From: Bruce M. Bowman To: birders@umich.edu Subject: Niagara Falls trip report (long) Cc: Carl D. Langefeld,Bill Sverdlick Date: Sun, 14 Dec 1997 15:21:47 Niagara Falls trip report (long) Carl Langefeld, Bill Sverdlik, and I birded the Niagara River on December 12 and 13 (all for the first time). Before our report, some basic information: The Niagara River is said to be the best place in North America for variety of gulls in the winter. Eighteen different species have been seen there, but the only ones there in large numbers are Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, and Great Black-backed Gull. The Niagara River runs approximately north/south. The river is about 40 miles long. It carries water from Lake Erie on the south (Fort Erie) to Lake Ontario on the north (Niagara-on-the-Lake). Niagara Falls itself is about in the middle. A road hugs the river all the way along. This is the road traveled while birding (south to north, since it's much easier that way). It is called variously Niagara Parkway, Niagara Boulevard, Lake Shore Road, and River Road. The first week of December is considered to be the best overall for winter birding at Niagara. Our trip list numbers 43 birds, including eight gulls. Besides the four common gulls mentioned above, we had LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (8 or so), GLAUCOUS GULL (1 adult, maybe 2), ICELAND GULL (1, first-winter), and LAUGHING GULL (1) (a low flyover, rare at Niagara). We were disappointed not to find Black-legged Kittiwake, Little Gull, Black-headed Gull, or Franklin's Gull. We did not concentrate on passerines, but we noticed very little action in trees and shrubs along the route. Nothing more unusual than a winter mockingbird was seen. Waterfowl were a bit disappointing in that we had hoped for maybe a Barrow's Goldeneye among the Commons, all three scoters (instead of only White- winged), King Eider, and Harlequin Duck. The only Oldsquaws and White-winged Scoters were at the mouth of the river at Niagara- on-the-Lake, but we had great looks. We stayed at the Sunset Inn at 5803 Stanley Avenue. Clean, quite adequate, easy walking distance from the falls. Inexpensive ($34 single, $39 double). Our list, with some comments, is below. Bruce Double-crested Cormorant (2) Canada Goose (100s but only far south on the river) American Black Duck (3 with Mallards) Mallard (mostly at Dufferin Island) Gadwall (10-12) Greater Scaup (1, with Common Goldeneyes) Lesser Scaup Oldsquaw (25, at Niagara-on-the-Lake) White-winged Scoter (20, at Niagara-on-the-Lake) Common Goldeneye (most common duck) Bufflehead Hooded Merganser (3) Common Merganser (dozens) Red-breasted Merganser (dozens) Red-tailed Hawk (3) American Kestrel (1) Purple Sandpiper (4 on Goat/Three Sisters Islands, New York) Dunlin (2 on Goat/Three Sisters Islands, New York) Laughing Gull (1) Bonaparte's Gull (best looks flying and sitting at Engineerium) Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Iceland Gull (1) Lesser Black-backed Gull (8 or 10) Glaucous Gull (1 or 2) Great Black-backed Gull Rock Dove Mourning Dove (1) Belted Kingfisher (2) Downy Woodpecker (3) Blue Jay (4) American Crow Black-capped Chickadee (all at Goat Island swooped on us to tell us that they wanted handouts--and they then took peanut bits, extracted from a Baby Ruth candy bar, from our hands) Red-breasted Nuthatch (1) American Robin (2) Northern Mockingbird (1) European Starling Northern Cardinal (2) American Tree Sparrow (several) Dark-eyed Junco (2) Purple Finch (1) American Goldfinch (several) House Sparrow