[TN-Bird] Bonaparte's Gull in Estill Springs Park

I was trying to catch a Walleye in the rain and sleet this afternoon (don't
ask, it's a fisherman's thing) when I noticed a small white bird swimming
the far side of the river. I was fishing the upper end of the Elk River
where it passes through the Estill Springs City Park in Franklin County
between Winchester and Tullahoma, TN. The bird was a couple hundred yards
away and with the small amount of white I could see, I was thinking it was a
Bufflehead or Hooded Merganser. As it got closer I decided it was a small
gull or tern. Just before I talked myself into climbing the bank to get my
binoculars the bird picked up and flew directly toward me. It landed exactly
across the river from me at about 50 yards and I realized I had no idea what
kind of bird it was. This made me climb the bank in a hurry to get a better
look. It was a gull about the size of a pigeon. It was basically white with
a light gray back with black tail and wing tips. It had a black pointed
bill. I could not see the feet because it was swimming along the edge of the
water looking for something to eat. The most striking marking about the
bird, and the one that had me most intrigued was the black dot on each side
of it's head that looked like a second eye. I watched the bird for several
more minutes until I was about frozen from the wind. When I got home and
looked in the Audubon Guide I convinced myself it was a Bonaparte Gull in
winter plumage. It's a new bird for me and made my afternoon. I'm guessing
it's migrating and using the river as a food source. Maybe I'll get another
chance to see it tomorrow. If anyone would like to find it, it was on the
left side of the point near the old bridge foundation. Good birding.
 

Martin Hall

Lynchburg, TN


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