Don Perks and I birded the Niagara River from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm under idea viewing conditions from the falls to the Adam Beck Generating Station. We managed to find 9 species of Larids. The ice had completely jammed the Niagara River for at least two kilometers below the falls and no gulls or ducks were present thus limiting our search for Ross's Gull to areas above the falls. The Ross's Gull was located shortly after we arrived. It was located on the west side of a long 'ice island' about 1/3 the distance between the Canadian side of river and Goat Island and about 200 meters north of falls. It was seen briefly preening with group of Bonapart's Gulls and splashing in the water nearby. As of 3:00 pm, subsequent attempts to relocate it by us and by most other birders who were there were unsuccessful. However, two other birders informed us that they had found it feeding near the top off the falls on the Canadian side not far from where we saw it around 3:00 pm. So it seems that the Ross's Gull may remain in the area for an extended period. In the area above the falls we also found one adult Thayer's Gull, one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and at least a dozen Greater Black-backed Gulls among several hundred Bonaparte's Gulls and Herring Gulls and thousands of Ring-billed Gulls. Along the river adjacent Adam Beck we found one Black-legged Kittiwake, 3 Iceland Gulls and 3+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls feeding among over 700 Bonaparte's Gulls and smaller numbers of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.
Wayne Renaud (and Don Perks). _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
