Friday, May 11, 2012

May 10, 2012: Bird of the Day



Bonaparte's Gull, 5/9/2012 (Wolf Oesterreich)
This lone adult Bonaparte's Gull was found near the spillway in the southeast corner of the south lake. They pass through our area twice a year, on their way north to Canada and Alaska to breed and on their way south to their wintering grounds in the southern US, along the coasts (gulf, west, & east), and Cuba. Their Winter plumage lacks the black hood and has a dark ear-spot instead. The white wedge along the leading edge of the wings helps to separate this species from most of the other gull species.

The upper-left photo was digiscoped (Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 through a Swarovski 20x60X spotting scope), while the other two were taken with a Canon 40D (with a 70-300mm zoom lens).

Wolf
Ames

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