I headed to Lake Ontelaunee again this evening to witness the growing numbers of gulls roosting on the lake. Apparently most of them are spending their days near a dump in Morgantown and then headed to Ontelaunee to roost. This evening there were again almost 2000 gulls, this time with a high percentage of Herrings than last time. I estimated about 500 Herring Gulls and 1200 Ring-billed Gulls. Also notable were the 3 adult Lesser and 1 adult Great Black-backed Gulls. I was looking especially hard for some of the white winged gulls (Iceland, Kumlien’s, Glaucous) but came up empty handed. Picked up two more birds for the year though to bring my total to a measly total of 53.
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For those of you who follow bird news around the globe, you are probably aware that vulture populations have crashed to an unsustainable level due to the widespread use of the veterinary medicine, diclofenac. Three species of vultures- the White-Rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Indian Vulture (Gyps indicus) and Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) declined by more that 95 percent in just three years in the 1990s and their populations have been declining by 22-48% since then. The populations are so low now that the species’ survival depends mainly on captive breeding success. .flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Slender-Billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) Birdlife International just issued a press release that a single White-rumped Vulture chick just hatched at one of the breeding centers.
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Today was a good day for gulls at Ontelaunee. When I arrived there were several hundred circling around in the air, giving a shimmering effect when they banked and caught the sunlight just right. They almost gave the impression of snow. While they were getting their act together and collecting to a more impressive flock of 1600 or so, I scanned the flocks of geese and ducks. Only one each of Tundra Swan and Snow Goose but in all the groups of Canada Geese I did find one smaller goose which was potentially a Cackling Goose. Recently split from the Canada Goose, Cackling Geese are significantly smaller and have short stubby bill. It can be quite a recreational activity combing through big flocks of Canada Geese in hopes of seeing one of these smaller, more rare geese.
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Well, I went to go find the Western Kingbird again. I figured it was so easy the first time, why not try to get it for this year’s list. It is an attractive bird anyways, so it would be nice to see again. Well, no such luck for me today. I arrived and a Herb from Lancaster County was already looking for. He had not seen it yet. I stood around for maybe 15 minutes before I took off to see what else I could find. I drove past the dump and was immediately impressed with the number of gulls taking advantage of the free food and the thermals created by the abnormally warm, 60°+ weather. Scanning the flock, I mostly saw Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, mostly adults but there was one adult Great Black-backed Gull, a FOY (first of year).
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Today I met up with a friend to do some birding around Lake Ontelaunee and Blue Marsh Lake. It is the beginning of January so the expectation is that there should be ducks and geese in large flocks. Unfortunately this was not the case. Only 5 species of duck made an appearance and two of those species (Bufflehead, Gadwall) were represented by lone birds. Gulls were in good numbers but too far away so we took a small hike where we saw some dickey birds. The highlight was 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler which pushed my yearlist up to 39 birds. That is not so hot of a start by I feel that I have been thwarted by the rainy weather on New Years Day and today was lacking because its been so nice and balmy here rather than freezing.
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While at Barnegat Light State Park in New Jersey late last year I was lucky enough to photograph a Herring Gull chopping down on a nice looking sea star. I normally associate sea stars with Florida or the West Coast because that is where I have seen the most and so I was surprised at first when I recognized the gull’s victim. Gulls are not picky eaters. In fact, Birds of North America (BNA) states that Herring Gulls are a “generalist predator on pelagic and intertidal marine invertebrates, fishes, insects, other seabirds, and adults, eggs, and young of congeners. Opportunistic scavenger on fish, carrion, human refuse.” BNA also says that they swallow small prey items whole while large prey items (gastropods, bivalves, sea urchins, crabs) are broken up and eaten or dropped on rocks to break them open.
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I was particularly lucky these finals days of the year, getting great looks at the Western Kingbird and pretty good looks at the Ash-throated Flycatcher. And even better, both these birds were close to my house so I didn’t have to spend money on gas. This is a great change after missing some key birds earlier in the year (Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Rufous Hummingbird). A year end trip to Barnegat Light, NJ yielded my life King Eider as well as great photo opportunities for Brant, Common Loon and Harlequin Duck. One of the highlights at Barnegat Light was seeing two Peregrine Falcons strafing a nervous flock of Purple Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones for about 5 minutes until one of the birds finally caught something. The other Peregrine immediately took off in hot pursuit. Unfortunately my digiscoping setup does not allow for easy shots of birds that are flying.
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Birds can be very interesting when they show up out of place, but they are especially exciting when they show up nearby and no long drive is necessary to see them. So is the case with this Western Kingbird, which I managed to see on the way home from breakfast this morning.
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The Ash-throated Flycatcher proved an easy target for my camera. I am heading off to New Jersey early tomorrow with my girlfriend so I need sleep and will post more of my adventures over the weekend.
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The last National Geographic has a great article on hummingbirds with some of the most beautiful hummingbird photographs I have ever seen. Apparently, these hummingbirds are captured, carried to the photographers SUV which is equipped with flowers and proceeds to photograph them. The goal is to document all the species of hummingbirds in order to better conserve them. To see more photos as well as videos click on the Steely-vented Hummingbird above.
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