Greetings birders - 
 
(Sightings at the very bottom)
 
December 08 and January 09 have been absolutely fantastic for gulls on the Cleveland Lakefront, and the upcoming months look very good, too. Within the entire Great Lakes region, only Niagara Falls tops our local gull hotspots for sheer numbers and species of gulls. Those who brave the arctic wind blasts, frigid temperatures, and slick conditions, will almost always come away with some really fantastic sightings. If you take your time and give the massive flocks a sharp look-over, you will get "the goods" for sure. 
 
Today, weather was unseasonably warm, with little wind, and the birds were in CLOSE. The partly-cloudy deep blue skies made viewing so-so. Ideally, you really want an overcast day, which evens out the tones and shades of gulls, making for proper viewing. On really sunny days, colors and tones are very harsh, making for extreme contrast (too extreme). So, the "gross" days are actually best. Meaning, you DO want to sacrifice comfort for better birds and better looks. 
 
A few major pointers (to follow) on gull identification, which is perhaps THE single most mind-boggling identification problem birders face as a whole. The entire family is just a major pain-in-the-bleeper, and the "large gulls" as they are referred to, are nothing short of disastrous and ego-busting to some. There is insane variation are there are hybrids galore. Not to mention, their sheer numbers when they congregate at locations like East 72nd street. Apart from the negative, gull identication is also very fun, tricky fun, and you can always, always learn something. Certain plumages of gulls are astoundingly beautiful, and there is much to appreciate in the soft shades, tones, pure whites, deep grays and blacks, of these amazingly diverse birds. 
 
So, if you are one of the folks that are shellshocked over gulls, or you are one of the folks that spent several hours at the lake today staring at a massive group of "seagulls" that you just couldn't get to grips with, here's just a few quick pointers. There are books galore, presentations galore, websites galore, field trips galore, and speakers galore on the subject, and this email just cannot contain the sheer amount of information available to you.  
 
 
1) STUDY AHEAD OF TIME
There is absolutely nothing better that you can do for your birding experience than to prepare ahead of time. You CANNOT allow yourself to walk up to East 72nd, never having seen even an illustration or small photo of first-year Iceland Gull, and expect to pull even one out of the flock of 25,000 birds. You have to be familiar, at least somewhat, with what you are expecting your needle-in-the-haystack will look like. Even GLANCING through your Sibley guide, to see that a first-year Iceland Gull is a wholesomely very pale, frosty light brown bird with white wingtips, and comparing that bird to a first-year Herring Gull, will get you a LONG ways. Not even opening the book to prepare beforehand will just sink you. Study illustrations. Get a good field guide. Sibley and National Geographic are the best for gulls. Look at the illustrations a day or two before and then the day of. Let those images sink in.  
 
2) ELIMINATE SOME SPECIES
Do not destroy your hope with thoughts of having to sift through 15 or 20 species of gulls. At first, you are definitely NOT going to see a Western Gull, or Heermann's Gull, or Laughing Gull, or even a Black-legged Kittiwake, besides any of the extremely very rare gulls. Become aware with what is most realistic. Learn to identify a Bonaparte's Gull from ALL angles before you expect to walk up to the lake and pull a Black-headed Gull out from the horizon line. Start with the big four....
 
3) THE BIG FOUR
The big four are the most common gulls that we have here on our Lakefront. To really get to grips with gull identification, learn these four like you know your own children. At least, be very familiar with their ages, plumages, and some variation. The big four are: Bonaparte's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull. The most important being Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, as their sheer numbers are simply astounding here. 
 
4) THE MOST COMMON AGES
Not only are you bombarded by many species, but you also have to deal with 3 and 4 different ages/plumages for each species. Below is a short guideline for what species' plumages/ages are most commonly seen RIGHT NOW on the lakefront. 
 
MOST REGULAR SPECIES (in order of abundance) FOLLOWED BY THEIR AGE. I.e., for Iceland Gull, first-winter birds are generally more abundant or more regularly-seen than adults. 
 
1. Ring-billed Gull (adult, first-winter)
2. Herring Gull (adult, first-winter)
3. Bonaparte's Gull (adult, first-winter)
4. Great Black-backed Gull (adult, first-winter)
5. Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult, first-winter)
6. Glaucous Gull (first-winter, adult)
7. Iceland Gull (first-winter, adult)
8. Thayer's Gull (first-winter, adult)
 
So, to help you start to get a grip on gulls, look at what is most realistic on a given day at East 72nd. You will see Ring-bills, Herrings, Bonaparte's, and Great Black-backed Gulls. When studying your field guide, not that you are actually more likely to see more first-winter Glaucous Gulls than adult Glaucous Gulls, so check out that plumage ahead of time. The plumages are completely different! Same with Iceland and Thayer's Gulls, etc. 
 
 
5) Go on a field trip or out with a gull fanatic. Someone that can find, find, find, and re-find Iceland Gulls, Glaucous Gulls, etc., over and over for you until it sinks in like mad. Once you have that species embedded in your memory, you'll be able to pick more and more of them out. It really takes seeing them, but seeing them CORRECTLY - meaning, a sure-fire identification so that you can latch your memory onto those images. If you "think" that you've seen a first-winter Glaucous Gull, but you're not sure, than you haven't seen one. Because a first-winter Glaucous Gull is massive. It's a wholesomely frosty fawn color from head to belly, with immaculate white, glowing primaries, and a thick heavy two-toned bill. It will just knock your socks off. 
 
 
 
Saturday January 3rd 2009 Highlights
Cleveland Lakefront State Park/East 72nd Street
 
Ring-billed, Herring, Bonaparte's, Great Black-backed abundant
ICELAND GULL - at least 6 first-winter birds
GLAUCOUS GULL - at least 5 first-winter birds
THAYER'S GULL - at least 3 first-winter birds
Lesser Black-backed Gull - one adult, one 2nd-winter (numbers are down!)
 
Long-tailed Duck - single bird near the mouth of the hotwaters, 4 more off of Dike 14 (visible from 72nd)
 
 
best of birding - 
jen
 
Jen Brumfield
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Sharon Center, OH
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