Thayer's Gull, Trumpeter Swans, at Conowingo

rick (rblom@blazie.com)
Sat, 23 Jan 1999 21:11:02 -0500


        There were 10,000 - 12,000 gulls at Conowingo today, January 23.
Full generation all day. Heavy fog precluded seeing anything until noon. In
the afternoon there were, among the usual suspects:

Lesser Black-backed Gull        3 (2 ad, 1 3rd winter)
Iceland Gull                    1 (2nd winter)
THAYER'S GULL                   1 (1st winter)
Trumpeter Swan (?)              4

        The Thayer's was feeding at the base of the dam and was seen by
myself and six others. It had all the field marks one associates with the
species, assuming it is a species and that the field marks are relevant.
More details will appear later.
        The swans were back in their favorite haunt across the river, too
far away to see well, except for a brief period before my arrival when they
were seen well by 3-5 birders who felt they fit the criteria for
Trumpeters. The saga is undoubtedly frustrating, with casual mentions and
reports going back to mid December. At least one of the birds, which was
seen last week above the dam, at distances of less than 50 feet for more
than 10 minutes, is definitely a Trumpeter. I have suspicions about the
others but have not seen them well enough to confirm the identification.
The bird we saw at point blank range had no bands (both legs seen well),
and flew freely and easily. It was a bird of the year. We have been unable
to track down any escapes and all known birds in captivity have bands and
are accounted for. It is probably (but it is impossible to be certain),
that this is one fo the birds from the re-established Great Lakes
population, which is breeding and expanding and which has been found in
winter south and east of the breeding range, especially in rivers.
Countability is a personal issue. A lengthier discussion of the bird seen
above the dam will come later.

Rick

"A great many people now reading and writing would be better employed
keeping rabbits." Edith Sitwell


Rick Blom
rblom@blazie.com
4318 Cowan Place
Belcamp, Maryland 21017
(410)575-6086