Greetings - 
Late this afternoon (4 pm) I made a quick stop at Wendy harbor/Whiskey Island marina, Cleveland. The harbor was absolutely jam-packed with gulls and mergansers. Upwards of 5,000 Bonaparte's Gulls, 20,000 Ring-billed and several thousand Herring Gulls were present, frenzying around a massive merganser flock (to 10,000 birds). A single immature POMARINE JAEGER was present, offering incredible views. While sifting through the swirling Bonie flocks, I picked up on a gorgeous first-year BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE in the far western portion of the harbor. It gave fantastic views for several minutes, wheeling around rather close to shore, then dropped behind a barge and out of view (seemingly put down amidst a resting Bonie flock). I stayed till dark and was unable to re-find the kittiwake. The sheer number of birds in the harbor was staggering. 
best of birding - JB

Jen [log in to unmask]
Cleveland, Ohio
330-701-6452

Bird Illustrator / www.jenbrumfield.com

Birding Tour Guide (Ohio), Local Patch Birding / www.jenbrumfield.com
Birding Tour Guide (worldwide), Tropical Birding / www.tropicalbirding.com
Naturalist/Artist, Cleveland Metroparks / www.clemetparks.com
LEICA Birding Optics Prostaff / http://en.leica-camera.com/sport_optics/NorthNW Lake Erie blog / www.northnw.wordpress.com



                                          
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