MEGA RARITY at Port Burwell

[Tyler]

Brandon Holden found a Black-tailed Gull this afternoon at 5:30pm tonight. I am working an hour away in St thomas so I ran down in the rain and wind to see it. Brandon, myself and 2 Bird Studies Canada employees enjoyed watching it from 7 to 7:30 tonight. Hopefully it stays around so other can see this bird which I think is a first for Ontario.

Directions
Directions: exit Hwy. 401 at Highway 19, and head south through Tillsonburg,
to Port Burwell. Follow the signs for the Port Burwell Provincial park and park in the day use beach area.

[Craig McL]

hear is a link that Brandon Holden posted with his photos of the gull !! I was seen this moring in the same area


http://www.peregrineprints.com/ind__WhatsNew.htm


Craig

[ravynne40]

There are several of these gulls down at Marie Curtis Park.

[Tyler]

Ravynne40
Sorry but I am 99.9999999% sure there is not several Black-tailed Gulls at Marie Curtis park.

This bird is the first one for Ontario and is only one of a handful of this specie has ever been recorded in North America away from Alaska. Black-tailed Gulls are an Asian Species  To see several of this specie in one place a person has to go over to Japan, Kamchatka, Korea and down to even Hong Kong in winter.

The gulls adjacent to the Black-tailed Gull are Ring-billed, Herring Gulls, and Bonaparte's gulls. There would be several of these species around marie curtis park and most lakefront areas in Ontario currently.  2nd Winter plummage Ring-billed Gulls have a slight and variable banding on the tail but do not have the plummage colour on the back and wings,  the dark streaked collar, or long beak size which are all present in Black-tailed Gulls.

some light reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-tailed_Gull
http://www.seattleaudubon.org/birdweb/b ... spx?id=497
http://www.surfbirds.com/mb/Features/bl ... -gull.html

[ravynne40]

ohh ok the have the same kind of tail with the white spots..i'm sorry
i thought they were strange looking and different then the usual gulls that hang out there
if i can get a picture of one i will try.

[The Observer]

Your links also notes the red ring near the tip of the beak.

Thanks for the info... superficially, it looks so familiar, I would have thought I had seen many otherwise..