As far as I know, the Slaty-backed Gull was not found today at Oswego Harbor. I know Judy Thurber and Andrew VanNorstrand looked and found a Lesser Black-backed Gull. Lisa Welch and I looked between 2:15-2:45 pm with Bill Purcell but there were few large gulls. We checked again between 6:00-6:15 pm and found a few Great Black-backs and the Lesser BB but no sign of the Slaty-backed. It was too dark to say for sure but the LBBG was a 2nd or 3rd-cycle bird without conspicuous white marks in the primary tips and a narrow-at-best tertial crescent and no white "skirt".
Over at Fair Haven, a female (or possibly 1st-year male) Barrow's Goldeneye was with Common Goldeneye near the entrance to the channel. These birds are easily spooked and will flush and may not come back right away from the Lake - observing at a distance is recommended. I'm pretty sure this is not the same one that was at Oneida Lake in January. It has a tiny but more dull yellow bill with dusky base, very steep (nearly vertical) forehead, and a long, bulbous mane. It is best (and easily) picked out in silhouette since the yellow color does not leap off the bill as was the case with the bird at Brewerton. Dave Wheeler N Syracuse, NY Fair Haven - Little Sodus Bay and channel, Cayuga, US-NY Mar 2, 2013 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: With Lisa Welch; birds easily spooked 15 species (+1 other taxa) Mute Swan 12 American Black Duck 4 Mallard 4 Redhead 150 estimated Greater Scaup X plenty; not sure of the fraction of Greater/Lesser Lesser Scaup X plenty; not sure of the fraction of Greater/Lesser Greater/Lesser Scaup 300 estimated White-winged Scoter 50 estimated Long-tailed Duck 10 Common Goldeneye 200 estimated Barrow's Goldeneye 1 female or 1st-year male; tiny bill, dull yellow with dusky base, nearly vertical forehead and large mane; easily distinguished in silhouette; believe not the Oneida Lake bird Common Merganser 200 estimated Red-breasted Merganser 50 Ring-billed Gull 400 Herring Gull 75 Great Black-backed Gull 20 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13243926 Oswego Harbor - Breitbeck Park, Oswego, US-NY Mar 2, 2013 5:55 PM - 6:15 PM Protocol: Stationary Comments: Too dark for a meaningful count 10 species Canada Goose 30 White-winged Scoter X Long-tailed Duck X Common Merganser X Red-breasted Merganser X Ring-billed Gull 300 Herring Gull 30 Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 15 Mourning Dove 2 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13243768 -- 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/ --
