GULLS ARE BUILDING It was gull weather today! Four of us birded the river and noted a distinct increase in Herring and Bonaparte's Gulls. Early in the morning, there were lots of Herring Gulls in the gorge below the Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls and lots of Bonaparte's Gulls at the Whirlpool (where the Aero car is) and lesser numbers of Bonys at Lewiston/Queenston. There were moderate numbers of Herring Gulls above the falls. In the morning at the power plants, from the Adam Beck overlook, the gulls were quite unimpressive. However, the afternoon was a different story with a good influx of Herring and Ring-billed Gulls there at first, followed by a big increase in Bonys.
NEAT BIRD Our most interesting bird was a basic I (first-winter) Bonaparte's Gull, first seen at the Whirlpool and later studied well at Adam Beck. This was like a basic I Bony (adult-gray saddle, black terminal tail band) except the wings were very dark. There was extra melanin in the secondaries, primaries, primary coverts, and greater secondary coverts. This combined with the normal carpel bar to make the wings appear mostly dark. At any distance, they would appear all dark. The reduced white in the outer primaries was indistinct and only visible with a scope. You won't find this variant in any field guide that I know of but the Macmillan Field Guide to Bird Identification does show a similar variant basic I Little Gull on p. 110. Our Bony today was not quite as dark as the Little Gull illustrated in the Macmillan guide. The dark-winged basic I Bony is mentioned as being a very rare variant in Peter Grant's Gulls and Ron Pittaway's Gull Watching Guide in the OFO News (Vol 18, No 3, Oct 2000). As far as I know, such dark-winged variants have not been observed in adults. OTHER BIRDS OF NOTE 1 adult Brant at the Maid-of-the-Mist cove across from the American Falls 1 adult Little Gull at the Whirlpool and 1 adult at Queenston 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls above the falls 1 adult and 1 lovely juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull at Adam Beck 1 adult Iceland Gull at Adam Beck 1 darker-mantled Herring Gull below the control gates Good birding! Willie -------------- Willie D'Anna Betsy Potter Niagara Falls, N.Y. [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Willie D'Anna & Betsy Potter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit http://www.ofo.ca/ontbirdsguide.htm for information on leaving and joining the list. As well as general information and content guidelines.
