On Tuesday afternoon I biked over to Treman State Marine Park hoping for a better look at the Iceland Gull I'd scoped on the red lighthouse breakwater Monday afternoon from Stewart Park during a brief taxi break. When I stopped at the marina, noting the 2 continuing juvenile BRANT, I was surprised to see in the distance that the red jetty breakwater was nearly devoid of birds - just 3 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 2 HERRING GULLS and a pair of MALLARDS, rather than the hundreds of gulls I'd expected. With the scope I saw a good reason: On the base of the red lighthouse stood an immature PEREGRINE FALCON picking at the carcass of an immature Great Black-backed Gull. I wish I'd seen that encounter. Within a couple minutes the falcon started walking around restlessly, then flew out over the lake and back toward the marina to land in some unseen perch in the big trees to my north.
I checked out the numerous gulls on the docks in Treman Marina, but couldn't see anything unusual, so I walked to the lakeshore. Looking back I could see that the lawn on the east end of Stewart Park was crowded with gulls, perhaps also refugees of the peregrine attack. An hour later as I was passing by the marina again, for some unknown reason many of the gulls took flight, and I was able to pick out an ICELAND GULL, which conveniently re-settled atop one of the posts. I think it was either a second or third winter bird. Although it had very pale brown streaking, giving it an off-white appearance in flight, it also had a pale gray mantle, and a very pale yellowish bill with a grayish ring near the tip. It had a cuter, small-billed and round-headed profile than most Herring Gulls although its bulk was the similar to Herring. In flight it appeared broad-winged, and the undersides of the wings were white. Close inspection of the wings at rest showed some extremely pale brown into the primaries, which at first glance had appeared white.
Waterfowl off Stewart were much the same as lately. HOODED MERGANSERS, and COMMON GOLDENEYE numbers are up over the past few days. I saw no Ruddy Ducks nor scaup, but a male CANVASBACK has joined the small group of REDHEADS.
--Dave Nutter
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