Went along Eastport drive this morning to see what i could find. Red Knot was spotted easily around 10:30 and remained there for more than an hour while i observed in ideal light. A fellow birder advised that a Red Phalarope had been seen the previous day, so i decided to spend some good time scanning the entire area down to CCIW (Red Phalarope would be a life bird for me). No luck finding that Phalarope, however there was still lots of birds to see.
While scanning on the north end of the southernmost island, I came across an interesting small gull. The beak was black, and overall it was smaller than a Herring Gull (which passed in close proximity for good comparison). It did not look like a kittiwake, since it did not seem to have the black hindcollar. Overall the back and wings appeared to show a brownish wash...which made me think of Sabine's Gull. On a short flight into the air, it showed black tips all the way down the primaries and secondaries (on the underside of the wing). I captured some poor record shots as the bird was quite distant. The bird remained relatively solitary and only made a short flight up and down when a Herring Gull and Cormorant came too close. I lost the bird with my head down trying to confirm if i got a decent record shot. I headed over along Van Wagner's to see if any scopes or interesting gulls were found on that side without success. I would appreciate any opinions on the photos. http://mustap.smugmug.com/Nature/Birding-in-Ontario/Van-Wagners-Beach/13873256_8howj#1415903231_FZ6RnQJ Location is on Eastport Drive between the QEW and the Canada Centre for Inland Waters. Thanks, Peeter Musta _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
