Birder's I can feel half the readers rolling their eye's and the other half thinking who cares.
Yesterday Oct.30th I had an apparent adult Vega Gull at the Sult Ste. Marie landfill. I have documented and studied the bird down to every last feather and have posted a detailed analysis of the bird on my blog. The possibility of the bird being a hybrid imitator has been very carefully entertained and I believe the bird to be a genuine Vega Gull. Although no documented record for Ontario exists to my knowledge Michael Brothers had a well documented adult last winter in Florida. Certainly it doesn't seem any more unlikely than Slaty-backed Gull which is a yearly visitor to western Lake Superior. Although Vega Gull is considered a subspecies of Herring Gull by the AOU (Larus argentatus vagae) -most authorities(Olsen & Larrson, Howell & Dunn, Ujihara) consider it a distinct species Larus vagae. You can view the pictures and analysis on my blog. http://larusology.blogspot.com/ The bird was present at the Sault Landfill for several hours on the afternoon of Oct.30th. . Unfortunately this site is not open to the public. To excellent viewing areas for gulls in the late afternoon exist along the St. Mary's River. One is on the Canadian side at the base of the rapids best seen from the Locks complex of Canal St. A viewing platform is at the end of the big field to the south east of where you can walk across the locks. The other spot is on the American side on the west end of West Portage Ave-1000s of gulls collect on the pier in the afternoon. Viewing must be done through a big metal fence. Dafter Landfill south of Sault Ste. Marie is open to the public and is excellent for gull study. I was unable to relocate the bird today but it is likely still around I would be appreciative of comments on this bird. Kirk Zufelt_______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list ONTBIRDS@hwcn.org For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
