This morning at 10:30 I was surprised to have the adult Black-headed Gull fly over my head while I was walking on the Port Weller east pier, in St Catharines. It came in off the lake with a few Herring and Ring-billed Gulls and appeared to be heading towards the sewer outflow at Lock 1 of the Welland Canal. I drove over there and the gull was present, allowing me to take a few photos. After 5 minutes it flew to the south along the Welland Canal and out of sight.
This is presumably the same bird that was discovered on Niagara River in December, being observed most frequently at the Whirlpool. Dan MacNeal re-discovered it in Thorold along the Welland Canal on January 17, and Ryan Griffiths found it here at the Port Weller sewer outflow on February 2. Evidently this gull is hard to pin down and moves around frequently but it appears that checking the Locks along the length of the Welland Canal is your best bet to turn it up. The sewer outflow at Lock 1 can be viewed from Welland Canals Parkway a few hundred meters north of Lakeshore Road, on the west side of the Welland Canal. From the QEW, exit at Niagara St (Regional Road 48) and drive north towards Lake Ontario. After 5 km, turn right on Lakeshore Rd. Turn left onto Welland Canals Parkway which is the road on the left immediately before crossing over the canal. Good birding, Josh Vandermeulen joshvandermeulen.blogspot.com Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
