Rare Birds that Blend In

Sometimes, the difference between a dime-a-dozen commoner and a rare bird can lie in minuscule details. This was the case for three such birds seen today:


The Fish Crow (right) is noticebly smaller than the American Crow (right) with a remarkably shorter bill and smaller head. The very distinctive "eh eh" vocalization of the Fish Crow helped to tune into its location, but while subtle, the size difference is still quite obvious when you look closely.


Gulls are amongst the most challenging groups of birds to identify, and this Iceland Gull(center) could have easily gone unnoticed. White wingtips were key to picking this bird out from amongst the hundreds of gulls congregating at the Winooski Falls. The relatively thin, all dark beak, pink legs, and mottled, but very light plumage all helped make it recognized.


The bird-of-the-day was this Lesser Black-backed Gull (center frame) sitting on a giant compost heap in Burlington. It's similar in size to the Herring Gull (right) but with a darker back. It is smaller than the Great Black-backed Gull (back, partially hidden) and sports a darker, streaky head. It's yellow legs also distinguish it from these two similar species. While commonplace in Europe, the Lesser Black-backed Gull is rare here. See another picture

A Lingering Heron

Although not too unusual, it caught me by surprise to find a late Great Blue Heron in the Winooski River near my apartment! It certainly seemed out-of-place amongst the dead vegetation and partially-frozen water. The young heron didn't seem very comfortable either... it was very skittish, extending its neck to search for danger and then jerking it back to hide in the grass.



Also, I could count over 100 Ring-billed Gulls, nearly 50 Herring Gulls, and a whopping 15 Great Black Backed Gulls from one spot along the riverwalk! (can you find all 3 species in the photo below?) It's easy to forget that there is such good birding and wildlife watching so close to home!

See Gulls

Inspired by Alan Strong's recent post to the VTBird listserv, I stopped at a congregation of gulls that I probably would have driven by normally. There were at least 40 or so in a feeding frenzy. Flying ants were taking off in droves from large colonies alongside the USDA Forestry Services parking lot in South Burlington. The stream of ants went on for a half hour while I was there, and as the pace of ants lifting off slowed around 7:40pm, the gulls began to leave. I counted at least 4 Bonaparte's Gullsout of all the Ring-billeds in the flock, and managed to get a few photos of one. I feel like I have seen large groups of gulls near I-89 in Burlington in past years around this time, and will have to start paying more attention to them!