A Mew Gull was found by Jay McGowan on Thursday afternoon near the Oswego Harbor in Minetto, NY. I woke up very early yesterday morning - and when I read his post about it, I quickly threw things together and made a run for it. I had tried for this species once before in Dunkirk when
Gale VerHague found one. That bird didn't stick around - and neither did the Mew Gull found on Long Island earlier this past week. This species doesn't seem to linger!
After a long drive, when I arrived at the spot, several birders were already on the bird. A tough climb up a snow bank brought me to the group of happy birders. I got my first view of a Mew Gull, thanks to Bill Purcell sharing his scope. It was a life bird for most of us and everyone was in great spirits.
The Mew Gull is a pretty, little gull with a subtle pink wash on its breast, a dark eye, a slightly darker gray mantle (back), and a more dainty bill than a Ring-billed Gull. There was a slight ring on the lower mandible (bill), but nothing like a Ring-billed's ring. It's also a little smaller than a Ring-billed. When it flew, there was a nice show of white on the primary tips of feathers P9 and P10. All in all, it was a very pretty gull and finally, an addition to my life list.
Nearby, at a spot along the river, a wonderful birder and all around nice guy, George Chiu, re-found a Slaty-backed Gull (another rarity that was found earlier in the week by David Wheeler). Unfortunately, the bird was far out on the ice but we got nice scope views. I actually took my first usable digi-scoped shot of that gull (included below). Kevin Rybczynski will be proud! To my surprise, there were two birders from Massachusetts there, hoping to see the Slaty-backed. They were thrilled when I told them George had re-found the bird! And I thought MY drive was long!
A Glaucous Gull was on the ice a bit closer and was pointed out by Pat Martin. Thank you, Pat!
I was very glad I made the very long drive!