Laughing Gull++ Port Credit

[Reuven_M]

I spent much of the morning and early afternoon at the mouth of the Credit River, with just a quick visit to Lakefront Promenade to break things up (nothing of note there).

There were huge numbers of gulls and terns as many small dead or dying fish (Alewife?) were floating in the water:

1 Laughing Gull - a beautiful adult resting on the docks in the harbor and occasionally flying out over the river. Likely the same bird seen by Thomas Ouchterlony at Lakefont Promenade on the 16th. A record shot is in my eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18521586
1 Glaucous Gull - immature moving around the area
2 Lesser Black-backed Gull - adults sitting out on the lake when I first arrived
many Bonaparte's, Ring-billed, Herring, Great Black-backed
Common, Caspian Terns

Whimbrel: Flocks of 26 and about 80 going west
Dunlin: Small flocks flying around and feeding on the various breakwaters. Hard to estimate, I'd say 2-300 were present.
Mixed with the Dunlin were 1 Ruddy Turnstone, 3 Sanderling, 2 Semipalmated Sandpiper

Reuven Martin

[thouc]

Nice you refound the Laughing Gull. I thought it might have moved on since there were no more reports in a week.

/Thomas

[Bluffs Birder]

The Laughing Gull was refound at around 7:30PM on Friday night sitting at the end of one of the marina's boat docks with several other gulls.  The number of gulls and terns that were in the area was incredible to witness.  So many birds that, as Reuven mentioned, fish were dead and dying everywhere including the pier that we and everybody else were walking on.  Lighting at this time was perfect for finding and viewing this beautiful rare gull.

Our other target bird, the Glaucous Gull was not seen at this time.

Walter