Iceland Gull (Again) at the Forks of the Delaware ~ November 20, 2023

I headed down to the "Forks of the Delaware" in Easton to check out the gull situation. I scanned through the Ring-billed Gulls to get a count on the Herring and Lesser Black-backeds. While doing that, I found a first-winter Iceland Gull taking a bath and playing with leaves. It is very likely that this is the same bird I saw here back on the 14th. I got these photos while it was in the river.

A first-winter Iceland Gull

It eventually stood on one of the rocks but was mostly blocked by a Lesser Black-backed Gull the majority of the time. The bird was still there when I left.

A first-winter Iceland Gull

I left there and drove over to the Regency Boulevard ponds. Seven Buffleheads and a Hooded Merganser were in the north pond while a Great Blue Heron stood along its edge.

Seven Buffleheads

Hooded Merganser

A walk along the edge of the woods produced 2 Field Sparrows and a Chipping Sparrow among White-throateds, 26 Red-winged Blackbirds, 2 Cedar Waxwings, and a late Eastern Phoebe.

Cedar Waxwing

A late Eastern Phoebe

A stop at the Silver Crest Road pond yielded 11 Common Mergansers, 6 Ruddy Ducks, 5 Green-winged Teal, a Lesser Scaup, a Belted Kingfisher, a Great Blue Heron, and a Cackling Goose among the hundreds of Canadas.

A Belted Kingfisher (top) and a Great Blue Heron (bottom).

Belted Kingfisher

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