This a.m. at the Crawford County landfill I saw 10 adult and two
2nd-cycle great black-backed gulls, one 2nd-cycle & a 1st-cycle Glaucous
gull. However, no luck seeing an employee shooting gulls. And I had my
sights set on gull stew.  : ) Maybe they heard I did a Freedom of
Information Act quest for information about the Crawford gull shooting.
Couldn't be.
     Yesterday, at the Richland landfill I was told there is no hunting,
fishing or birding allowed at the landfill. Right, and know back to
reality. I was told there is a "liability" issue, or as I call it, a b.s.
"issue". I wonder if the locals that bring their trash to the landfill have
a "liability issue"? Maybe if I slipped somebody there a couple "Jackson's"
& "Grants" the "liability issue" would miraculously disappear. Imagine that.
     I digress. So why are there so many GBBGs, glaucous gulls, etc. at
inland Ohio, and other locations? Arkansas got its 1st ever GBBG in
January. Does the almost complete freezing of lake erie answer the
question? Lake erie was frozen near completely during the brutal winters of
the late 1970s and multiple other winters, yet no major movement inland of
GBBGs. Is there a food shortage at the hot-water places along lake erie?
I'm told there has not been a major duck die-off this winter, as happened a
winter or so ago. Could it be the brutality of this winter that is the
answer? Cleveland has had the coldest February ever recorded. Even colder
than last winter & colder than the late 1970s winters. Are even the large
gulls having some trouble maintaining body temperature?
     Its these kinds of events that make birding interesting. Every year is
different, every autumn, every spring is different than another year's.
That's one of the things that makes birding interesting. The challenge to
understand what is happening.
     Hope you have a great weekend & don't shovel too much,
     John Herman

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