While looking for the SLATY-BACKED GULL that we co-found on Sunday, Betsy and I discovered a different adult SLATY-BACKED GULL. We had excellent views of it in flight as it fed about 200 yards from us. This bird differed from Sunday's bird by totally lacking black on the bill and also by lacking a mirror on p9 (that is, the second outermost primary). It was similar in its Herring Gull size, broad tertial crescent, rich reddish pink legs and feet, and very noticeable subapical white spots on p8, p7, and p6. Betsy also noted that it did not have the same concentration of streaks around the eye as Sunday's bird.
We found the SLATY-BACKED GULL sitting among the many gulls about a quarter mile above the falls mid river, looking from the Canadian side near the barge. Shortly after finding it, it flew upriver (thus, much closer to us) and began to feed with many other gulls, out from the gatehouse. The gatehouse is about 150 yards above (upriver from) the creek outlet from the Dufferin Islands Nature Area. There were tremendous numbers of large gulls both at the power plants and above the falls today. We saw multiple Iceland, Glaucous, Thayer's, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. We did not see any Purple Sandpipers nor any Harlequin Ducks. Good birding! Willie ------------------ Willie D'Anna Betsy Potter Wilson, NY dannapotterATroadrunner.com http://www.betsypottersart.com <http://www.betsypottersart.com/> _______________________________________________ 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/
