Barbara Post called late afternoon to report sighting a winter-plumaged Bonaparte’s Gull on the north end of  Garden Way, Rhinebeck.  The bird was observed near the small pond on the east side of road and had been there for a few hours.  Barbara said the  id was confirmed by Dick Mrstik.

According to THE BIRDS OF DUTCHESS COUNTY (p.118):  “Status since 1990: Bonaparte’s Gulls winter along the coast and the Great Lakes, breed in Canada, and are normally found in Dutchess County only as transients. They are usually seen along the Hudson River either singly or in flocks of less than ten birds. They are seen inland infrequently. There are about ten sightings reported per decade, from late April to early May and from mid-October to mid-November”.

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