"Gulling" Quidi Vidi Lake

 QV Lake has a long history as a catchment for rare gulls. Gull enthusiast hang around the area as they battle the harsh elements of winter. An annual workshop is held lake side to orient new gull watchers to the variety of gulls that flock there.

 Each year, with anticipation, binoculars scan the thousands the gulls sitting on the ice. Without fail, just as an interesting one is spotted, along comes an eagle, a Peregrine Falcon, a Northern Goshawk or this year... a Red-tailed Hawk fly in and flush the thousands into the air. The hope of relocating a target bird diminishes. The bird-of-fame this year, so far, is this Slaty-backed Gull.

 For many birders, seeing this bird is a first-time experience. For other, long-term birders the joy of seeing this great gull never fades.

 While waiting for the target bird to show up, I spent several hours scanning the many, many gulls.

 They come in all sizes, shapes, colors and ages. Around the lake yesterday, I saw at five Lesser Back-backed Gulls. Not one was like the other.

 This particular one would frequently come close, strutting and posing for the camera.

 It is in a very interesting state of transition.

 Others were more typical looking. Common among most of them is the distinct gray mantle, a cross between a Herring gray and a Black-backed Gulls dark black mantle.

 It is this gray color, that caused my eyes to lock on them at every turn.

 Then, there is this immature, 2nd cycle (thanks Dave Brown) Lesser Black-backed Gull.

 It stood out because of its small size.

 Then, hidden away was this interesting small, dark-backed gull.

 The mantle was not totally black. Given the clean head, dark gray mantle and small size, I looked it over closely with the hope it just might be something "special."

 Pictures helped to get an ID on the bird which was confirmed to be a small Great Black-backed Gull.

 For some, sitting for hours staring at a moving puzzle of gulls would be just too much. For others, it is never boring and could go on all day.

 As I scanned I watched this Herring Gull begin to bully another. Without provocation, it just went right up to a resting gull and grabbed its wing. It pulled the bird across the ice.

The poor victim got up several times and tried to pull away with no avail. It would sit again, only to be pulled over the ice.

At last, it gave its best effort and managed to pull away. It wasted no time getting away from the bully. There is a bevy of gulls and a full-time show of gull behaviour. It really never gets old.

Fine Grey Day

 Grey as it was, there was little wind which made the trip to Renews with Ethel D. a fine opportunity to enjoy some of the birds recently found down the southern shore. Top of the list was this Eastern Towhee that has been hanging around just off the main drag in Renews.

With luck on our side, the bird was present when we arrived. While we had good looks at the bird, it was not easy to photograph it. It stayed safely nestled in behind a batch of twigs in a low shrub.

 It flew around to a couple of different locations while we were there, but I was unable to catch it in the open. Such a thrill to see this bird I have missed for several years.

 Just up the road at Renews Beach, this little Dovekie was being pushed into shore by the steady waves. Being as small as it is, it was tossed about like a leaf.

 Little by little it came in closer and closer.

 Then, one good-sized wave lifted the Dovekie and tossed it on shore. It floundered about a bit, in a futile effort to get back in the water.

 Soon, it calmed down and let nature takes its course. While waiting for the next wave to wash over it and take it away, I was able to have some great eye-to-eye views of this tiny little bird.

 When a rare opportunity like this arises, it is best to just take it all in and enjoy.

 Also in Renews, a small flock of Common Redpolls put in a brief showing at Clara's famous feeder. Only one species among many there.

 It was Calvert where we revisited a Bufflehead found during the Christmas Bird Count.

Stopping at several locations along the way, we saw numerous Mergansers, Loons and Dovekies. When we came upon this last bird at Cape Broyle, I mistook it for a Dovekie at the time. However, with closer scrutiny of this one picture, I now believe it to be a Common Murre. You just never know was a grey ole day might bring:)

Cheerful and Bright!

 Wishing all of my readers a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

May your season and the new year ahead be cheerful and bright.

A Rare Sunny Day

 Seizing the opportunity to go birding on a sunny, not-to-windy day, I joined Ethel D. for a trip south. While it was wonderful to walk around soaking up the natural light, there really weren't many birds around. We did manage to see a few.

 Yet, you can imagine our reaction when we came upon a small, dark "bird" with no tail flying around in a very strange way! Pulling off the road was instantaneous! Grabbing the camera to capture this flying creature was second nature.

 It wasn't until I got the thing in my focus that I realized it wasn't a bird at all. It was a bat! Ugh!

 What was a bat doing flying along the road in the middle of the afternoon. This was so strange, more strange than a sunny day.

 We stayed about 10 minutes and the bat continued to fly the same area. It was there when we left in dismay. I am still shaking my head.

 I have reported the sighting to Wildlife and submitted photos. This may in some way be significant.

 One of the main avian highlights of the day was finding this female Red-winged Blackbird. It was behaving oddly, too. Ethel kept hearing the sound of flapping wings, but we couldn't see anything moving anywhere.

 With boots on, I began walking into the boggy area. In a flash this bird bolted out of the tall grass and up into a tree where it sat long enough for us to document it.

 In the same area, we had the fly-by of these two Mourning Doves. Until we relocated them, we were actually hoping for something a little more exotic. Nevertheless, they were nice to see.

 Bear Cove Beach hosted about 10 White-rumped Sandpipers, three more than we saw at Renews. I included this photo not to show the bird, but to show the cloud of flies that hovered over the kelp. these birds were eating so well, they hardly noticed us.

 On the water sat one White-winged Scoter and a couple of other seabirds too far to identify.

The high seas heralded the incoming storm. High surfs will occur around the south coast of the island over the next couple of days.

What does all of this mean? Well, it all just goes to show how nice it is to spend a day outdoors.