Gulls and 'Larkspurs' Weekend - 29-30 Dec 2012
Arriving at the Tyler Rd. Visteon HQ I saw 1000+ gulls along the west shore of Grace Lake. In the parking lot on the east end of the lake were several cars and birders w/ scopes: Jacco Gelderloos, Erik Enbody, Kevin Welch, John Lowry and Todd Palgut. We scoped the gulls in the fading light of the afternoon, but failed to see any potential Slaty-backed Gulls. We did, however, see several Great Black-backed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Glaucous Gulls, Iceland Gulls and a Kumlien's Gull among the hundreds of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.
Grace Lake (Visteon Pond), Wayne, Michigan, US
Dec 29, 2012 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments: Jacco Gelderloos, Erik Enbody, Kevin Welch, John Lowry and Todd Palgut looking for possible Slaty-backed Gull (dipped).
6 species (+1 other taxa)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 10
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 6
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 2
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) 1
Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) 2 Small, white-winged gull compared to larger White-winged Glaucous Gulls. One individual appears to be Thayers by dark eye and gray primaries.
Larus sp. (Larus sp.) 500 Mostly Ring-billed Gulls w/ mixed Herring Gulls not including the gulls listed above.
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I returned to the pond on Sunday morning and found the gull flock along the east side of the lake. Staying in the car I used binoculars to scan the flock for the Slaty-back, but only saw Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed, Glaucous and Iceland Gulls. After only about 10 minutes gunshots were heard off in the distance, but loud enough to scatter the entire flock for the rest of the day.
Dec 29, 2012 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments: Jacco Gelderloos, Erik Enbody, Kevin Welch, John Lowry and Todd Palgut looking for possible Slaty-backed Gull (dipped).
6 species (+1 other taxa)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 10
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 6
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 2
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) 1
Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) 2 Small, white-winged gull compared to larger White-winged Glaucous Gulls. One individual appears to be Thayers by dark eye and gray primaries.
Larus sp. (Larus sp.) 500 Mostly Ring-billed Gulls w/ mixed Herring Gulls not including the gulls listed above.
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I returned to the pond on Sunday morning and found the gull flock along the east side of the lake. Staying in the car I used binoculars to scan the flock for the Slaty-back, but only saw Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed, Glaucous and Iceland Gulls. After only about 10 minutes gunshots were heard off in the distance, but loud enough to scatter the entire flock for the rest of the day.
Grace Lake (Visteon Pond), Wayne, Michigan, US
Dec 30, 2012 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Protocol: Stationary
4 species (+2 other taxa)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 50
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 20
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) 2
white-winged gull sp. (Larus sp. (white-winged gull sp.)) 2
Larus sp. (Larus sp.) 250 Mixed Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I drove over to Willow Run Airport and drove along the perimeter looking for hawks. A pair of Red-tailed Hawks were perched high in a tree out of digiscoping range. As I was about half-way through the airport a flock of Horned Larks (~50 birds) lifted off from the road ahead of me. They flew to the top of a snow-covered hill w/ exposed straw beds where they could be scoped from the road. I managed to pick out 5 Lapland Longspurs and a single Snow Bunting from the crowd.
Dec 30, 2012 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Protocol: Stationary
4 species (+2 other taxa)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 50
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 20
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) 2
white-winged gull sp. (Larus sp. (white-winged gull sp.)) 2
Larus sp. (Larus sp.) 250 Mixed Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Willow Run Airport (restricted access), Wayne, Michigan, US
Dec 30, 2012 9:00 AM - 10:20 AM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Service drive
4 species
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 2
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 50
Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) 5
Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) 101
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Dec 30, 2012 9:00 AM - 10:20 AM
Protocol: Traveling
5.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Service drive
4 species
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 2
Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) 50
Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) 5
Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) 101
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
I would return to the Visteon HQ / Grace Lake and find only a handfull of gulls on the water. Time to head home.
