Howdy All,

I arrived at Indian Lake State Park at Old Field Beach at about 2:30 pm.
There was a bit of human activity at the beach and none of the flocks of
Ring-billed Gulls with a few Herring Gulls mixed in included the
Franklin's Gull.  There were groups of gulls on the parking lot by the
beach, on the jetty toward the south, on the big pipe to the north and
on the water.  After about 45 minutes to an hour, the Franklin's Gull
suddenly appeared on the beach with a gathering flock of Ring-billed
Gulls.  Just before it appeared, the gulls started flying around, after
being spooked by boaters and attracted to the parking lot by some people
who were feeding them.  The Franklin's Gull stayed for about 15 minutes
and allowed me to get some digiscoped photos and some photos with a
digital SLR just before and while it flew out over the lake and appeared
to head in a southern direction.  While I was walking back to my van at
about 3:40 pm, Bob Royse arrived.  Hope that he found the Franklin's
Gull.  This Franklin's Gull appeared to be mostly in first winter
plumage as shown in The National Geographic Field Guide, Third Edition.
It is always a good time to see Franklin's Gull in Ohio, because I
usually see only one and about this time of year.

Jay

 

Jay G. Lehman

Cincinnati, OH

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