Greetings all - 
Despite wicked NNW winds, intermittent blizzard conditions and biting temps, a Cleveland Metroparks birding trip along the lakefront scored BIG this morning (January 3) at Wendy Park/Whiskey Island harbor. We started off the day at Huntington Reservation, where conditions were brutal. Large gulls were moving steadily along the lakefront, with decent numbers of passing mergansers. After a short, cold visit, we headed east to Rocky River Park. From the overlook there, we picked up thousands more Red-breasted Mergansers plus a few Common Mergansers, and a sizable group of Common Goldeneye. Blowing with the winds, we moved east to Wendy Park, where I hoped that the harbor would hold a jackpot of gulls and waterfowl, harboring themselves from the weather. We were immediately met with blizzard white-outs and had to wait out the conditions. It finally cleared to reveal 6,000 Bonaparte's Gulls and upwards of 25,000 gulls (Ring-billed, Herring). The Bonaparte's were foraging in typical fashion: feeding lines. Scanning through the Bonie flocks, I landed on the jet-black flash of the underwings of an adult LITTLE GULL. Outstanding views were had and video taken. Ultimately the Little Gull would push farther to the east, towards the mouth of the river. Working through the flocks of larger gulls, we found upwards of five Lesser-Black-backed Gulls and two GLAUCOUS GULLS (one adult, one first-winter). While attempting to re-find the Little Gull, we picked up on a first-year BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE booking it west through the harbor. Likely the same individual that was found here on December 20th. Additional highlights included a flock of 30 Snow Buntings that put down beside our cars in the parking lot, and an adult male Northern Harrier that cruised over the woodlot. 
****VIDEO of the LITTLE GULL can be found at : http://www.northnw.wordpress.com
Plus, Gabe Leidy's photos of a Short-eared Owl at Lorain County Airport taken this evening.
Jerry Talkington reports good numbers of large gulls moving along the lakefront from the Mentor/Fairport Harbor area, and several thousand Bonaparte's Gulls at Fairport Harbor today. 
The top locations on the central/NE coast to find lakefront rarities amongst large numbers of gulls include: Lorain Harbor, Wendy Park/Edgewater, and Fairport Harbor. 
best of birding


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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