Bonaparte’s Gull Feeding [video]
A few Bonaparte’s Gulls
I was busy with a few personal things this weekend! But I did take a quick trip over to Dunkirk Harbor in search of some waterfowl! The Bonaparte’s Gull seemed to be the most dominate bird that I was able to locate but did find a few other special birds!
Bonaparte’s Gull feeding
These Bonaparte’s seemed to be feeding on some small fish that were close to the docks! The Bonaparte’s were amazing and allowed me to get some close up video clips of them feeding. The weather was freezing cold with blowing winds but I truly enjoyed watching these guys! Enjoy the video!
A 1:20 clip of Bonaparte’s Gull feeding
Red-breasted Merganser
Double-crested Cormorant and Common Loon
Eared Grebe (see discussion on birdQUIZ)
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This is an awesome blog posting! There were a ton of Bonies there and the video was so cool to see them all feeding, I am glad that we came to the conclusion that the Grebe was an Eared also!
2 December 2007 at 11:22 am
Wow!! I gotta get you know who over here for this! What a lot of Bonies! I just love them-I started watching this with the sound on but Bailey was freaking out so I watched it without (will watch again later) Congrats on your other birds too-I just went to look for Redpolls but no luck yet 😦
2 December 2007 at 11:46 am
AWESOME. Bonaparte’s are my favorite gull. I love when they get close enough to hear them. Nice Eared Grebe too.
2 December 2007 at 12:13 pm
Wow Tom! So many gulls! Very cool you saw the other birds, too. This reminds me, I need to get up to the lake here to see what’s going on with the birds.
2 December 2007 at 12:29 pm
Like everyone else–Wow! Very hitchcockian video. They sure are fast eaters. I tried in vain to see them eat, but as soon as one caught a fish, it was gone. Loved to be able to see them paddling so fast at the end.
2 December 2007 at 12:45 pm
Alfred Hitchcock, call your office … Great photos, mon@rch.
2 December 2007 at 1:15 pm
All I see around here are Herring Gulls and Ring-billed gulls. The Bonapartes look quite elegant. (but their dinner manners are not so) The cormorants tend to fool me into thinking they are loons as they sit in the water. As usual, your pictures are great and a good learning tool.
2 December 2007 at 3:37 pm
@ YN-J – Thanks and there were many Bonies at DH! Video didn’t turn out as good converted as the original! But is amazing for sure!
@ Marg – I bet your bird was freaking out! Those birds were going crazy! Tell You know who I said hello!
@ Nick – They are great for sure and glad you enjoyed them! That was an interesting bird for sure and still wasn’t sure once I started reviewing the pictures! Eared is what I thought it was out in the field (reason I took its picture)!
@ Pam – thanks and many gulls for sure! Do get up to the lake, great time of year for ducks/gulls!
@ possumlady – I was amazed how fast they ate those fish! I also wondered if they ever stopped being hungry! Thanks
@ Wren – LOL, thanks
@ Ruth – They are great for sure and was very happy they behaved like this without being too concerned that I was their. Cormorants can be hard to ID sometimes! Thanks for your kind words!
2 December 2007 at 6:51 pm
I haven’t learned how to identify different gulls yet. These are quite elegant, but I don’t think we see them here. I’ll have to take a good look around. I suspect there are several species here, but my skills aren’t sharp enough to tell which kind. I’m working on it. Great video. Beautiful shore birds.
2 December 2007 at 7:10 pm
Funny we had lots of Bonies and an Red-necked Grebe this weekend too. We tried and tried to find a Little or Blackheaded Gull but didn’t have any luck.
2 December 2007 at 8:13 pm
I know what you mean about the wind. We had it here too. Bonaparte’s Gull-That would be a lifer for me!-Great footage/photos!
2 December 2007 at 8:45 pm
Wonderful video! I so love it when you post a video! I almost was wet from all the gulls splashing and feeding. Your other sightenings were very cool as well. Some would be lifers for me!
