9 February 2015
On icy winter afternoons, just before sunset, intrepid birders gather at Pittsburgh’s Point where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers form the Ohio. Dressed in their warmest clothes they stand around on the ice gazing through their scopes and cameras. On January 31, Tim Vechter was among them and took these pictures.
Whatcha lookin’ at?
Gulls.
While the weather is icy, the gulls stay in Pittsburgh.
Each evening the flock starts small. Birders wait and watch as the gulls gather. Among the thousands of ring-billed and hundreds of herring gulls there’s bound to be a couple of rare birds from the Arctic. Maybe an Iceland gull or …
That evening Tim photographed two rarities including this glaucous gull (facing away with his head turned) identified by his bulky build, white wing tips and pink legs. Herring and ring-billed gulls have black wingtips.
As night falls the flock grows.
But soon they’re too hard to see.
Time to go home.
(photos by Tim Vechter posted at Westmoreland Bird and Nature Club on Facebook)
It’s been a great pleasure every sunrise and sunset recently to watch the gulls on my commute. In the morning and evening, I cross the Liberty Bridge. They are flying down the Mon in the morning, and on very good mornings I get to see them nearly intersect with the crows flying south, crossing the Mon. In the evening, I see the gulls flying back up the Mon, towards the Point. It frames my day perfectly. Thanks for your post!