Black-headed Gull in Easton! ~ November 18-21, 2009

November 18th

After hearing reports and seeing photos of an adult Black-headed Gull at Merrill Creek Reservoir in nearby New Jersey, I decided to spend some late mornings and afternoons down at the 'Forks of the Delaware' in Easton. Gulls from Merrill Creek and other areas visit the local landfills in Easton and Bethlehem and then, afterwards, depending on the water level of the river, they tend to rest along the shoreline or on the rocks on a island below the dam. My hope was that the Black-headed Gull would drop in while I was there. Although it hadn't shown, I did find an Iceland Gull there on the 17th, which was the earliest that I had ever seen one in the area.

Then, at around 2:00, I noticed a small gull among the many Ring-billeds. Although I was hoping for it to happen, I was really surprised that I was looking at a first-winter Black-headed Gull! I managed to take some documentation photos of it, called Arlene Koch and asked her to post it on PABIRDS, and called a few other local birders about it. Rick Wiltraut was able to make it down there and also see the bird. Because of the excitement, what didn't click in my head until Rick mentioned it was that this was a different Black-headed since the Merrill Creek bird was an adult! Also there that afternoon were two Iceland Gulls.

Black-headed Gull at the 'Forks of the Delaware' in Easton. The orange bill with a black tip, the spot behind the eye, and the orange legs help make this a first-winter bird. I was so surprised when I found this bird that I overexposed the photo. This bird represents the 1st record for the Lehigh Valley area.

Black-headed Gull at the 'Forks of the Delaware' in Easton. Note the faint brown ulnar bar and the thin, black terminal band on the tail of this first-winter bird. This bird represents the 1st record for the Lehigh Valley area.

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November 21st

I spent most of Saturday down at the 'Forks of the Delaware' in Easton, hoping to refind the Black-headed Gull. Thankfully, it showed up between 2:00 and 2:30 and allowed me to get much better photos than what I got on the 18th.

Black-headed Gull at the 'Forks of the Delaware' in Easton. The orange bill with a black tip, the spot behind the eye, and the orange legs make this a first-winter bird. This bird represents the 1st record for the Lehigh Valley area.

Black-headed Gull at the 'Forks of the Delaware' in Easton. The orange bill with a black tip, the spot behind the eye, the brown ulnar bar, the extensive amount of white in the outer primaries, the orange legs, and the black terminal band on the tail make this a first-winter bird. This bird represents the 1st record for the Lehigh Valley area.

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