The
following excerpt is from Gulls on the Niagara Frontier
(Buffalo
Society of Natural Sciences, Miscellaneous Contributions, No. 20, 1977. Reprinted
from Kingbird, XXVII, No. 3, 1977), by Robert F. Andrle, and is reproduced
here with his permission. The full text includes photographs, a map of the Niagara
River, discussion of best viewing areas, distribution and abundance of species and
subspecies.
GULLS ON THE NIAGARA FRONTIER
Robert F. Andrle
Bordered by two of the Great Lakes and crossed by a
major river, the Niagara Frontier Region, which includes the western portion of New York
State and part of the Niagara peninsula of Ontario, is an outstanding area for
gulls. It is one of the very best areas in North America, and probably in the world,
for viewing large numbers and a great variety of these fascinating birds. Sixteen
species plus one subspecies have been recorded here so far, and keen observers have
tallied 13 species in one day on the Niagara River. At times in fall, there have
been over 100,000 gull present in the region, most of them on the Niagara.
Species identified in the region are:
Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull (2ssp.), Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull,
Herring Gull, Thayer's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Mew Gull, Black-headed Gull, Laughing Gull,
Franklin's Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, Little Gull, Ivory Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake and
Sabine's Gull. In addition, individuals have appeared here which are probably
hybrids, and others have shown plumage variations that are probably due to aberrancy or
some other factor.
. . .
The Niagara River is largely ice-free in winter and
provides a year-round source of food for gulls, as well as a migratory route in
season. Gulls are also attracted in numbers to the shores and offshore areas of Lake
Erie and Lake Ontario. Less often, and in considerably lower numbers and variety,
they range inland in western New York, sometimes following streams or frequenting lakes,
plowed fields, refuse dumps and other open land. The abundance of small fish, such
as shiners (Notropis), alewives (Pomolobus), gizzard shad (Dorosoma)
and smelt (Osmerus), in the Niagara and the Great Lakes attracts these multitudes
of gulls, especially in autumn and early winter. The late summer and early fall
swarms of caddisflies on the Niagara also are an important source of food for the
medium-sized and small-sized gulls.
We have often thought that, if more observation and
considerable banding or color marking were possible in eastern Canadian Arctic and
subarctic gull colonies, more about their identification, plumages and distribution might
be learned by collecting, photographing or observing such individuals that reach the
Niagara Frontier Region and other northeastern United States and southern Canada
locations. There is no question that gulls, as intriguing subjects for observation,
study and the simple appreciation of their beauty, arouse the curiosity and interest of
many field birders, especially in places like the Niagara Frontier Region where their
great numbers and variety provide a constant stimulus to identify and learn more about
them.
About the Author
Robert F. Andrle has had a special interest in gulls for many years,
and has studied them both in the Niagara Frontier Region and in various other places in
the world. He earned his Ph.D. at Louisiana State University and is the former
Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Buffalo Museum of Science. He has also been
interested for a long time in tropical ornithology and has published on the results of his
research in Latin America and the West Indies. He is a Fellow and past president of
the Buffalo Ornithological Society and is currently one of its Statisticians. An
elective member of the American Ornithologist's Union, Dr. Andrle is also a member of the
Wilson Ornithological Society and the Cooper Ornithological Society, in whose journals
some of his scientific papers have appeared. He is co-editor, along with Janet R.
Carroll, of The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State
(Cornell
University Press, Ithaca, New York. 1988).