I encountered the same flock of gulls noted by Steve Charbonneau in the
field with mostly Ring-billed Gulls at 3:45 and at that time I scoped 35
Franklin's Gulls which may be the day's high for that area.

Brian Morin

Directions as per Steve Charbonneau:
Erieau is in Chatham-Kent at the southeast end of County Rd 12
Erie Shore Drive is the first left turn after going out of Erieau and past
McGeachy's Pond.  The gulls were in a plowed field about 1 km from where
the road meets the lake.

Birders:

The unprecedented large number of Franklin's Gulls continued today, and the number was even larger than yesterday. Late this afternoon, between about 4:00 and 4:30, Josh Bouman, Mike Bouman and I scanned the large flock of more than 2000 gulls foraging in the fields north of Erieau in Chatham-Kent. It was difficult to get an exact count, but we estimated a minimum of 55 Franklin's Gulls amongst the widely scattered flock of predominantly Ring-billed Gulls. This is far and away a new high number for the Rondeau bird checklist circle. By about 4:45 many of the gulls were noted heading out over the lake, adjacent to Erie Shore Drive.

Directions: From Hwy 401, take exit 90 and head south on Municipal Road 11 to Blenheim. At Blenheim, follow Talbot Trail (Municipal Road 3) west to Erieau Road (Municipal Road 12) and turn left (south) towards Erieau. The gulls were moving about a triangular block of agricultural land that is bounded by Bisnett Line, Erieau Road and Erie Shore Drive, just north of Erieau.

Good birding!

Allen Woodliffe
Chatham