Gulls/Wind

Dateline: 5 November 2022

Very windy, mostly cloudy, + unusually warm Saturday at Presque Isle State Park. Seemed like a weather system coming in from the south. Rain overnight, patchy sun/windy as of Sunday morning.

All reported locations, relatively light bird activity – Blue Jay, kinglet, Canada Geese, woodpecker, GBH, and gulls.

Of note, these shots @ 500mm from Thompson Bay of a flock of lovely Bonaparte’s Gull, high in the sky battling the wind. (See bottom for ID info.)


Switching over to wide angle, looking up/south on the back bay (Presque Isle Bay), by East Pier:


Bonaparte’s Gull: bird on the bottom probably non-breeding adult. Note the white tail, black wing tips, dark bill, and dark spot to the rear of the eye. Bird on top, probably juvenile or first winter. Note the same dark bill and dark spot, + black tail tip and dark coloration along the forewings and wing backs (“M pattern“).

Little Gull is another possibility, but seems unlikely based on location.