Good evening birders Today Sun.,Jan.25, 2004 Stan Bajurny and I went to Niagara among other places and on the Breakwater (Channel Control Wall) we found the adult California Gull reported earlier as well as 2 Lesser black-backed Gulls. Also here were 2 Iceland Gulls and at Adam Beck Dam we saw 5 Iceland and 1 adult Thayer's type Gull. We didn't use our scopes here so we can not say whether the adult California Gull that has been here since November was indeed still there.
We also continued up the river to Chippewa and on Peter St. found 1 Carolina Wren, 2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 1 Tufted Titmouse and about 50 other birds at a number of feeders. On the way down to the Niagara Region we drove down Line 1 Rd (Penner Rd) in Niagara-On-The lake (N-O-T-L) and found 50+ Snow Buntings and 1 Lapland Longspur just west of Hwy 55 and in a couple of places in N-O-T-L we found 3 Northern Mockingbirds. Between N-O-T-L and Chippewa we found no Bonaparte's Gulls and very few other Gulls, Adam Beck about 100 Gulls, above the falls and at the control Dam another 400or so and not much between these 3 places. Norm Murr Richmond Hill, ON DIRECTIONS CONTROL DAM Drive South (up river) from The Falls past Dufferin Island and you will see the International Control Dam on your left. Most of the good birds are found on the breakwater (channel control wall) below the dam but do not fail to check the flat rock islands beyond and the breakwater above the dam. Sometimes the dam control gates are fully opened enough to allow water to cover the breakwater below the dam. ADAM BECK POWER PLANT >From St Catherines drive east on the QEW to the junction (Y split) with Hwy 405. Drive down Hwy 405 to the Niagara Parkway (at the river), turn right (south th) and drive over the power dam to the small parking area on your left, park here and you can observe the gulls from the viewing area. The dam across the river in New York State is the Robert Moses Power Plant. PETER STREET Continue upriver past the Control Dams until you bump into a Tim Hortons, turn right here (or go in for a coffee first) and at the first street (name at this time not remembered), turn left and drive to Peter St. This is a crescent, so drive down to where it doubles back and on the left and in front of you will be 2 houses with a number of feeders. Park here keeping well to the left of the road and watch the show. --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Eliminate annoying spam! My mailbox is protected by iHateSpam, the #1-rated spam buster." http://www.ihatespam.net "Norm Murr" <[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.
