Yesterday morning I decided to scan the gulls below Ky Dam even though there
hasn't been much lately. When I got to the powerhouse parking lot, I was
surprised to see *A LOT* of Herring Gulls foraging over the swirling waters
below the hydro dam. What was even more surprising was the number of Lesser
Black-backed Gulls ... in a span of 10 minutes, I am sure I identified *at
least* *TEN* individuals (six first-years, two second-years, and two adults)
but the birds were moving back and forth too much to get a more accurate count.
I scanned farther down the river below the highway and railroad bridges and
estimated there were 300 or more Herrings. Bullying other birds away from a
floating dead fish was a first-year Great Black-backed Gull that eventually
flew up and over the bridges and probably went back up on the lake. Also
present was a paleish first-year Iceland Gull that looks like a lot of the
"tweener" Iceland-Thayer's we've seen in recent years, plus a very nice example
of an adult Thayer's type Iceland.
If any of this sounds familiar, it should ... it sounds just about like the
collection of good "big" gulls that has been at the landfill recently.
I went over to the landfill and somewhat unsurprisingly there were many fewer
Herring Gulls present than there have been in recent days. I could not find the
Great Black-backed, could only find about five adult Lesser Black-backeds, and
no Iceland types. Among the hoards of Ring-billed Gulls were only a few dozen
Herrings.
This obviously suggests that the connection between the Ky Dam and landfill
gulls may be quite strong. Along with the Herrings below the dam were no fewer
than 500 Ringers, so the feeding must be quite good right now. I'm not sure
what it could be, perhaps the water has simply gotten cold enough to immobilize
the fish enough that they are getting caught in the turbines or spun around in
the currents in the tailwater. There were *a lot* of dead fish and fish parts
floating down the river below the dam, which was providing a really good food
source for the larger gulls.
Not sure how long this concentration will last, but I *did* notice that there
were hardly any big gulls around after mid-morning, suggesting that this may be
an early morning phenomenon, after which the big gulls get all the food they
need and they just loaf on the lake the rest of the day??
Whatever is the case, I gained a bit of new appreciation and respect for the
big gulls in that they seem to be choosing to eat on some fresh fish rather
than human trash!
bpb, Louisville
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