We had a successful pelagic trip out of Lewes, DE. Highlights included
COMMON MURRE in both Delaware and Maryland waters (photos taken, to be
submitted to the states' records committees), a fantastic gull show, and the
now expected DOVEKIES. A small group of bow riding COMMON DOLPHIN were nice
also.
The alcids were a treat, of course, but the gulls really stole the show for
those who were interested in a little study. We put down a final tally of
16 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, though this may be very, very conservative.
Four 1st year birds were seen at once, and one or two could be picked out of
the flock for hours. We also had 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cycle birds, as well as
adults. White-winged gulls were nicely represented and a real treat was two
"NELSON'S" hybrid gulls (one looking like a typical GLAUCOUS x HERRING cross
and teh other being obviously paler). We also had an ICELAND GULL and a
GLAUCOUS GULL that stayed with us for hours, allowing itself to be coaxed
over from Maryland waters back over to the Delaware side of the line.
The final tallies are:
SPECIES DE MD Total
Surf Scoter 17 0 17
Black Scoter 1 0 1
dark-winged scoter (sp) 3 0 3
Red-throated Loon 7 0 7
Common Loon 16 2 18
Northern Gannet 34 13 47
Bonaparte's Gull 1 0 1
Herring Gull 58 770 828
Iceland Gull 0 1 1
Lesser Black-backed Gull 0 16 16
Glaucous Gull 0 1 1
"Nelson's" Gull 0 2 2
Great Black-backed Gull 5 104 109
Black-legged Kittiwake 2 0 2
Dovekie 0 155 155
Common Murre 1 4 5
Razorbill 19 0 19
large alcid (sp) 8 3 11
All in all, we had a great trip. We hope to see you aboard in the future.
-PAG
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*Paul A. Guris
See Life Paulagics
PO Box 161
Green Lane, PA 18054
215-234-6805
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