[va-bird] Sunken Meadows, Lesser black-backed gull

The last trip of the semester for the William & Mary Ornithology class was to 
Sunken Meadows near Surry.  This cypress-lined pond is usually alive with 
wigeon and other puddle ducks.  Alas, today there was only one small flock of 
mallards and 5 hooded mergansers.  There was also the usual flock of a dozen 
tundra swans and 3 mute swans.  A hairy and downy woodpeker worked the 
same tree for the benefit of the class.  6 rusty blackbirds perched in a tulip 
poplar nearby.  A kingfisher beat a large minnow to death and swallowed it for 
all to see.  It's a lovely spot, but much nicer when the ducks have arrived.  
On 
the return trip the lesser black-backed gull seen Tuesday again followed the 
ferry.  It does not perch on either end of the journey, but joins the gull 
flock 
following the boat and aggressively chases ring-billeds for 80% of the 
eastbound ride.  It is in unusual plumage with a pure white tail but some signs 
of third-winter plumage on the wings and head.  It probably bears closer 
scrutiny because I have not yet gotten a great look at it due to it never 
perching.  
A flock of 12 bufflehead and 9 ring-neckeds, mostly males and doing a lot of 
courtship, was on a private lake in the Vinyards neighborhood, where one must 
know a resident to enter. 


Daniel A. Cristol
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
College of William & Mary, 
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg VA 23187-8795, USA
PHONE: 757 221-2405
FAX: 757 221-6483
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