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November 2008

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From:
Kenn Kaufman <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Kenn Kaufman <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:36:48 -0500
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On Tuesday Nov. 18, Kim and I birded the lakeshore with Robert Hershberger,
Samuel Weaver, and Phil Chaon.  We spent a substantial amount of time at
both Huron and Lorain, and then joined Ethan Kistler at Headlands Beach
State Park in the latter part of the afternoon.  Sorry for the late report,
but I've been away from e-mail since early Tuesday morning.

At Huron the highlight was a juvenile Pomarine Jaeger that made three close
passes (we're assuming it was the same individual -- looked the same, the
typical medium-dark morph).  A more distant, unidentified jaeger went by
early.  A single Long-tailed Duck flew in and landed for close studies.
Also here were one Surf Scoter, one Forster's Tern, two Lesser Black-backed
Gulls, at least 2000 Red-breasted Mergansers, 5000 Bonaparte's Gulls, 7000
Ring-billed Gulls, and a few hundred Herring Gulls.

At Lorain, birding the east side of the rivermouth, we had a distant fly-by
of a jaeger that we left unidentified, although its shape and flight action
suggested Parasitic.  We had a very close study of a classic juvenile
Thayer's Gull in the harbor, watched both on the water and in flight.  Also
here were at least two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2000 Herring Gulls, 9000
Ring-billed Gulls, 10,000 Bonaparte's Gulls, and one Common Tern.

At Headlands we were able to pick out at least two adult Little Gulls among
a very large and very distant flock of Bonaparte's; there may have been
more, but we didn't see more than two at one time.  Ethan had seen the birds
more closely, and perhaps more individuals, before we arrived there.  Also
at Headlands were two absurdly tame Purple Sandpipers along the beginning of
the breakwater leading out to the lighthouse, and a single Lesser
Black-backed Gull.  Phil Chaon had a single Red Crossbill flyover near the
parking lot.

The sheer numbers of birds along the lakeshore are just phenomenal.  Even
without any rarities, it would have been a spectacular day for looking at
birds.

Kenn Kaufman
Rocky Ridge, Ohio

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