Good gulls...
Norm Saunders (osprey@ARI.Net)
Sat, 2 Jan 1999 18:20:06 -0500
Fran and I spent from Sunday, December 27 through December 31 birding
in Ocean City and environs. While we managed to tally 95 species, a few
of which were new for us in Worcester County, the best birds of the week
had to be the two Black-headed Gulls seen well among the thousands of
Bonaparte's Gulls at Indian River Inlet.
We joined Mike and Joy Bowen at Indian River Inlet the day after the OC
CBC, Wednesday December 30. The wind was blowing hard from the
northwest and rain, sleet, and snow were flying horizonatally. Mike found
the first Black-headed Gull, an adult, that he and Joy had good looks at but
that Fran and I were unable to get onto because of the blowing rain and
fogged-up optics.
Soon after this we moved our cars into the south camping area and were
able to pull right up to the railing of the inlet, viewing the feeding Bonies
from as close as 20 feet away within the relative warmth and dryness of our
vehicles. Fran soon found the second Black-headed Gull of the day, this
one a first-winter bird, slightly larger and more robust-looking than the
Bonies and with a red bill and red feet and legs. This bird would struggle
against the wind in front of our cars then soar up and be swept backwards
fifty feet or so out the inlet, only to come along again for us to view. We
happily watched this one for at least 15-20 minutes.
Finally Mike and I left the cars again (the blowing rain and snow had
slackened off for a moment) to walk out toward the seaward end of the
inlet. A short distance beyond the overpass we came across the third
Black-headed Gull of the day, this one a full adult with very prominent head
markings, and much heavier and chunkier looking than the surrounding
Bonies.
That night, after a late dinner, we drove to the Ocean City inlet to see the
light show there. What we found was an amazing spectacle I've never
seen the likes of before. A very strong wind was blowing out the inlet,
which had been floodlit from all along the shore of the parking lot area. Out
into the floodlit area, and as far as we could see into the deepening night,
were hundreds upon hundreds of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, all flying
steadily into the wind at a height of maybe 5-6 feet above the dark, rushing
water of the inlet. These birds were flying at the same speed as the
onrushing wind so we could see them all flapping and flapping in place,
with a single-mindedness that has to be one of the eeriest sights we've
ever encountered!
Finally, today, being inspired by Gail Mackiernan's posts regarding the
PWRC Visitor Center, we drove over there and found our way through the
exhibits to the "viewing pod". What a civilised locale for viewing the
hundreds and hundreds of gulls loafing on the ice of the lake there! Maybe
the warmth and the lack of tears flowing from stingingly cold eyes was why
we located fairly quickly a first-winter Iceland Gull. The bird was hunkered
down on the ice but it stood out immediately from the surrounding Ring-
bills and Herring Gulls because it was all-over ivory-colored, with a faint
smattering of tan markings. The bird was obviously larger than the Ring-
bills and just about the same size as the Herring Gulls. Its bill was all
dark, fading slightly from a deep black tip to a very dark gray near the
base. Further, the bill was quite delicate looking compared to the bills of
the nearby gray-backed gulls.
We watched this bird for about 20 minutes until it was disturbed and took
flight. During our search of the herd for it we soon came across another all-
white gull, this one looking noticeably larger than any of the nearby gulls.
Once we got the bird in our scopes we saw the heavy gray bill with the
distally dark tip and knew we were looking at a Glaucous Gull. We
assumed from the spottiness of the brown markings on the ivory-colored
feathering that we were looking at a first-winter bird, but we'd be willing to
be corrected on this.
On the way out we ran into Barry and Gail coming in, so we hope they
were able to relocate both these lovely birds today as well.
Best and Happy New Year to all of you!
Norm & Fran
===============
Norm Saunders
Colesville, MD
osprey@ari.net