Rare Gull from Greenland Spotted in Toronto
A rare gull has been spotted in the flooding on Woodbine Beach, perhaps a silver lining to the high waters on the lake’s shore.
An Iceland Gull, specifically the nominate glaucoides subspecies, was spotted in the pools of water where sand used to be.
Ornithologist Jean Iron and her husband Ron Pittaway saw the gull in Ashbridges Bay – something Pittaway said the flooding made possible. Iron wrote about the sighting on her website last month, and Pittaway said the bird was seen as late as April 20.
Shallow water provided a place for the gull to “just rest,†said Pittaway, who is with the Ontario Field Ornithologists. The flooding from the lake created a desirable place for the gull to be. “They felt safe there,†Pittaway said.
He explained the gull is common in Greenland – not Iceland, ironically – where it breeds. This sighting was of a “stray,†he said, meaning it had been separated from the rest of the flock.
He said some of the identifying physical features of the bird that allowed them to be confident in its identification include clear yellow eyes, pale grey feathers on the upper body, and pure white tail feathers underneath.
Bird watchers are looking
forward to the warbler migration this month, Pittaway said. He described
these birds that migrate at night and fill trees in the morning and
sing. Late May and early June is when these birds are spotted he said,
and Toronto bird watchers can spot them in places like Ashbridges Bay
and on Toronto Island.
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