Surprise Black-headed Gull

Well I left you with a little tease about this gull that was in the last picture.

Here the bird again from my grainy image

Here is a first-cycle Bonapart's Gull I saw on April 28, 2009 on the southend of Jekyll. It is the one sitting down.

During the morning of shorebird watching on May 9, Brad Winn had his boat on the other side of the little no-named island. Looking at all those shorebirds, sorting them out and just enjoying the moments we were sharing was unbelievable. Toward the end of our time there, Brad came around and pointed out this little gull. I got a couple of images but we were leaving. This "little" gull was buoyant as I watched it in water. Thanks to Brad's skill as photographer and his camera we were able to have a better look.

Both the Bonapart's and Black-headed gulls are delicate gulls. But the Black-headed gull is larger. The bill is slightly longer and stouter. It is two-toned reddish at the base and dark at the tip.

And when it flies......

You can see the white wedge on the wing and the contrasting dark wedge that help identify it as a Black-headed Gull not a Bonapart's Gull. What a thrill!

Friday was a little warmer

On Friday, it began to warm up just in time for the annual Weekend for Wildlife.
This is a weekend put on by our Georgia’s Department of Nature Resources, Wildlife Division Nongame program. This state group watches over our Painted Buntings, shorebirds as well as other migratory birds and animals. The Georgia car tag with a Bald Eagle or hummingbird is one funding source. The other funding source is the great weekend. The Environmental Resources Network, TERN for short, helps puts on the event at Sea Island’s Cloister Resort. I enjoy being part of the weekend by contributing art for auction and by helping lead a Friday birdwatching outing. This year we had a nice size group.
The first bird we all watched was a Piping Plover but a Bald eagle stole the show. This bird landed on the beach scattering the Double-crested Cormorants, gulls and shorebirds.

We finished the day at the Jekyll amphitheater looking at the collection of egrets, herons and even an alligator. It has warmed up!