Late Fall Bluffing

 It was the morning of November 2nd 2020. The winds were looking pretty sweet for waterbirds at "The Bluff", with 50km/h Northwest winds. It was a cooler day, not getting much higher than 3 degrees. Being in online university meant I had almost daily live meetings, and Nov 2 was no exception. Thankfully I only had one lecture that morning which allowed me to get out later that afternoon. 

At the beginning of the year I made a list; "2020 Must-See Birds". It was a list of 72 overdue lifers. On that list was Black-legged Kittiwake. With a few records along the Lake Huron shoreline from earlier that fall, I was almost certain today would be the day.

I parked at the gate and made it down the road. The wind was brisk and the cold north component had me shivering before I even had my scope set up. It was immediately clear \"things were happening\". 

I hunkered down behind a dirt hill in an attempt to hide from the wind. The "dead end" sign that is usually at the end of the road was seemingly missing. I discovered the strength of the wind had snapped the wooden post of the sign right in half!

The "dead end" sign at The Bluff

After that I immediately had two Great Black-backed Gulls fly over together:

Immature Great Black-backed Gull

Adult Great Black-backed Gull

The gulls continued to stream over in almost overwhelming numbers. The vast majority were Ring-billed Gulls with a few Herring Gulls mixed in. As someone who still has a long way to go in the realm of gull identification, seeing hundreds of close flybys of many different plumages is one of the best ways to learn.

Herring Gull

The Great Black-backed Gulls (GBBG) showed no signs of stopping as they continued to stream by. I was surprised that the first immature GBBG was the only sub adult I\"d had that day. Of eight GBBGs, seven were adults. 

Great Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Many of these birds appeared to be in active primary molt. 

Aside from the gulls, a couple of raptors spiced things up a bit. An adult Bald Eagle made a couple of passes as well as a Merlin. Both of which are likely local birds, but still nice to see.

Bald Eagle

Merlin

A Long-tailed Duck whipped past at one point as well, too fast for pictures. Later a small group of ducks flew by. One definite male Mallard, and a few American Black Ducks or Mallard x Black Duck hybrids. 

Mallard and some Black Ducks/Hybrids

After freezing for a little while longer, I had a new bird for the day! A young Lesser Black-backed Gull made a close pass just overhead. 

Immature Lesser Black-backed Gull

Then all at once, I had a flock of 50+ gulls coming in. Trying to look at every single bird before it passed was a challenge. I knew I had missed a few so I looked at the ones that had passed behind me and saw a bird that looked odd. Now I don't know if you've ever tried it, but IDing gulls from behind is not an easy task. I knew the bird had a fine black tip to a slightly notched tail. Never having seen this on a gull before, I took photos until the bird was a speck on the horizon. 

When I looked at my photos I knew deep down that the bird I was looking at was the newest bird on my life list, a Black-legged Kittiwake! Before jumping up and down like a crazy person, I decided to get some other opinions. After my ID was confirmed, I THEN jumped up and down like a crazy person.

Some flyover Lapland Longspurs marked the end of the seawatch as the stream of gulls slowly died off. On my way back to my car, I noticed some Snow Buntings foraging right next to the road. I couldn\"t resist taking a photo because Snow Buntings are majestic creatures.

Lapland Longspur in flight

Snow Bunting

I am already looking forward to my next Bluff visit, and hopefully a lifer or two to come with it...