An adult mew gull was found at Lorain Harbor this afternoon around 4:25.  I
saw it fly by, then temporarily lost it.  I then relocated it north of the
sewage treatment plant east of the river mouth.  The bird was sitting in the
water with numerous ring-billed gulls.  The snow caused the weather to
deteriorate pretty quick.  This was actually a bonus because the darkness of
the gulls mantle really stood out.  It was noticeably darker and smaller
than the ring-billed gulls.  Its head had some light markings, but it was
darkest on the nape.  It's nape was heavily smudged with brown.  The head
was rounded with a shorter bill than the nearby ring-billed gulls.  There
appeared to be some darkness near the tip, but it was definitely not a
complete ring.  The eye appeared dark.  When it flew by earlier I noticed
the dark mantle and a very large white mirror.



I had stopped earlier in the morning around noon.  I saw a darker mantled
bird on the boat docks east of the sewage plant.  It was asleep the entire
time I viewed it and it was tucked into a dense group of ring-billed gulls.
I eventually started looking at other birds.  The hunters shot and the birds
got up and I was unable to relocate the bird.  The mantle color made me
think California gull.  I still think the bird I originally saw and the mew
gull are two different birds.  Although the mew gull seemed dark, I do not
think it was quite as dark as the earlier bird.  If you check the area out
keep California gull in mind.  Of all the birds on the docks I did not see a
single lesser black-backed or anything out of the ordinary.  There were
quite a few great black-backed gulls.  I did see a single adult Lesser
black-backed gull at Lakeview Park, west of the harbor.



I had run into a car load of birders about a half hour before finding the
mew gull.  They had said they were heading south.  The quick posting was in
hope they would see it and turn around and get back there.



John Pogacnik

4765 Lockwood Road

Perry, OH 44081




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