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On Thursday 30 December, Declan Troy,
Jan Doherty and I saw this leucistic Bonaparte's Gull at the
Whirlpool on the Niagara River. Paul Prior and Michael King first
spotted it on Tuesday 28 December and told us about it. Its
whiteness caused it to loom larger than the mostly adult Bonaparte's
Gulls around it. Its plumage was all white except for two grey marks
on the scapulars symmetrical on both sides
and a black ear spot on each side of the head with grey shading on
the crown. The bill was entirely black. A leucistic Bonaparte's Gull
has been on the River for the past few winters. I wonder if this is
the same bird as before. If seen by itself, it could be confused
with the larger Ivory Gull. The above photo was digiscoped from the
aerial tram viewing platform.
Again on Sunday 2 January 2011, scoping
from the overlook just north of the Butterfly Conservatory, we saw
the leucistic Bonaparte's Gull across the river on the roosting
rocks on the American side. See below. |
