W Dec. 2

Trip Leader: James Turland

Participants: Fred, Bonnie, James, Carole L, Norma, Alice and John, Doug, Liz, Bruce, Jim, Joy, Judy, Lionel, Bob and Anne Marie, Joan, Kirsten and Grace .

HI Everyone,

It was a fun day today. The weather was warm; we were in our typical BBC friendly mood, and James took us to some great places where we had some good discussions on birds, plants and history. We saw 100’s of Canada Goose take off and fly off to roost. Some migrating Tundra Swans added to the day by letting us observe them in a field and then they followed us to the Ripley Sewage Lagoons. We watched patiently, while off in the distance, a Little Gull was teasing us by not showing its underwing. It took awhile, but our perseverance paid off. We all oohed loudly at the same time when the bird did a sort of flip over turn revealing the secret of its identity. Thank you James for your leadership, your knowledge of the area, and your warm, style of leadership, that we all enjoy. Thank you for being you.

Also, thank you to Anne-Marie for keeping tabs on the birds seen today. She’s not bad at spotting birds either.

The weather was warm for this time of year, sunny and temperatures of + 6 C.

At the end of the email, I have an old picture of James that shows the difference between the Bonaparte’s Gull and Little Gull. Two, as you know, very similar looking birds, until they show the under side of their wing. Bonaparte’s being light grey and Little Gull being ink black. What a great shot to have them both in the same frame with their wings up.