It is windy and cold here too. I am inside until a warm up comes.
Thanks so much for a great post.
Sherry
2 December 2007 at 8:59 pm
Very nice, as usual! Although I’ve missed cormorants lately, we were fortunate enough to see a couple at a local state park yesterday. (BTW, it was nearly 80F here today. Perhaps you should plan a southern birding trip for next autumn. *L* 😉
2 December 2007 at 9:02 pm
Isn’t it funny how you takes things for granted when you see them all the time and others are fascinated. Living here near the lake I see gulls all the time. Just goes to show we need to look at everything around us with a new perspective. Great post as always.
2 December 2007 at 10:23 pm
All I could think about was Alfred Hitchkock’s “The Birds”
2 December 2007 at 10:27 pm
I will try this one again, my son just hit me and the keyboard with a basketball so it came out wrong…sorry about that.
As I was saying , I just watched Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and this could have been a scene straight out of the movie, very neat video 🙂
2 December 2007 at 10:33 pm
What good pictures Tom. We have Gulls that hang out in our shopping center parking lot. I always save my stale bread for them and some days me and Elizabeth go out and feed them from the car. It is neat to watch. ~Nita~
2 December 2007 at 10:43 pm
Great video, Tom. The last frame showed the catch! All lifers for me. You are brilliant with your camera.
2 December 2007 at 10:53 pm
@ Robin – Gulls are not easy and I must say I can have a hard time with them also! Just don’t call them Sea-gulls! Thanks
@ Lisa – Wow, would have loved to see a Red-necked Grebe! Thanks
@ Larry – The wind was whipping around! Thanks
@ Sherry – Thanks and wish I could post more of them! I have been thinking of getting a video camera but will have to wait till I get my taxes back! Thanks
@ Lana – Thanks and you are the first to say you “miss” cormorants! Glad you did get to see some! 80’s! Would love that! Fall is hard for me because of the owls!
@ Toni – Lots of gulls, and it is very possible to have a Little Gull and Black-headed Gull mixed in with all these guys! I looked but didn’t find any! You just never know and I feel the same way with some of the warblers that I find!
@ Bernie – No worries and it was crazy watching them all together like that ! They had a mission and didn’t care about anyone! Some old guy came out and threw some bred in their! They flew away and went right back to eating the small fish! Thanks
@ Nita – Thanks and sometimes even big groups of birds like this ignore being feed! But some of the others like Ring-billed and Herring gulls will feed on the bread! Although isn’t the best for their diet! Thanks
@ Mary – thanks and believe it or not but it’s just a point and shoot! Thanks and congrats on your pishing!
2 December 2007 at 11:02 pm
Good Lord! That was BONIE-LICIOUS!
3 December 2007 at 12:36 am
What a great video of the feasting frenzy!
3 December 2007 at 7:01 am
Love love love the video, Tom! Thanks for sharing!
3 December 2007 at 11:33 am
The water in Dunkirk harbor stays open all winter because of the output from the power plant. You can see a lot of birds there as it acts almost like a sanctuary.
3 December 2007 at 2:14 pm
@ Susan – LOL sounds like a new song!
@ Jayne – thanks!
@ Lisa – Thanks, Thanks and Thanks!
@ Mike – Thanks and very glad they do so!
3 December 2007 at 7:10 pm
My cat went crazy when he heard the gulls! He was lying on the back of my chair and immediately sat up and started looking for the noise-makers! When he spied them over my shoulder he tried to get closer to them, batting at the laptop screen! Very amusing! I enjoyed the video, too.
3 December 2007 at 9:32 pm
Rondi – not sure if you remember this blog posting with my cats! https://monarchbfly.com/2007/03/16/fffriday/ Looks like something right up your alley in reviewing! Thanks
3 December 2007 at 10:10 pm
Thanks for sharing that with me, Tom. I actually spent awhile looking at older posts that I’d missed. What a great gift your sharing all this is! I really enjoyed catching up and learning while I was at it!
4 December 2007 at 8:20 pm