Nice birding day today along Lake Erie.
A.
Had great views of the Black-headed Gull in Conneaut. Winds were
nominal from the West shifting North. The bird was right along the
beach. Thanks to the group there for pointing it out.
The bird is significantly bigger than a Bonaparte's Gull. The legs
are a good deal longer. This bird's legs color was similar to other
bonaparte's but more saturated. Of course the bill was the best
character.

Some fuzzy digiscoped photos:
http://is.gd/n9Z2Sz

B.
Ashtabula Harbor proved challenging for the Black-tailed Gull. I
arrived at 3:30 p.m. after numerous sightings had already occurred.
We had a brief but clear look at the gull amongst a line of gulls
sitting on the tracks from the Norfold Southern Building before it
got spooked by hunters. The bird's mantle was much darker than a
Lesser Black-backed Gull. Also the white windows at the tips of the
primaries are quite small. I think the black tail is the best mark.
Thanks to the expert indication of location by another birder!
The hunter's shots were a help and a hinderance, sometimes flushing
birds for better viewing and sometimes upsetting that good view!
----
We saw the Black-tailed Gull from here:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/6283268?
source=wapi&referrer=kh.google.com
It's mantle is quite dark, closer to a Great Black-backed Gull's in
color. The eye did seem to have quite a dark spot. The primaries were
quite dark with white windows not readily apparent.
The bird was here looking down towards the coal pile:

http://is.gd/wfH30C

GPS coordinates where bird was seen are:
41.906873-80.798886

C.
There was a flurry of people who came up to the Lakeshore Park pinic
area around 3:30 p.m. (here: http://is.gd/qA2yFm) for a false alarm
to find a Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Pics here:
http://is.gd/n9Z2Sz

A good photo of a black-headed may be found here:

http://www.birdskorea.org/Birds/Birdnews/BK-BN-birdnews-2009-12.shtml
This really is a group effort!

Good birding. Hans C.


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