Greetings birders - A local trip to the Cleveland and Avon Lake lakefront produced some very fine birds - namely gulls, in blustery and cold but better-than-January weather. The gull horde at East 72nd street is awesome, under the right conditions. Northwest winds keep birds close to shore and fantastically active, swarming in huge numbers right at shore. Otherwise, light winds will allow for birds to disperse, making for fewer chances to see the rarities. Good numbers of the big gulls (Herring, Great Black-backed, and the uncommon/rare white-winged gulls) have moved in and will likely now continue to be seen through Jan/Feb. We had 8 species of gulls today. The big highlight was a first winter (first-cycle) CALIFORNIA GULL and a dark "barred" immature POMARINE JAEGER at Avon Lake Powerplant. EAST 72ND STREET/CLEVELAND LAKEFRONT STATE PARK California Gull - single first-winter bird directly in warm-water outflow; studied well Iceland Gull - single first-winter bird amidst Herring Gull swarm. Glaucous Gull - at least three different first-winter birds; different shades of "fawn" Thayer's Gull - single first-winter bird, very frosted overall Lesser Black-backed Gull - at least 4 first-winters, and 2 adults Herring Gull - becoming very numerous now Ring-billed Gull - vying with Herring for sheer numbers, still the most numerous Bonaparte's Gull - lesser numbers here; likely more abundant in the harbors to the west BURKE LAKEFRONT AIRPORT Snowy Owl - the barred immature was scared off by airport officials who strategically fired FLARE GUNS aimed at the owl sitting on the edge of the runway. It was a real bummer to watch this. The bird eventually flew out over the phragmite stand and apparently over in the direction of the far (not visible) northern breakwall. AVON LAKE POWERPLANT Pomarine Jaeger - absolutely mind-blowing looks at a stunning immature in the harbor. A relatively small gull flock allowed for instant ease in watching this bird rip through the Ring-billed flock, then leisurely sit just off the walkable jetty for historic views. jen Jen Brumfield [log in to unmask] Sharon Center, OH _________________________________________________________________ You live life online. So we put Windows on the web. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/127032869/direct/01/ ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]