[Maine-birds] Little Gull & many Bonnies

Hi Folks,

 

I was working in Cutler yesterday and had a chance to stop at Looks Canning Factoring in Whiting at an ideal stage of the tide.  Looks Canning Factory is on rte. 191 along the road to Cutler from East Machias.  You cannot miss it. 

 

Pull into the parking lot and drive down to the edge of the lot facing the cove.  There is a small white building overlooking the cove.  They roost (when present) just below the corner of the cove by the parking lot and next to a small island at the far end of the cove.  This island was connected to the mainland but that connection wasted away about then years ago.  The most abundant gulls roosting in both areas are ring-bills (often over 400), one of at least four similar sized ring-bill roosts in Machias Bay.  By the way, this particular area is called Holme's Bay.

 

Gulls observed:

 

1   Little gull (first summer) 

~75 Bonaparte's gulls  -  The ones I was able to inspect closely were all first summer birds (I was able to examine about 15 that were in view immediately below my vehicle).  I could not see any adults when the flock took of and turned the corner around the factory.  Among the birds I examined, there was a wide range of head patterns ranging from partial hoods (3 birds) to no hoods).

 

5   Laughing gulls

400+  Ring-billed gulls

~25 Herring gulls (some very worn first-summer birds that had not molted - they looked like 'ugly-ducklings'.

2  Great black-backed gulls

 

22 Short-billed dowitchers

2  Lesser yellowlegs

3 Double-crested cormorants

5  Common eiders

--

Norman Famous, Wetlands and Wildlife Ecologist

513 Eight Rod Road

Augusta, ME 04330

(207) 623 6072

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