The first day out birding after 35 days at sea on a seismic vessel working off Newfoundland started with a bang in the form of a LITTLE GULL at Mobile. Little Gull occurs every 2 or 3 years in Newfoundland. Nearly all the records are 1st summer birds occurring between mid June and August and are frequently associated with capelin feeding birds. This bird fits the pattern.
It was sitting on a rock next to a 1st summer Black-headed Gull. It came back to this rock all day long allowing St. John's birders to drive the 40 minutes to Mobile and easily see the bird. This makes it one of the easiest Little Gulls ever in Newfoundland. It could hang around a few more days. The masses of Atlantic Puffins feeding half way out the cove indicates the capelin are in there. I saw the Little Gull choke down a capelin.
The attached photos are big crops.
Little Gull with Black-headed Gull.
Little Gull with Common Tern.
Your blog is always very interesting Bruce. Thanks for the entertainment. I'm from the southern part of Nova Scotia and spend lots of time birding the Cape Sable Island area. I was excited when we were able to see 10 Snowy Owls on Cape Sable this past winter only to see that you had hundreds in Newfoundland. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteI've also recently started a blog on birding and exploring in Nova Scotia.
http://alixdentremont.blogspot.ca/