---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: James Pawlicki <jmpawl...@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 5:28 PM Subject: [GeneseeBirds-L] *Elegant Tern* on Niagara River at Beaver Island SP, Grand Island To: geneseebirds-l <geneseebird...@geneseo.edu>
This is just a quick note to get the word out on the internet in case anyone wants to make plans for tomorrow. Vicky Rothman called me up around 1 pm today saying that she had an "orange-billed" tern slightly larger than Bonaparte's Gulls sitting in the shallows of the Niagara River near the loop just offshore Beaver Island State Park (Grand Island, Erie County). I was able to see and photograph the bird with Vicki around 1:30 p.m. and after some observation it was clear to both of us that the bird was not a Royal Tern and was one of the smaller orange-billed terns -- apparently and perhaps most realistically a juvenile/1st-cycle Elegant Tern. WNY Birds text alerts went out and a few people started arriving in short order, although the bird was not seen again till 3 pm when it made a quick fly-by over the sitting gulls in the shallows, attempting, but not landing, and then continuing out of sight to the east towards Strawberry and (newly-formed/rocky) Frog Islands. Several other people arrived, but the bird was not seen again as far as I know. Places to check tomorrow apart from the above location would be to scope Frog and Strawberry Islands from either Beaver Island State Park or the Sheridan Drive Boat Launch in Tonawanda for sitting birds (distant, scope-needed), and possibly other locations on the upper river such as Rich Marine (which is still holding at least 6 Common Terns this evening per Tom Kerr) and other areas around Beaver Island park such as the wetland restoration at the east end near Ferry Rd., plus the sandy swimming beach (no birds there today) and the marina. I will post some record shots of the bird later this evening. Jim Pawlicki _______________________________________________ GeneseeBirds-L mailing list - geneseebird...@geneseo.edu https://mail.geneseo.edu/mailman/listinfo/geneseebirds-l -- Jay McGowan Macaulay Library Cornell Lab of Ornithology jw...@cornell.edu -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
