Folks. 

I went out again today to try and find a Glossy Ibis for the big year list.  I did not find any ibis, but about 1:30 PM on my way back from Cobb Island, I took a different route north.  I went up Mt. Victoria Road.  I noticed about one mile from Rt. 257 lots of white dots way over in a field on Mt. Victoria Estates.  I slowed to a stop, scanned through the trees and brush to see a large flock of gulls, perhaps up to 1000 birds.  On careful inspection I estimated about 70 percent were Bonaparte's.  Tired, wet, and hungry I fought the urge to say the heck with it and go home.  

I found a farm drive (unused) and parked.  I climbed through the greenbrier and peered over the wet field for about twenty minutes looking for something smaller with dark underwings.  I was about to give up with the rain falling heavier when I noticed a gull with an unusual back pattern.  The pattern was darker then the young bonies, and in the shape of an M.  The feature I noticed (well I thought I noticed in the lousy weather) was the dark pattern did not circumscribe the entire wing.  Only the forewing, across the center of the wing to the back, and the trailing edge of the wing was unmarked.  Bonaparte's Gulls have a dark pattern that circumscribes the entire wing, and is no where near as dark and dispersed as the pattern on this bird.  

I went back to the car to review the gull plates in the National Geographic Guide.  I thought of Kittiwake but it is larger then Bonies.  Little Gull was the obvious choice, but this is a county bird and the viewing conditions were not good.  I returned to the edge of the field to get a second look with camera in hand.  The bird did fly frequently after I found it, did not rest as much (fortunately), and the flight was more lofty then the bonies.  The flock began to move further away and the group that the suspect Little Gull was in flew to an adjacent field.  

Hoping to get closer to the bird, I returned to the car and moved south on Mt. Victoria Road.  Since the road was the only place to park and maybe two cars had passed in 40 minutes, I stopped opposite the new field, sort of in the road and parked.  This time I could see better, the birds were closer, and I had the camera.  The first winter Little Gull flew a few more times and I hope I got recognizable shots.  

The rain started again, the wind was blowing, it was at least 2:30, and I was still cold, wet, and hungry.  I tried to find the bird in the scope (I had returned to the car again) but was unable to find it.  The flock was again moving away.  

The bird was smaller than the associated Bonaparte's Gulls, but did not have obvious rounded wings and dark under pattern I was looking for.  I came home and reviewed the Small Gull video and Peter Grant's Gull Guide to conclude that the bird was a first winter Little Gull (#142 for the big year and #262 for the county life list).

This species is a life bird for Gwen, and I may be in trouble when she gets home from work.  I did call her when I got home, but she could not get away from work.  Guess where I will be first thing in the morning?  

This bird may also represent the first record for Charles County for this species, and I hope the pictures are diagnostic.  I don't think this is an MOS record write-up bird, but as Marshall would say "is long over due".  It only took me getting retired.

Other birds of note on my ibis search were:

4 Snowy Egrets at Aqua Land
1 Adult Northern Gannett at Cobb Island pumping station - flying north to the Harry Nice Bridge
40 Greater Yellowlegs at Allen's Fresh
10 Lesser Yellowlegs at Allen's Fresh
120 Bonaparte's Gull (yes a second flock but first) at/flyby the Port Tobacco Marina
50 Royal Terns on the Potomac - 35 at Pope's Creek and 15 at Morgantown
3 Caspian Terns at/flyby the Port Tobacco Marina
3 Forster's Terns at Morgantown
1 Red-headed Woodpecker at Bumpy Oak wetlands (since they make the Voice report and Northern Gannetts in Charles County don't, this is included.)
1 Eastern Kingbird at Swan Point Road (#141 for the big year)
1 male Eastern Towhee at the house
10 Chipping Sparrow at the house
1 Field Sparrow at the house (#71 for the year yard list)
1 Fox Sparrow at the house - still!
1 Swamp Sparrow  at the house - after all the rain, everywhere must seem like a swamp
25 White-throated Sparrow at the house
35 Dark-eyed Junco at the house

Crummy weather once again produces a good bird.

Drying out.

George






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