That's not a BIG Gull, it's a . . .

LITTLE GULL!!!  A rare Code 3 gull has shown up here in Columbus at Alum Creek State Park beach area on August 19th. I stopped by at 8am on Wends 20th, and got these great pics.

Little Gull  Larus minutus

The first sighting was on August 15th at Buck Creek SP near Springfield, OH. But then it disappeared for two days, next thing you know, there is a sighting of a Little Gull at Alum Creek. I think it is the same bird that flew some 50 miles over to central Ohio.

black spot behind eye, black bill

Chillin at beach

Some fun Little Gull facts:
The smallest gull in the world, the Little Gull is common across Eurasia. A few pairs have been nesting in North America since the 1960s, and the species is now a rare, but regular, visitor to the East Coast and the Great Lakes. In North America the Little Gull is most frequently observed during winter and on migration in groups of one to three, usually associated with larger flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls. A Little Gull chick banded in Sweden was found dead on the road in Pennsylvania in its first summer(Wow!!! World traveler). Breeds in shallow, freshwater wetlands, such as marshes. Winters along coasts, large lakes, and rivers.

only 11" in size, diagnostic red legs

Hangin with Ring-billed gulls

This was only my 2nd time ever seeing a Little Gull, my first was 2/4/1989 at the Lake Erie shores, where most gulls are in the dead of winter. I am very happy to get the bird, in the summer, in my hometown, and great pictures!!
Looking at the family archives, Red&Louise have seen the bird only a few times, but every year from 1982 to 1986 and again in 1991. Probably all Ohio records at Lake Erie.  My father Buddy first saw a Little Gull on Nov 17, 1978 in Huron, Ohio-- again probably by the lake.

This puts my #BIGYEAR2014 number at #303 for the year!!

Next up:  Viva Las Vegas!!! Birding with John Taylor at Henderson Bird Preserve. My target is 15 new FOYs and maybe a lifer . . . the Lucy's Warbler