[CT Birds] Gull Stuff 3

[Dennis Varza]

Gull Stuff 3	8 to 16 March
I want to do this once a week into May. By gathering together the  
many bits on gulls we may get a better picture of Gull in  
Connecticut. The original plan was to send it Fridays but then the  
weekend material, which most people provide, will be relatively old.

Here are some more observations on gulls. If you have any corrections  
or additions I would really appreciate them.

I would like to thank everyone who contributed observations.

Dennis Varza
Fairfield

Weather
8	Saturday	Wind Average 15.8	Wind Max 37	Direction 230° (SW)
9	Sunday  	Wind Average 17.5	Wind Max 31	Direction 290° (W)
10	Monday  	Wind Average 9.9	Wind Max 21	Direction 230° (SW)
11	Tuesda y	Wind Average 7.0	Wind Max 15	Direction 210° (SW)
12	Wednesday	Wind Average 13.8	Wind Max 28	Direction 320° (NW)
13	Thusday  	Wind Average 6.8	Wind Max 24	Direction 170° (S)
14	Friday     	Wind Average 8.4	Wind Max 17	Direction 80° (E)
15	Saturday	Wind Average 11.3	Wind Max 21	Direction 40° (NE)
16	Sunday   	Wind Average 11.6	Wind Max 25	Direction 340° (N)


Topic 1 Gull Gatherings

It looks like there were big gull flocks early in the period and was  
found from Greenwich to Stratford. Is anybody looking in the East?  
Nothing more can be said that I can see.


8 March 2008
Meredith Sampson, Old Greenwich
Yesterday, as the rain was arriving, I scoped out the sound from  
Greenwich Point and had thousands of gulls streaming by.  Most  
appeared to be adult Herring and Ring-billed Gulls, with a few Great  
Black-backed.  Surprisingly, no Bonaparte's seen.

There was also a huge, spread-out raft of approximately 700 or so Common
Goldeneyes mixed with hundreds of Brant.  Difficult to get a more  
accurate
count with the birds bobbing up and down and a good ways out.
Despite the high numbers of birds, I didn't see any unusual ones.

Frank Mantlik
Westport, Compo Beach - 3/8 & 3/7 - 500-1000 gulls
(vast majority Ring-billed) feeding on plankton just off the beach;  
joined by numbers of Brant, Black Ducks, Bufflehead, etc.

9 March 2008
Frank Mantlik, Stratford
  5:15pm - 1000 big gulls (70%RBGU, 30%HERG)
foraging all along Long Beach.

10 March 2008
Dennis Varza
11:00 AM Bridgeport, St. Mary’s  Just outside the mouth of Ash Creek  
there was a cluster of Brant, Scaup and Bufflehead feeding on the  
surface. (not diving) 8 Bonaparte’s Gulls were feeding on the edge of  
the group. The kicker is that a group of 230 Ring-billed Gulls  
roosting on the shore within sight of the feeding birds and did nothing!

Frank Mantlik, Stratford
3:00 pm - 3000+ big gulls (no Bonaparte's) all along Long Beach/ 
Pleasure Beach.
1000 gulls (70%RBGU,  10%Herg, 20%Bonies) foraging in water on  
plankton close in to seawall, during a stiff west wind. And there  
were small numbers of Brant, Black Ducks,
etc. feeding as well.

11 March 2008
Charlie Barnard Stratford
I estimated (by counting 300 birds one-by-one and then transposing  
that number onto the remaining birds) about 2000 gulls off of Long  
Beach in Stratford.  These birds were about 100 yards offshore at  
about half tide rising and they appeared to be picking at plankton  
near the surface. They appeared to be almost entirely ring-billed and  
herring gulls, although there was at least one 1st or 2nd cycle  
Iceland in the crowd. There were 50 or so Bonaparte's gulls which  
flew by offshore.

Dennis Varza Fairfield
 From Cove Island Park, Way off shore, the limit of my scope,  there  
were at least a thousand gulls. Also, there was a distinct lack of  
gulls on shore.

14 March 2008
Debbie Ethridge Stamford
Probably thousands of gulls beyond the Stamford breakwater/lighthouse  
today – with over 100 brant – and at least one harbor seal.   Too far  
away for me to ID beyond the usual great black backs & herring gulls.


Topic 2 Small Gulls
Most of the Bonaparte’s Gulls are adults, from my few counts it look  
like about 2% im. The first record of the Laughing Gull got me  
thinking about the species. Laughing Gulls are too big to be grouped  
with the small gulls and too small to be grouped with the large  
gulls, also, it is the only “summer gull”.

Bonaparte’s Gull
2008	3	7	2		Old Saybrook, South Cove	John Ogren
2008	3	9	250		Stamford, Holly Pond	Mike and Wanda Moccio
2008	3	9	13		Fairfield, Southport Beach	Frank Mantlik
2008	3	9	250		Stratford, Seaswall	Frank Mantlik
2008	3	10	0		Fairfield, Southport Beach	Dennis Varza
2008	3	10	42		Bridgeport, Seaside Park	Ralph Amodei
2008	3	11	24		Stamford, Holly Pond	Dennis Varza
2008	3	11	50		Stratford, Long Beach	Charlie Barnard
2008	3	12	2		Madison, Hammonasset St. Pk.	Tim Antanaitis
2008	3	13	300		Stamford, Holly Pond	Mike and Wanda Moccio
2008	8	14	200		Fairfield, Southport Beach	 Meredith Sampson with  
Penny Solum
2008	3	15	120		Fairfield, Southport Beach	Dennis Varza
2008	3	15	300		Milford, Bayview Beach	Stacy Hanks

Black-headed Gull
2008	3	9	1	AD	Fairfield, Southport Beach	Frank Mantlik

Little Gull
2008	3	15	1	AD	Fairfield, Southport Beach	Dennis Varza

Laughing Gull
2008	3	16	1	U	Westport, Sherwood Is. St. Pk.	Frank Gallo


Topic 4 White-winged Gulls

Iceland Gull
2008	3	7	1	FW	Farmington, Batterson Pond	Paul Cianfaglione
2008	3	11	1	Im	Stratford, Seawall 	Charlie Barnard
2008	3	15	1	FW	East Hartford 	Andrew Dasinger
2008	3	15 to 16	1	FW	Milford, Oyster River	Julian Hough, John Marshall

Lesser Black Backed Gull
2008	3	14	1	FW	Farmington, Batterson Pond	Paul Cianfaglione
2008	3	15 to 26	1	AD	Westport, Burrying Hill Beach	Luke Tiller