[nysbirds-l] Niagara River - Thursday; Leucistic Red-winged Blackbird - Today
This Thursday, Betsy and I went out on the US side of the river with Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway for a few hours. We started at the Lewiston boat ramp, where the many LONG-TAILED DUCKS were in full chorus. This is always a highlight at this spot at this time of year. There were a fair number of gulls to look at (although Bonies were way down from our last visit), including ICELAND, LITTLE, and a second basic NELSON'S GULL, which is a Herring-Glaucous hybrid (got photos). A quick stop at the Devils Hole S.P. roosting rocks yielded another ICELAND GULL. Goat Island was wonderful, with lots of ice making for a dramatic scene. Although there was only a fraction of the number of gulls that were here in December and early January, the diversity was excellent. We had four ICELAND GULLS, one GLAUCOUS GULL, and one THAYER'S GULL (more photos!), none of which were adults. I think that the three LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS we saw here were all adults. There were also many MALLARDS, BLACK DUCKS, and GADWALLS, as well as REDHEAD, GOLDENEYE, BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON MERGANSER, and HOODED MERGANSER. All of this activity was at the east (upstream) end of the island, away from the falls. On the shelf above Three Sisters Islands, there were a few groups of gulls totaling around 100 birds, almost all of which were RING-BILLED GULLS. A flock of SNOW BUNTINGS was seen briefly on Hulbert Road in the Town of Wilson. While driving home from work today, I encountered a remnant of the Red-winged Blackbird flock (450 of them two weeks ago) that I have seen before (on Porter-Center Rd in the Town of Porter, Niagara County). With this group of 150 or so birds was a beautiful leucistic RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. This bird was mostly white with some black flecks and small splotches and a black loral line. It also sported a lovely ochre-buff wash on the lower throat and upper breast and, to my surprise, at least a spot of red on the lesser coverts, most of which were concealed. A lovely bird that made me sorely miss not having anything to photograph it with. Good birding! Willie Willie D'Anna Betsy Potter Wilson, NY dannapotterATroadrunner.com http://www.betsypottersart.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Niagara River - Thursday; Leucistic Red-winged Blackbird - Today
This Thursday, Betsy and I went out on the US side of the river with Jean Iron and Ron Pittaway for a few hours. We started at the Lewiston boat ramp, where the many LONG-TAILED DUCKS were in full chorus. This is always a highlight at this spot at this time of year. There were a fair number of gulls to look at (although Bonies were way down from our last visit), including ICELAND, LITTLE, and a second basic NELSON'S GULL, which is a Herring-Glaucous hybrid (got photos). A quick stop at the Devils Hole S.P. roosting rocks yielded another ICELAND GULL. Goat Island was wonderful, with lots of ice making for a dramatic scene. Although there was only a fraction of the number of gulls that were here in December and early January, the diversity was excellent. We had four ICELAND GULLS, one GLAUCOUS GULL, and one THAYER'S GULL (more photos!), none of which were adults. I think that the three LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS we saw here were all adults. There were also many MALLARDS, BLACK DUCKS, and GADWALLS, as well as REDHEAD, GOLDENEYE, BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON MERGANSER, and HOODED MERGANSER. All of this activity was at the east (upstream) end of the island, away from the falls. On the shelf above Three Sisters Islands, there were a few groups of gulls totaling around 100 birds, almost all of which were RING-BILLED GULLS. A flock of SNOW BUNTINGS was seen briefly on Hulbert Road in the Town of Wilson. While driving home from work today, I encountered a remnant of the Red-winged Blackbird flock (450 of them two weeks ago) that I have seen before (on Porter-Center Rd in the Town of Porter, Niagara County). With this group of 150 or so birds was a beautiful leucistic RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. This bird was mostly white with some black flecks and small splotches and a black loral line. It also sported a lovely ochre-buff wash on the lower throat and upper breast and, to my surprise, at least a spot of red on the lesser coverts, most of which were concealed. A lovely bird that made me sorely miss not having anything to photograph it with. Good birding! Willie Willie D'Anna Betsy Potter Wilson, NY dannapotterATroadrunner.com http://www.betsypottersart.com -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
