A great day on the Niagara River today. Highlights were: Slaty-backed Gull - 1 adult on the ice floes, floating downriver at Queenston. I first picked it out just downstream from the boat docks, from where it continued floating downstream until it was out of sight. This bird was reported here last weekend as well (from the American side), so possibly a reliable place to look while it's cold enough for there to be some ice on the river.
California Gull - 1 adult at the roosting rocks (just upstream from Adam Beck). I presume this is the same bird reported once at the end of December, although I'm not aware of any reports since then. Fish Crow - 1 at the race track in Ft. Erie. I had 11 gull species in total, including 1 Little (Queenston), 1 Thayer's (Adam Beck), 30+ Iceland (all Adam Beck), approx. 10 Glaucous (everywhere I stopped), 5 Lesser Black-backed (all above the falls) and 2 presumed hybrids (1 Lesser Black-backed x Herring, 1 Great Black-backed x Herring). A post on Genesee Birds (Western New York) by Jim Pawlicki today lists the significant number of gulls he had on the other side of the river as well (Genesee Birds<http://birding.aba.org/message.php?mesid=344373&MLID=NY04&MLNM=New%20York%20Genesee> ). Probably the most impressive sight was the number of ducks in the river at Ft. Erie. The eastern end of Lake Erie is completely filled with ice, which seems to have pushed large numbers of waterfowl into the upper river. Between the Peace Bridge and the ice edge to the south were tens of thousands of ducks (mostly Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead and Red-breasted Merganser). The river was literally black with waterfowl. Good Birding, Gavin Platt Toronto, ON Directions: Queenston Boat Docks: Turn east off the Niagara Pkwy onto Dumfries St. in Queenston. After crossing Princess/Front St, the road becomes less well maintained and heads downhill. Follow this down to the boat docks. Roosting Rocks: From the Adam Beck parking area (on the Niagara Pkwy, south of the Queenston/Lewiston bridge), walk south along the riverside trail. You will soon come to a gap in the fence on the river side, from where the roosting rocks can be viewed. There are typically several exposed rocks in the centre of the river, but the water was too high today and all gulls were perched on the rocks on the US side of the river. Ft. Erie Race Track: Exit the QEW at Concession Rd and go north. Turn left at Catherine St. This leads to the race track. The crow was around the main building. _______________________________________________ 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/
