Dateline: 10 April 2022
Just a quick update from last Saturday, ahead of Easter weekend, mainly for mentioning recent sightings of Bonaparte’s Gulls at Presque Isle State Park. Considering the number of gulls at Presque Isle generally, seeing anything other than Ring-billed and Herring Gulls is relatively uncommon and rather exciting – might be BirdingPI.com’s first sighting of Bonaparte’s Gulls since 2020.
Identification-wise, be on the lookout for the black head. Beyond that, the black bill, white eye arcs, black wing tips, and orange/pink feet distinguishes it from similar-looking gulls like the Black-headed Gull (reddish bill, less-extensive head coloring with perhaps a bit of brown, etc.)
Here’s another Bonaparte’s Gull but with a mottled grey head, presumably molting/in transition:
Moving on, other “first this season” sightings on Sunday included Caspian Tern (Graveyard Pond) and Killdeer (grassy parking area by Beach 11).
Still a number of Great Egrets on Graveyard Pond, but far fewer than Saturday:
Red-breasted Mergansers, Graveyard Pond:
Belted Kingfisher, edge of Thompson Bay:
Regarding birding conditions generally, right now it’s all about the water – lots of activity on the bay and ponds, very little on the interior, e.g., the Pine Tree Trail on Sunday was a nice walk, but yielded up just one bird sighting (Blue Jay).
This BirdingPI.com post brought to you by Ring-billed Gulls:
