It was the first decent gull day at Schoolhouse Pond in over three weeks. The small amount of ice on the pond (which is rapidly melting) attracting a nice assortment of gulls today. The highlight was a first year Thayer's Gull that I got great scope views of as it stood on the ice. Also of note were 13 Great Black-backed Gulls that flew in during the 1/2 hour I was out. Total numbers were:
529 Ring-billed Gulls
120 Herring Gulls
13 Great Black-backed Gulls (7 adults, 2 3rd winter, 2 2nd winter and 2 1st winter gulls).
Thayer's Gull
It was interesting that no Great Black-backed Gulls were present when I went out, but all 13 had flown in before I left, perhaps indicating the on-going turnover of the gulls at the pond. With all the black-backed gulls flying in, I was hoping a Glaucous Gull would fly in also, but to no avail. However, there were incredible numbers of gulls coming and going the whole time I was out looking. Also of note is that I have had no Laughing Gulls since December 6th. Usually I have them through the last or next-to-last week in December.
Regarding the Trumpeter Swan (which is present today), it is the same swan (#962) that has been around the pond since 2006. However, when it left the pond last spring and ended up in Paper Mill Flats for a short period, it evidently lost its wing tags. However, as noted earlier the leg band is still present and confirms that it is the same bird.
Fred Shaffer
Patuxent MOS |