits, what time of day was it). I know this means a little extra effort but it is especially important for the rare gulls because gulls are so extremely variable and hybrids are relatively numerous. In addition most variations and hybrids are not shown in standard field guides. Finally, if you are able to obtain photos, try to post them on a web site for public viewing (for example, the OFO web site for birds in Ontario). Good birding! Willie ---------------- Willie D'Anna Betsy Potter Wilson, NY dannapotterATroadrunner.com http://www.betsypottersart.com _______________________________________________ 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/
