FLASH! [second post today]

Black-headed Gull [winter] - photo from Wikipedia

1:40 pm on Tuesday --Tom Fiore sent this report less than an hour ago:

Tuesday, 19 Feb., 2013 Central Park (reservoir), Manhattan, N.Y. City

On Central Park's reservoir this mid-day were at least several thousand gulls, and scanning thru them I found & photographed a 1st-winter-plumaged Black-headed Gull, which was mostly sitting (as were 98% of all the gulls) at or near the median divider of the reservoir, & the Black-headed much closer to the north end of that dike than otherwise - it was seen & photographed in flight as well as on the dike, & seen moving about just a few dozen yards, generally within the few dozen other gulls at/near the northern portion of the dike, at ~12:30 to 12:45 pm today.  I am returning, despite less than lovely (wet) weather arriving, to scan all the other gulls & also see if the Black-headed can be re-found in fairly quick time, or not... more to follow if/when further sightings have occurred...

I'd add that with so many gulls present, chances of any other uncommon or rarer species increase a bit, at any location gulls gather. I can't predict whether this concentration at the C.P. reservoir will continue in the weather that is coming in, or after it.

good gulling,

Tom Fiore
Manhattan