Eleven species of gulls were seen by about 75 birders on today's annual OFO field trip to the Niagara River. The outing was a great success in fine balmy weather and ideal viewing conditions.
1. Franklin's Gull: one first winter bird on the Roosting Rocks between Adam Beck and the Butterfly Conservatory and seen early and late afternoon flying in its usual right corner near the Robert Moses Dam at Adam Beck. 2. Little Gull: 1 adult at the Queenston boat Launch and 2 out of 3 that flew to Lake Ontario at the fly-past at Niagara-on-the-Lake. 3. Bonaparte's Gull: abundant. 4. Ring-billed Gull: common. 5. Herring Gull: abundant. 6. Thayer's Gull: 2 adults at Adam Beck Overlook. 7. "Kumlien's" Iceland Gull: 2 or 3 adults at Adam Beck overlook. 8. Lesser Black-backed Gull: 1 first winter at Adam Beck, and several adults at Chippawa and Goat Island across the river. 9. Glaucous Gull: 1 first winter in the middle of the river at Chippawa. 10. Great Black-backed Gull: many. 11. Black-legged Kittiwake: one first winter flying with Bonaparte's at the Whirlpool *Candidate Slaty-backed Gull: a very distant bird on the American side near Gull Island. However because of distance we could not see bright pink legs and string-of-pearls to confirm a Slaty-backed. *Possible hybrid gull: sleeping on the wall at Chippawa that had a darker mantle than Herring Gull and much head streaking. We were hoping for California Gull, but when it woke up it had pink legs and pale eyes. OTHERV BIRDS Juvenile Pomarine Jaeger seen all day at Adam Beck. 3 female Harlequin Ducks on the wall at Chippawa. 1 Purple Sandpiper on its usual rock right of the barge above the Falls. 2 Peregrine Falcons on the American side behind the barge. 3-5 Black Vultures seen at the overlook on the Niagara Parkway below Brock Monument and several seen at Adam Beck. Hooded Mergansers at Dufferin Islands reservoir. Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren and Red-bellied Woodpecker at feeders in Chippawa were seen by some of the group. There were no reports of the Razorbill at Niagara-on-the-Lake. GULL WATCHING GUIDE TO ONTARIO http://www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/gulls.php We thank the many people who attended the trip and hope that you had an excellent day. Jean Iron and Ron Tozer OFO Field Trip Leaders _______________________________________________ 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/
