Several people were birding the Niagara River from last Thursday through Sunday. The number of birders was well over 100 today. In fact there were nearly that many people just at the Adam Beck overlook on the Canadian side around 9:00 a.m. for the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) field trip, led by Jean Iron and Ron Tozer. Although numbers of gulls were decent these four days, they were especially good Sunday, presumably because the dumps do not operate on this day. In spite of the large numbers, the less common species have been difficult to come by. Even Iceland Gulls, which are typically rather easy to find by this time of year, were few and far between. However, despite this, birders turned up 11 species of gulls along the river. In addition there have been four adult male HARLEQUIN DUCKS at the usual spot slightly upriver from the stranded barge, which is above Niagara Falls. A male and a female have also been seen at the source of the Niagara River above the Peace Bridge in Buffalo recently. Also, in that same area was a juvenile BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE last Thursday (Shelley Seidman), which moved downriver to the foot of Hertel Avenue on Friday (Peter Yoerg).
An adult BLACK-HEADED GULL was seen by Alex Wiebe Saturday afternoon at 3:45 as it flew downriver past the power plants with Bonaparte's Gulls. It was then spotted about 20 minutes later by Ed Poropat and Jim Hopkins as the gulls flew out the mouth of the river onto Lake Ontario to roost for the night. Figuring that this bird might be hanging out at the Whirlpool (where the Spanish Aero Car is) during the day, Jay McGowan and his group from Ithaca, NY went there Sunday morning and found the bird. With patience and group effort, most of the birders on the Niagara River were able to see this bird, despite the difficulties of distance and height above the water that birding at this location presents. An adult LITTLE GULL was seen by a couple of groups in the lower Lewiston, NY-Queenston, Ontario area. This species had not been reported on the river since November 19th. Other gulls: Herring, Ring-billed, Bonaparte's, Great Black-backed (low numbers only), Lesser Black-backed (at least a dozen seen today), Iceland (about five seen today after only two the past few days), Thayer's (two today), Glaucous Gull (have been two above the falls but only seen by a few people today). A PINE WARBLER, picked up by its call note by Betsy Potter and identified by Dean DiTommaso, who then found it, was in the pines in the median of the Niagara River Parkway in front of the Greenhouse (above the falls). Purple Sandpipers still have not appeared on the Niagara River yet this season. However, BLACK VULTURES continue to be seen in the lower Lewiston, NY - Queenston, Ontario area. They are often observed roosting on a church in the Village of Lewiston and can even be viewed at a distance from the Queenston overlook, part way down the escarpment. Good birding! Willie ------------------ Willie D'Anna Wilson, NY dannapotterATroadrunner.com Willie's photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/107683885@N07/ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
