While driving home along the Belt Parkway this evening I saw at least seven large swarms of gulls (mostly Laughing Gulls, but also many Ring-billed and and a few Herring), apparently feeding on flying ants. This phenomenon is expected at this time of year in coastal Long Island, e.g.,
http://www.nybirds.org/KBsearch/y1977v27n2/y1977v27n2p87-88lauro.pdf --but it is still very interesting, for instance, how do different colonies come to swarm at precisely the same time? The swarms I saw tonight were at Plumb Beach, east of Gerritsen Inlet, Paerdegat Inlet, Pennsylvania Ave., Erskine St., and two sites in South Ozone Park. I've posted a photo of an ant from a similar mass-swarming event along the Long Island shore a couple of years ago at: https://picasaweb.google.com/109808209543611018404/CrittersAndOthersFunctAndNotSo#5380791796728136466 Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________ Change is in the Air - Smoking in Designated Areas Only in effect.<http://www.csi.cuny.edu/tobaccofree> Tobacco-Free Campus as of July 1, 2012. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
