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Michael Beohm, Richard Beohm, and I were blessed to find the following first
winter gulls at Lake Tobesofkee (middle
GA).
California Gull (1)
Thayer's Gull (1)
Iceland Gull (1)
Glaucous Gull (1)
Green Heron (1)
also
found:
Greater Yellowlegs (10+)
Lesser Yellowlegs (2)
Dunlin (2)
Least Sandpiper (8)
Fox Sparrow (3)
Bald
Eagle (3)
Great Egret (4)
Winter Wren
Rusty Blackbirds
Bonaparte's Gull (20), Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls
(20+)
We were unable to get photos on Wednesday, so we went back today and were able
to get a few. I hope the photos
of the CALIFORNIA GULL will be discernable
since this would be a Georgia First! Michael, Richard, and I all got to see
it
and note the size, proportions, two-toned bill, dark greater coverts even while
in flight. The Thayer's was similar
to the one we found at West Point Dam, but
this one appeared a little lighter. I don't think we got any good photos of
it
though. The ICELAND GULL was seen with the GLAUCOUS GULL for comparison. The
THAYER'S GULL, ICELAND GULL, and GLAUCOUS
GULL were relocated by other birders.
I am not sure of all there names, but Jerry Paine (nice guy) and his wife got
to
see them. It took me till this afternoon to finally get some decent shots of
the Glaucous Gull. I was also able to get
photos of the GREEN HERON.
This morning we were able to find all the gulls. They departed the lake fairly
early
in the morning. We couldn't find any of the rare ones during the day. We
thought we would find them in the afternoon,
but as far as we could tell only
the GLAUCOUS GULL returned. That was disappointing because we were hoping to
get
some good photos. So, the California, Thayer's, and Iceland may or may not
still be there.
Hopefully some
birders with good cameras can go there this weekend. Remember to
look in the early morning or the afternoon. Lake Tobesofkee
is located near
Macon and can be accessed from I-475. The gulls were observed from points on
Bonner Gilbert Road and
Lower Thomaston Road. I will try to give more details
and post some of my photos to my website maybe tomorrow if I have
time.
Eric Beohm
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