Greetings -
This evening (Tuesday the 14th) I made a quick swing by East 55th Marina on the immediate east Cleveland shoreline. Light was fading quickly. A PHENOMENAL number of large gulls and Ring-billeds are present at 55th and nearby 72nd Street and Gordon, foraging offshore or sitting in the marinas, docks, and along breakwalls. Parking in the 55th lot and looking west, I scrolled through hordes of Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed Gulls, sitting on the mostly-iced-over marina and docks; very quickly picking up on a very probable adult basic SLATY-BACKED GULL. The bird was very close to Herring Gull in size, with a very bulky build - pot-bellied and squat. Heavy-billed. The mantle shade was between Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed, closer to Lesser Black-backed. Literally, slaty. The head was heavily streaked and darkest around the eye, with streaking running down fairly heavily onto the nape and neck. The legs/feet were rich dark pink. There was a broad strip of white on the tertials. The bird was NOT seen in flight, very unfortunately; it would have been massive to have seen this bird in flight in order to check the "string of pearls" shown on Slaty-backed Gull. The bird was observed standing and sitting on the ice amongst a thousand Ring-billed Gulls, 200 Herring Gulls, 20 nearby Great Black-backed Gulls, a first-cycle Glaucous Gull and a first-cycle Iceland Gull.
In total, in the marina proper, 40 Great Black-backed Gulls were present, an adult Lesser Black-backed, 600 Herring Gulls, 3,000 Ring-billed Gulls, a first-cycle Glaucous and first-cycle Iceland Gull, a first-cycle Thayer's and likely adult Thayer's, and a handful of Bonaparte's Gulls.
Lesser Black-backed was eliminated by sheer size, overall structure, bill size and structure, mantle shade, and coloration of the legs/feet. Hybrid combinations (Great Black-backedxHerring and Lesser Black-backedxHerring) were eliminated by the combination of the above listed characteristics.
No photos were obtained.
The bird was "lost" when a plane flew low and west towards Burke, kicking up all of the gulls in the marina and dispersing them east towards 72nd. While plenty of gulls returned to the marina as it grew very dark (including the first-cycle Iceland and two dozen Great Black-backs), the Slaty-back could not be relocated. There was unfortunately very little time for observation between the time I arrived at the marina till the time the light faded.
Advice for searchers. The marina at 55th would be the first place I'd start. Then, I'd work immediately west to 72nd street hotwaters where birds are foraging en masse and sitting out on the water. Then, I'd move immediately east to the Gordon Park marina. There are literally thousands of gulls congregating in this strip of harbors.
Also in the 55th marina this evening, a single female LONG-TAILED DUCK, Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead.
East 55th Marina is very, very easily accessed from I-90. If heading WESTBOUND on 90/2, take exit 175. Turn left at the ramp light, onto East 55th. Continue north over the freeway and you'll curve to the east, technically the road is considered North Marginal Road. Continue STRAIGHT a quarter mile into the marina. You'll look west towards Cleveland to view the marina/docks. If heading EASTBOUND on 90/2, take exit 175 for East 55th. Turn RIGHT at the stop sign, and proceed directly into the marina (not even a quarter of a mile).
see you out there, and good luck, and bring your camera
Jen Brumfield
[log in to unmask]
Cleveland, Ohio
330-701-6452
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