Another nice day for birding so I traveled the Tonawandas and Buffalo for the following: Tonwanda Island/ Little River (North Tonawanda) 1:50 pm 29 Canada Geese 4 Mallards 8 Hooded Mergansers 62 Ring-billed Gulls Fisherman's Park (North Tonawanda) 2:10 pm 9 Mallards 26 Ring-billed Gulls 2 American Crows East Niagara St (Tonawanda) 22 Canada Geese 3 Mallards 2 Hooded Mergansers There were many more Canada Geese in spots along the creek - but there are only certain spots that have parking, and I only counted the geese at that stop (I didn't want to cause an accident on account of Canada Geese). Squaw Island (Buffalo) 3:30 pm 350+ Bonaparte's Gulls 1 Black-headed Gull 2 Bald Eagles (on Strawberry Island) 1 Peregrine Falcon and of course a few Great Black-backed, Herring, and Many Ring-billed Gulls) I initially started looking from Rich Marina (foot of Austin St), but the glare of the water was terrible. I noticed a couple on Squaw Island packing up their scope, so I headed over to see if they had any luck. The couple turned out to be Marcie Jacklin and her husband Tim (I apologize if that's not his name!). The falcon put up the gulls, and they headed well out into the river. They came back in dribs and drabs and finally Marcie and Tim were able to put me on the bird. Notable were the bright orange-red bill, smaller and more circular spot on the head, and longer leaner look of the bird. It tended to keep it's neck somewhat outstretched as if looking for fish while on the surface of the water. When in the air, the black on the underside of the primaries was noticeable. I would like to ad that the difference in size between this bird and the Boneparte's Gulls seemed minimal (at least to me, I think the size difference between a Little Gull and a Boneparte's Gull is more significant). I mention this only to help other novice birders such as myself. Finally, I would like to thank Marcie and Tim for their help! They were very kind and spent a considerable amount of time helping me find the bird. Joe Fell Buffalo, NY --
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