Bonaparte’s Gulls
Bonaparte’s Gulls, non-breeding plumage
By: Pat Coate
Another quick stop I made while up in the Buffalo area was Beaver Island State Park. The park sits on the southern edge of Grand Island, which is an island in the Niagara River. The park offers a number of habitats including wetlands, lagoon/pond, wooded, and beach areas. At the southern-most end of the park, there were mudflat and shallow areas on the river where hundreds of Bonaparte’s gulls had gathered.