
By taking the picture with my phone, I also recorded the location, including the longitude and latitude of the dead gull, and the date and time. I kept my distance and took a photo of the dead bird so that its eyes and beak were clearly visible. I don’t know if the dead gull I observed died from bird flu or any disease, but I knew it was probably worth reporting because of its connection to bird flu. Most of these birds don’t exhibit symptoms and spread the virus as a result.

Wild aquatic birds, including gulls, terns and shorebirds, and wild waterfowl, including ducks, geese and swans are natural hosts for bird flu viruses. Incidentally, we spotted our least favorite sighting of the day - a dead gull near the boat ramp. We circled around the area and walked out on the shoreline and out onto the docks in search of the swans, but we didn’t see a single one. Our favorite sighting was a large herring gull that tolerated our presence in the parking lot.

There were tons of gulls of various species, flocked together in large groups. There were plenty of gulls - in the parking lot, on the water, floating near the docks. So we set out on one final journey to Mosquito Lake State Park near the boat ramp and public fishing areas. We managed to see more ducks and a couple of hawks before ending our hike, but no swans. Fortunately for the fish, the osprey came away empty-handed and ascended again before disappearing around a bend. We found several dried lotus flowers on the ground along the shoreline, which inspired a renewed sense of excitement before we spotted the bird of the day.Īn osprey emerged from the treeline and swooped low, over the water, looking for a meal. But there were still no swans, so we set out on a hike through the woods. Upon arriving, we saw and heard several Canada geese and we spotted a few pairs of ducks.

But there were no swans, so we continued on to the waterfowl viewing area at the end of Mahan-Denman Road. The fields on either side of Park Avenue were peppered with groups of gulls, foraging for food and noisily squawking at each other. We drove up to Mosquito Creek Wildlife area first. But my swan dreams were replaced with a gull reality. Over the weekend I ventured out to Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area and Mosquito Lake State Park to look for tundra swans.
