Happy New Year everyone!
Andy Guthrie, Betsy, and I birded the Niagara River from above the falls to
lower Queenston-Lewiston. Relatively very few birds at the power plants but
we had a few adult Iceland Gulls there; no California Gull, however. Very
few Bonaparte's Gulls at the Queenston Boat Ramp but there were more (though
still not lots) in the narrows toward the Lewiston-Queenston bridge. We
walked all the way to the bridge but did not find the Black-headed Gull that
was reported from this area on last Tuesday nor did we have any Little
Gulls. We did have a Winter Wren near the bridge.
Where we had most of our success today was from Goat Island on the New York
side (just downriver from the control gates). From 8:00 to 11:00 while we
were there, large flocks of Herring Gulls fed close to the island and many
more sat in the shallows nearby. We had 4 GLAUCOUS GULLS (1 ad,
2-second-winters, 1-first-winter), 3-4 ICELAND GULLS, 8-10 LESSER
BLACK-BACKED GULLS (all ages), and one adult gull that looked pretty good
for THAYER'S. Betsy and I also had some views of a gull which we believe
could have been an adult California Gull. However, we were unable to
confirm our impressions.
>From the pull-off below the control gates on the Ontario side, we had a
probable hybrid gull that was somewhat darker than the Herring Gulls, found
by Brandon Holden. The size, head and bill pattern suggested Herring and
Lesser Black-backed as parents but the legs and feet appeared pink without
yellow tones. We could not find the Palm Warbler that has been in the area
- we looked on both sides of the control gates.
The best of birding to you all in 2006!
Willie
----------
Willie D'Anna
Betsy Potter
Wilson, NY
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Subject: [Ontbirds]Red-headed Woodpeckers - Pinery P.P.
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Hi all!
After a very leisurely breakfast, having seen only 3 species at my
feeders (1st. bird of 2006 was a Tufted Titmouse) and 1 flyover Am. Crow, we
decided to go for a drive. Taking a circuitous route to Pinery PP, we first
checked out the feeders at the visitor's centre where the usual suspects
were found, including a Red-bellied Woodpecker and both Nuthatches.
At the maintenance area Emily spotted an adult Red-headed Woodpecker
as soon as we turned onto the access road. Penny and I both saw it fly down
to a very crooked ~25 ft. snag, where it disappeared. We persisted scanning
this area until we finally saw its head barely poking out of a hole. A
second adult bird flew into sight further back and called, prompting the
first to exit its hole into a brilliantly close position. What a treat to
see on this gray day.
We drove on to Point Edward (Common Loon) via Kettle
Point(Great-Black-backed Gull) adding new species as we went eventually
arriving at Sarnia Bay, where our best birds were a 1st or 2nd winter
Glaucous Gull, several Canvasback, Ring-necked and a single Ruddy Duck.
My total count was 35 species (2 for my winter list) - not a bad
January 1st. considering we left the driveway after 1:30 p.m.
Happy New Year to all and
cheers!! Maris
Maris Apse
10094 Red Pine Road, Box 22,
RR #2 Grand Bend ON N0M 1T0
(519) 238 - 8415
