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August 2012

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Subject:
From:
Bob Powell <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Bob Powell <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 6 Aug 2012 21:46:43 -0400
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Larry Gara and I were at Caesar Creek beach this morning.  Although the
willets reported yesterday by Rick Asamoto were gone, we were able to find
an American Avocet, which we watched and photographed for about 45 minutes.
 As we were about to leave, I spotted a couple of Caspian Terns flying out
over the lake.  They circled around for a while and finally came in for a
landing on the beach near the usual 200 Ring-billed Gulls.  I hurriedly
reassembled my camera rig and took some pictures.  We noticed that one of
the terns had a yellow-orange bill while the other had the more
characteristic blood red bill.  Larry, whose ears are much better than
mine, could distinguish two types of calls.  One was the raucous call of
the adult Caspian, but the other was higher and less pungent.

We left the beach and pushed off for Mound Road.  The two immature Little
Blue Herons were still there, along with the usual assortment of
shorebirds.  We left there after about half an hour and headed home.

I was anxious to see the pictures of the avocet.  The big surprise, though,
was the pictures of the terns.  One of the terns was clearly an adult
Caspian.  The other was more of a puzzle.  It is obviously a juvenile bird
because the dorsal and scapular feathers have brown centers.  However, even
taking into account the poor quality of the pictures, the second bird shows
several aspects altogether at odds with Caspian Tern.  Here are the points
at issue:

   1. The bill is the yellow-orange instead of red

   2. The second bird is distinctly smaller than the Caspian

   3. According to several references, Caspian Tern never shows so much
   white on the forehead in any plumage

   4. There is a discernible carpal bar

All of these points are consistent with juvenile Royal Tern.  However, we
all know that Royal Tern is very rare in Ohio.  eBird contains essentially
four records.  Vic Fazio has entered three sightings from July 1995 from
Lorraine Harbor, there is the March 2011 bird seen by many at Hoover
Reservoir, and a bird at the St Mary's fish hatchery seen in late
April-early May of this year by four reputable observers.

Larry and I have not completed our analysis of the pictures, but we think
it best to get the word out in case anyone else wants to take a crack at
it.  We plan to be out at the beach tomorrow morning to try to relocate the
bird and would be glad of company.  In the meantime, here is a link to the
best of my pictures for the perusal of our elders and betters.

Click for photos here:  *http://tinyurl.com/ck7l42f*

Cheers,

Bob


--
Robert D Powell
Congress Farm Research Institute
Wilmington, OH, USA
[log in to unmask]
http://rdp1710.wordpress.com

Nulla dies sine aves

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