Tag Archives: Gulls

Black-necked Stilts, Franklin’s Gulls, and Probable Neotropic Cormorant, May 27, 2016

Franklin's Gulls

Franklin’s Gulls (click to see the larger version)

I spent a couple hours at Montrose this morning, May 27. Most of the passerines from earlier in the week must have flown north with the south winds, which isn’t surprising. The waterbirding however was much better. Two Black-necked Stilts and 2 immature Franklin’s Gulls were on the beach early in the morning. The stilts were in the fluddle on the beach, working west and feeding along the way. They flew to the east and disappeared after a little while. The Franklin’s Gulls didn’t stay long either. Black-necked Stilt is an accidental species at Montrose, with just one previous record.

The real excitement came when a group of Double-crested Cormorants flew over that contained a noticeably smaller cormorant. We could tell the bird was brownish, so it was probably an immature, and based on size likely a Neotropic, a species unrecorded at Montrose. The bird was too far away and the flock was moving too fast to make out any other plumage features. I’m not going to add it to the list of birds seen at Montrose because of the distance involved but I think it was a Neotropic.

eBird Checklist
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29933222

March 19, 2016

I spent about 2.5 hours at Montrose this morning, March 19, most of that
time looking at the lake. The visibility was good and there were birds
to look at, both on the water and flying around. Except for blackbirds
and Robins, landbirds were scarce. My highlights (not a complete list):

Gadwall – ~12
American Wigeon – 5
Redhead – ~30
Lesser Scaup – ~20
Greater Scaup – 1
White-winged Scoter – ~20
Common Goldeneye – ~12
Bufflehead – ~7
Common Merganser – 1 adult male flying north
Red-breasted Merganser – ~300
Red-throated Loon – 2 flying north, both in basic type plumage
Common Loon – 1 alternate plumaged bird flying north
Horned Grebe – ~50, most on the lake but a few in the harbor
Eared Grebe – 1 alternate plumaged bird on the lake
Great Black-backed Gull – 1 first cycle
Glaucous/Iceland Gull – 1 near adult flying north

The Eared Grebe was a big surprise. I tried to turn it into something
more expected but everything about the bird said Eared Grebe. Somewhat
surprisingly it was in full alternate plumage; most of the Horned Grebes
today were still in basic plumage or transitioning into alternate
plumage. I also had a meadowlark in the Dunes that looked good for a
Western but I let it go.

Brown Trout (what?), March 11, 2016

Brown Trout

Brown Trout (click to see the larger version)

The birding wasn’t very good this morning but the fishing sure was. A lucky fellow caught this beautiful Brown Trout from the end of the Fishhook Pier just before I got there. Actually, I didn’t know it was a Brown Trout at the time but I did some research and Brown Trout is the best match (it turns out that fish identification can be just as difficult and challenging as bird identification). Brown Trout are native to Europe and Asia but have been introduced to many places around the world, including the Great Lakes. This one was about 2 feet long and 10-12 pounds.

Oh yeah, I also had a first cycle Great Black-backed Gull, so the birding wasn’t a complete loss.

White-winged Scoter and Iceland Gulls, February 24, 2016

Montrose Waves

Montrose Waves (click to see the larger version)

The high winds and resultant high waves drove many ducks off Lake Michigan and into Montrose Harbor today, February 24. Most were Common Mergansers and Common Goldeneye but I also had one White-winged Scoter. Two adult Iceland Gulls were also in the harbor. Here’s a shot of a wave breaking over the fishing pier.

Slaty-backed Gull, January 30, 2016

Slaty-backed Gull

Slaty-backed Gull in Montrose Harbor. Photo by Kanae Hirabayashi. (click to see a larger version)

An adult Slaty-backed Gull was at Montrose Harbor this morning, January 30. I first noticed the bird sitting on the water at the west end of the harbor around 7:45. I had a hunch it was a Slaty-backed due to the large size, dark upperpart color, heavy head and neck streaking, and prominent white tertial crescent. When the bird flew I could see several additional clinching field marks, including the broad white trailing edge to the wing and “string of pearls” primary pattern. The bird settled down on the ice for the next 45 minutes or so and several people were able to see and photograph it. It seemed quite content but at 8:45 it got up and flew to the north and didn’t come back. This is the 340th species and 20th gull for Montrose.

I had a few other things at Montrose this a.m., including an adult Thayer’s Gull in the harbor, 6 flyby White-winged Scoters, and the 2 continuing female type Ruddy Ducks in the lake south of the handicapped parking lot. Some kind of small fish are running in the harbor, which probably explains why there have been so many Herring and Ring-billed Gulls around, and why the Slaty-backed showed up.

Black-legged Kittiwake, November 13, 2015

Black-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwake. Photo by Geoff Williamson. (click to see a larger version )

One doesn’t usually associate Black-legged Kittiwakes with strong west winds on the west side of Lake Michigan but this morning a first year Black-legged Kittiwake flew south past Montrose Point, delighting the several people who were conducting a lakewatch at the end of the fishing pier.

Other birds seen on today’s westerlies include about a dozen Franklin’s Gulls (a more expected species on strong west winds), numbers of Bonaparte’s Gulls, several Northern Harriers, an American Woodcock, and a few Lapland Longspurs and Common Redpolls.