August 16, 2012
Richard Stevens:
After the late start, I read about the Laughing Gull at Barr Lake (Adams County) and headed that way. I spent the next three and a half hours searching for birds.
At 4:30 pm, I walked to the southeast end of the sand spit off the Niedrach Trail. The good news was that there were no gulls off the sand spit. Perhaps the Laughing Gull was farther north and closer to shore.
After making sure the previously reported 6 Black-bellied Plovers and no Buff-breasted Sandpipers were not wandering around the wet mudflats, I walked north along the shoreline to the boat ramp.
Shorebird count was 21 Baird's Sandpipers, 2 Western Sandpipers, 12+ Spotted Sandpipers and a Stilt Sandpiper. Dozens of Great Blue Herons, 61 Double-crested Cormorants and 36+ American White Pelicans stood along the shore.
I stopped at the extreme western point of the shore directly west of the banding station. Dozens (31+) Black Terns flew around the middle of the lake.
While trying to get the Black Tern count, I found my only dark headed Gull of the day. It was flying over the opposite shore at approximately mile maker 4.5.
It appeared slightly smaller and darker than the nearby Ring-billed Gulls. Its head was black and I could not see any white on its primaries. The amount of black in the primaries looked much greater than would be expected on a Franklin's Gull with worn plumage. This could have been the Laughing Gull, just too far away to identify for certain.
After reaching the boat ramp (a Say's Phoebe stood sentinel), dozens of Ring-billed Gulls and White Pelicans stood on the sandbar off the boat ramp. I returned to the Nature Center by way of the woods below the trail. Birds were scare.
A flock of six Black-capped Chickadees fluttered about the southern end of the banding area. A Townsend's Warbler was found in the extreme southwestern area of the banding area. An Olive-sided Flycatcher hawked insects. An unidentified thrush stayed low to the ground in the deep thickets. Also saw an unidentified "empidonax species' and a Western Wood-pewee.
On the way out of the park, half a dozen Western Kingbirds, a pair of Eastern Kingbirds and 80+ Mourning Doves stood on the southern fence.
I drove over to the northwestern shore (access off 144th avenue) to get a better look at the gulls along the shore. The possible Laughing Gull was not there. It was a 20 minute drive to reach that side of the lake. The 6 Black-bellied Plovers were not relocated.
Richard Stevens:
After the late start, I read about the Laughing Gull at Barr Lake (Adams County) and headed that way. I spent the next three and a half hours searching for birds.
At 4:30 pm, I walked to the southeast end of the sand spit off the Niedrach Trail. The good news was that there were no gulls off the sand spit. Perhaps the Laughing Gull was farther north and closer to shore.
After making sure the previously reported 6 Black-bellied Plovers and no Buff-breasted Sandpipers were not wandering around the wet mudflats, I walked north along the shoreline to the boat ramp.
Shorebird count was 21 Baird's Sandpipers, 2 Western Sandpipers, 12+ Spotted Sandpipers and a Stilt Sandpiper. Dozens of Great Blue Herons, 61 Double-crested Cormorants and 36+ American White Pelicans stood along the shore.
I stopped at the extreme western point of the shore directly west of the banding station. Dozens (31+) Black Terns flew around the middle of the lake.
While trying to get the Black Tern count, I found my only dark headed Gull of the day. It was flying over the opposite shore at approximately mile maker 4.5.
It appeared slightly smaller and darker than the nearby Ring-billed Gulls. Its head was black and I could not see any white on its primaries. The amount of black in the primaries looked much greater than would be expected on a Franklin's Gull with worn plumage. This could have been the Laughing Gull, just too far away to identify for certain.
After reaching the boat ramp (a Say's Phoebe stood sentinel), dozens of Ring-billed Gulls and White Pelicans stood on the sandbar off the boat ramp. I returned to the Nature Center by way of the woods below the trail. Birds were scare.
A flock of six Black-capped Chickadees fluttered about the southern end of the banding area. A Townsend's Warbler was found in the extreme southwestern area of the banding area. An Olive-sided Flycatcher hawked insects. An unidentified thrush stayed low to the ground in the deep thickets. Also saw an unidentified "empidonax species' and a Western Wood-pewee.
On the way out of the park, half a dozen Western Kingbirds, a pair of Eastern Kingbirds and 80+ Mourning Doves stood on the southern fence.
I drove over to the northwestern shore (access off 144th avenue) to get a better look at the gulls along the shore. The possible Laughing Gull was not there. It was a 20 minute drive to reach that side of the lake. The 6 Black-bellied Plovers were not relocated.
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