11/20/13
I was also in Chambly, Quebec today with Mary Beth Warburton (who drove us) and
Eileen Wheeler. I can add some road names, which may help anyone traveling up
to look for the Ross’s Gull. We arrived in the afternoon at the park, and a
Quebec birder said the Ross’s Gull had been observed on the water for 3 hours,
but flew away about 45 minutes before we arrived (of course). The park is off
“Avenue Bourgogne” (on the south side of the large body of water “Bassin de
Chambly” – wide area of the Richelieu River). We did not have maps, and it
took us awhile to find the waste water treatment ponds on “Boulevard
Industriel”. Birders at the ponds said they had been there all day with no
sighting of the bird. Gary Chapin and Pat and John Thaxton left the ponds for
the park, and a little while later Gary texted me that the bird was being
observed from the Marina (at a great distance away). (Thanks to Rich Fried for
finding the bird on this large body of water, and for texting Gary.) This
information started a car stampede toward the marina! It reminded me of
paparazzi! There were birders from multiple states that had waited all day to
see the bird, and it was nearing sunset, so there was a lot of excitement at
the news. Even at a great distance, I was able to see the bird’s field marks.
The pink body color was very obvious with the sun shining toward the bird.
Even when the gull had its back to us, you could see a pink glow as it held its
tail up. There appeared to be a park on the other side of Bassin de Chambly
that would get us closer to the gull, so we drove around – the park on the
other side is off highway 133 labeled “Chemin des Patriotes S” on MapPoint.
This park is on the east side of Bassin de Chambly – and this was a problem as
we all looked at the bird to our west with the sun going down! It became just
a silhouette.
So the Ross’s Gull spent the day on Bassin de Chambly and was not observed on
the waste water treatment ponds today. I spoke with Sean O’Brien, who has
traveled up twice to see the gull, and he said they were fortunate to find the
Ross’s Gull on the ponds at close range during their trips.
One more note: as we drove around Bassin de Chambly, I spotted a dam and
waterfall along “1e Rue”. The Ross’s Gull appeared to be feeding in the
current this created. It would drift north and then fly back south to the
beginning of the current on Bassin de Chambly.
It was nice to run into familiar birders and to meet new ones (although, it
would have been helpful if I could remember more of my high school French!)
There was a Barred Owl calling at Mary Beth’s Potsdam house when we got back.
On my drive to Long Lake, I listened for owls in a few locations. No owls
heard, but I found a Porcupine on Sabattis Circle Road!
Joan Collins
Long Lake, NY
From: bounce-110935947-13418...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-110935947-13418...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Rich Fried
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 6:30 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Ross's Gull - Quebec
While this is definitely out of our area, it is worth noting that the Ross'
Gull was still present today in Chambly, Quebec, although not at the waste
water treatment plant lagoons where it has typically been seen since it's
discovery on November 10th. Rob Bate and I found it via distant scope view from
the Chambly Marina at approximately 2:30 pm. We called Gary Chapin, who was
standing vigil at the sewage lagoons with Pat & John Thaxton and many other
birders from near and far, and they all raced over and got on the bird. Even at
distance its extremely small size, long wings, small head, tiny bill, very pale
gray mantle and distinct pink body coloration were distinctive. It's a
beautiful bird, very rare outside of its high arctic home, and as Joe said,
worth the 5 1/2 hour drive from NYC.
Rich Fried
Sent from my iPhone
On Nov 20, 2013, at 5:28 PM, wrote:
Nov. 19, 2013
Considering the tremendous rarity of the Ross’s Gull in Eastern North America I
decided to make the 400 mile one way trip to see this bird. This bird was
reported in partial breeding plumage, that is pink, and its location, just
north of the NY state border at Chambly Quebec, was listed at sewage lagoons
opposite #2417 Boul. Industriel (my Tom-Tom found it right away). The
information about exact location and unique color made for a high probability
of success. After leaving Nassau County at 4am I arrived at noon, waited 2.5
hours and the bird appeared. The Ross’s Gull in this plumage was just a
fantastic sight. The thought that a bird that is hardly ever seen except
seasonally in northern Alaska or Siberia was here in front of me was totally
awesome.
At the sewage lagoons there are three ponds but only one is close and easily
visible. There were many birders there helping to locate the bird among the
numerous Bonaparte’s Gul
