Little Gull - 12 Dec 2021

image courtesy of eBird

Yesterday's wind storm generated 40-60 mph gusts that pushed water out of Lake Erie to the east. I had stopped by Pt. Mouillee HQ to look for the Little Gull reported by Bobby Irwin and found the canals and creeks emptied of their contents. Only bare mud could be seen as the Huron River flowed east w/ the winds and sucked its tributaries dry.

I spent a few minutes scanning the mouth of Lake Erie from inside the car. I had the window rolled down but had to park at an angle that I hoped wouldn't endanger the car (or me) from the wind. A few Bonaparte's were flying by, but there was no juvenile birds among them.

This morning the juvenile Little Gull was relocated by Jeff Stacie, so I took a run back down to the parking lot at Pt. Mouillee HQ. The winds had died somewhat overnight, and this brought water back into the tributaries. A crowd had congregated at the east end of the parking lot and were scoping the mouth of the river where a flock of Ring-billed Gulls and Bonaparte's Gulls were foraging. 

I joined them and scoped the flock looking the Little Gull. Only one bird was present that was a juvenile, and I believe it was the bird of the day. Black-tipped tail and strong carpal bars on the wings were consistent w/ Little Gull while lack of distinct red legs in flight provided some more support; all of the Bonaparte's Gulls were showing red legs as they fluttered in the winds. But, scope views were long-distant so a 100% confirmation was not going to come. Luckily, the bird was reported and photographed after I left, so I suspect I had the bird in view. 

It will remain a question mark.

Pte. Mouillee SGA--HQ, Wayne, Michigan, US
Dec 12, 2021 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Yesterday's wind storm generated 40-60 mph gusts that pushed water out of Lake Erie to the east
2 species

Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus)  1     This morning the juvenile Little Gull was relocated by Jeff Stacie, so I took a run back down to the parking lot at Pt. Mouillee HQ. The winds had died somewhat overnight, and this brought water back into the tributaries. A crowd had congregated at the east end of the parking lot and were scoping the mouth of the river where a flock of Ring-billed Gulls and Bonaparte's Gulls were foraging.

I joined them and scoped the flock looking the Little Gull. Only one bird was present that was a juvenile, and I believe it was the bird of the day. Black-tipped tail and strong carpal bars on the wings were consistent w/ Little Gull while lack of distinct red legs in flight provided some more support; all of the Bonaparte's Gulls were showing red legs as they fluttered in the winds.
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  6

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S159648129

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)