Wednesday, December 23, 2020

A spectacular Underside view

 Following up on Dan Smith's report of Iceland Gull on Prospect Lake,I went for a go see. And the result was pure luck and irony thanks to a timely Peregrine Falcon raid.

In midafternoon I'm standing on the lake western shore close to the rustic shelter, looking at a mass of gulls. I focused on the close ones as I didn't bring my scope because I have Christmas shopping to do later. With binoculars it's hard to pick out the distant rare gull without black wingtips.

Then all the gulls flew up into a frenzied mess. I knew it was raptor time.

Searching for the hunter,I found my bird,a well defined grayish blue falcon called a PEREGRINE FALCON.The bird swooped from the west thru the gull mass and chased a few gulls as I tried hard to stay with it; I was amazed I did for awhile. I figured no Iceland well I got a beautiful falcon instead. On the contrary.

As all the gulls settled back down the ice,I looked for my target gull hoping to get lucky. The irony was this: the ICELAND GULL was not on land ,but by air. I happened to look up by lucky chance and here's an all white gull flying right over me! It's the ICELAND! WHOOHOO! The wings looked so clean.

I followed thru my bins --like I did successfully with the Peregrine-- the Iceland over the Lake till it disappeared, a tinier hazy blob over Duck Island on Prospect Lake's southeast section. Gulls massed over there and likely the Iceland Gull joined them.

For me how I got so lucky with the gull directly over me? As I tell friends: the quest of getting a good bird comes down to where you are,being in the right place and looking in the right direction( like up 👆)

On an additional note I ran into Marc Brawer on Well Drive. Two good boids he found .Along the Peninsula lake shore just beyond the drive,an AMERICAN WOODCOCK flushed. Furthermore as it rains it pours the saying goes, in the same general area,Marc found by the mudflat within the phragmites a RUSTY BLACKBIRD. Three good birds at days end is pretty darn good.