At about 1:35 this afternoon I found a Mew Gull of what I believe to be the European race (Larus canus canus a.k.a. Common Gull) roosting on a ball field next to Gravesend Bay in Bensonhurst Park, Brooklyn
Just to show how fickle this hobby can be, here is the story of how I happened upon this bird. Last Saturday, at the end of the Brooklyn CBC, I made one last stop along Coney Island Creek to look for gulls that tend to congregate their at low tide. The wind was whipping at 25-30 mph+ and after about 5 minutes of scanning whilst being sand and snow blasted by said wind, I moved away from my scope and tried to use my binoculars, wrapping my hands around the oculars to protect my eyes. Nothing but Ring-bills and Herrings. In a near hypothermic stupor, I then proceeded to WALK AWAY from my scope and tripod, get into my car and drive home, running a couple of wife-requested errands enroute (can someone tell me why no one carries 1% milk by the gallon?). It was only upon parking in front of my apartment and opening the trunk did I realize what I had done. I drove back as fast as I could, but my well-used Zeiss Diascope and Bogen tripod were gone. Calls to the local police precinct in hopes that an honest individual might have found them have so far been unsuccessful. Which brings me to today. When a friend suggested I put up a couple of signs around the neighborhood where I left the scope offering a reward if found, I thought what better day to do that than another one with 30 mph + winds and horizontal rain. On the way to do this (armed with gaffer's tape and plastic sleeves for the flyers), I couldn't help but notice large numbers of gulls roosting along the Belt. As I still had my binoculars I pulled over into the the 2 parking lots along the Belt and -from the car-scanned the flocks. Nothing unusual. As I pulled out of the second lot and entered the service road, I noticed a few more gulls on the ballfields of Bensonhurst Park. I pulled over to take a look again and one of the gulls was decidedly darker-backed. Thinking I might have a candidate for Lesser-blacked backed, I decided to park in the metered parking just east of the park. I donned my poncho I keep in the trunk, and clutching an umbrella with 2 hands trudged through the mud to get a closer look. When I got out to the field, I couldn't find the bird I had seen from the road, but as I turned to walk back -or rather be blown back- to the car, there, not more than 40 feet away was a small billed, round-headed gull that I immediately knew was not a Ring-billed. I took a couple of digi-bin shots while bracing myself and the umbrella againt the third base dugout fence. I then hustled back to the car and made a few phone calls and a few intrepid birders were able to come out and enjoy the bird, though not necessarily the elements. I never did get those flyers up... Here is a link to the shaky shots I took.: http://tinyurl.com/yf9qqk9 The longish greenish based bill with dusky sub-terminal markings (albeit barely perceptible) and yellowish tip, the small rounded head, the dark eye (it looked black in life) the short necked look, the darker mantle (though subtly so), the large tertial crescent, big mirrors on P9-10, the fine streaking on head, strongest around eye and on collar, overall size and greenish gray legs all point to the Mew Gull complex. I believe the bill's dusky markings and overall length and color, the not too dark mantle, the fine streaking (vs. smudging ) on the head, and possibly the black subterminal mark on P5 would make it of the European race, but views of the spread wing would better substantiate that. Hopefully someone will get that opportunity tomorrow. Here is the location where the bird stayed until we left at ~ 3:45 p.m.: http://tinyurl.com/yezhpzd I have to wonder-based on age and location if this bird might be the same bird that Angus Wilson found in April, 2009. That was a second winter and this is an adult. BTW, if anyone has an extra scope lying around, I'm in the market... See you afield sometime, Shane Blodgett Brooklyn NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
