Outdoor Ontario

Birding Reports => Toronto Reports => Topic started by: Andreas Jonsson on January 16, 2010, 10:34:00 PM

Title: White-winged gulls at Ashbridges Park Saturday
Post by: Andreas Jonsson on January 16, 2010, 10:34:00 PM

There were some "white-winged" gulls at the Marina in Ashbridges Park this afternoon. I think they were Glaucous gulls, but I am not entirely sure yet. For pictures see here (http://outdoorontario.net/birds/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=4433).

Edit: Correction, these were most likely Iceland gulls, see discussion linked above.

Title: Ashbridge's Bay Today-Iceland Gulls
Post by: BC on January 17, 2010, 04:40:02 PM

Thanks for posting. I went down in the early afternoon today. An adult Iceland Gull (paler) was perched on the dock by the parking lot. It went for a short flight in order to show off it's lovely plumage and returned to the dock. It would have been a nice opportunity for a photographer.
A bit farther out, on the ice, was a juvenile Iceland Gull (paler).
Both gulls allowed me to study Sibley carefully as I watched them. I cross-referenced and am quite confident in the identification. However, I'd like to hear other opinions.

Title:
Post by: Ed O'Connor on January 18, 2010, 08:26:25 AM

On Friday afternoon, I went down to Ashbridges Bay and found five Iceland Gulls on the ice by the parking lot, and one more on the ice by the marina to the south. I haven't seen a Glaucous Gull there yet this year, but that doesn't mean they haven't been around. To me, the Glaucous looks like an albino Great Black-backed Gull--big, boxy, broad-shouldered, with a flat head, a huge bill, and a mean expression. Also, the folded wingtips are usually pure white, whereas the Iceland Gulls I've been seeing at Ashbridges have wingtips with light grey markings on them.

On Friday, there was also a single Thayer's Gull on the ice by the parking lot, and a female Ruddy Duck in the water by the marina.