Mew Gull

Today was another day of great weather. I used the time wisely and worked on my garden. I hope that I got a real jump on those weeds that keep crowding out my grass. I replanted a tree that was uprooted during the winter and did some overall raking. My garden thanks me. I know it is early but I also got my bright chairs out and put in place. The pix included here is from last year.
Yesterday evening, I took a drive over to QV and was glad to find the Mew Gull, also known as the Common Gull. I took several pictures of this little guy over the winter but I seem to have lost them! It was a stroke of luck that the Mew Gull is still around. As far as I know, three Mew Gulls stayed in St. John's over the winter months. They became quite friendly with people and would eat bread crumbs.

The Mew Gull is quite small. The one pictured here still has some of its brown winter streaking on the head. That will soon vanish. The beak is narrow and all yellow with no markings. Its legs are a greenish-yellow, not bright yellow like the Ring-Billed Gull. It is also quite small compared to the Herring Gull. The red in the mouth is the actual color, no "photoshopping" here!

With a close-up look, it is easy to see the red eye ring and the narrow beak. This gull is most often found in northern Europe, Asia and North West America. This is a link to a 38 page conservation document all about the Common Gull. It is still a treat when one visits St. John's. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/hunting/docs/Common%20Gull%20EU-MP.pdf

Slaty-Backed Gull

The Slaty-Backed Gull is an uncommon bird in Newfoundland, although there have been a number of documented visits. This special bird was first spotted in October in the ball field on the south side of Quidi Vidi Lake. Before the lake froze, it was spotted in fields, in the harbour and in the dump. Every sighting was posted on the discussion group, prompting birders to rush to the area in hopes of getting a glimpse and a snapshot of the Slaty-Backed Gull.


This gull is most often seen in Northeast Asia. It has been a great attraction for birders who visit Japan. Sources say that it comes from as far away as Siberia. It is not easy for a new birder to identify this species. Its mantle is a slate grey and it has a white wing tip on the back. Its legs are much darker pink than the Greater-Black Backed Gull. It is also smaller than the GBBG. Its beak is not as large as a GBBG, but it does have the red dot on the lower bill.

On one of those very cold days in January, I darted down to QV Lake to see if I could spot the SBG. When I arrived, Brandon Holden who was visiting from Ontario for two months of birding, was there. He was braving the cold, and I sat in my car. All of a sudden he waved at me to come out. The Slaty-Backed Gull had arrived. Just as I was getting out of the car to get set up, another birder arrived. I alerted him to hurry, quietly.


In no time these two photographers were in place and firing away at the SBG. They were as picture-worthy as the gull.


I zoomed as far as my camera would allow and got some decent record shots of this Asian visitor. I was shooting with a 250 mm lens while Brandon was shooting away with his 600 mm lens. His shots turned out great!


He was enjoying it so much that I took another shot of him alone. I sent him the image to share with his family. He was posting on his web site everyday, and I thought his family might like to see him at work. He posted the shot on his web page and was very appreciative. Much to my surprise, I was browsing web sites today and what should I find? My picture posted on the Illinois Bird Forum with no credit given! I quickly submitted my request to be credited with the shot. We'll see how that turns out.



Later on that day, I met a teacher from Ontario who had her scope set up to view the Slaty-Backed Gull. I learned that she had taken her 4-day long weekend to take a jaunt to St. John's specifically to view the Slaty-Backed Gull and the Yellow-Legged Gull. Her family wondered about her normality having chosen to spend her break standing out in the cold and wind on the shores of Quidi Vidi Lake. She seemed perfectly normal, just bitten by the bird watcher's bug.

I have recently encountered people from Ontario, Manitoba, and Texas who have travelled to St. John's for the express purpose of birdwatching. This is a unique setting that will see birds stop over here and nowhere else in North America. It is clear that there is great potential for this city and province to attract birdwatchers to the area. Tourism capitalizes on the bird eco-reserves surrounding Newfoundland and Labrador, but there is little mention of the other great feathered rarities that visit our island.

Ring-Billed Gull

Well, Spring has sprung! We have had record-breaking temperatures for the last two days, and it has been wonderful! Yet, in Newfoundland we know that can go just as quickly as it came. However, among the birds, Spring is here to stay. Their feathers, beaks and legs are changing into their best presentation, and the song birds are exercising their lungs.

This is a Ring-Billed Gull; pretty aptly named! In the Spring the bright yellow returns to this gull's beak, and the winter streaking on the head disappears and is replaced with a snow white crown. It is easy to see in this picture that it also has a red eye ring.


This image provides a clear contrast of the the Ring Bill in the winter. The beak and legs are almost green and the head is streaked with brown. The one constant with this bird is its distinct ring around its bill.

You may have noticed that the legs of this gull are yellow. What's the difference between this gull and the famous Yellow-Legged Gull? This one is not a Yellow-Legged Gull. The main differences for a new birder to look for are the ring around the bill, and the mantle of this gull is light gray, not slate gray like the YLG.

Over winter, there were only 4 Ring-Billed Gulls spotted in the St. John's area. Now that Spring has arrived, the harbour and urban ponds and lakes are seeing more and more arrive each day. This gull is relatively smaller than the Herring Gull and the Iceland Gull but is bigger than the Black-Headed Gull.

It is quite photogenic. If you're lucky, you might even spot one of these birds at the Yellow Arches enjoying some fries!

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

I spent most of yesterday birding, adding three new birds to my life list! I have been hearing about the Yellow-Rumped Warbler that wintered at Kelly's Brook. After the third set of directions, I found my way to the small brook that runs behind the ball park off Empire Avenue. I really wasn't expecting to see it. I have been to Long Pond in search of a Black-Backed Woodpecker seven times, and I still haven't found it.
When I arrived, I began walking the trail by the brook and things were not looking hopeful. The warbler is such a small little bird and the woods were thick. At any rate it was a nice walk. When I got to the end of the brook by the bridge, I had accepted that I wouldn't see it today. Then, there it was flitting in an open tree. I saw it for about 10 seconds but couldn't get my camera set up. It was gone. I was left wondering if I had really seen the warbler or some other little bird. I certainly didn't see any yellow. I decided to wait and see if it would come back. Then out of the blue I saw two Green-winged Teal. They kept me busy for a while. I'll post those shots another day.

I started my walk back along the brook and decided to dart into the woods a bit to see if I could get a better shot of the teal when I saw a little bird. It was so far away that I couldn't identify it. Nevertheless, I got my camera working and started shooting.

I posted this shot just to illustrate how big the above crop is. This image is a 90% crop of the original shot. The Warbler in flight posted above is about a 7% crop of the original picture.

I know that Rule #1 for photographing birds is to ensure that the eye and the beak are in focus. However, Rule #315 is when the name of the bird is a "Yellow-Rumped Warbler" and you are able to capture the yellow rump, then you can post the picture anyway!