On December 23rd we went about 70 miles west of here to a lake where we saw a new life species, a Ross’s Gull. It’s hard to express just how cool that is, and unless somebody is a birdwatcher, they won’t understand.
This is the rarest of all North American birds, a small gull that lives farther north than Polar Bears. They spend their winters on the sea ice, and nest on tundra lakes, mostly in Siberia. Little is known about them, actually, as they are so far north. There have been three sightings on the west coast of North America, and the one near us is the first one in 10 years.
It was a balmy 7F when we set off on our drive.
It’s a new year on our birding list (we start with the Winter Solstice), and the new birds we added to the list for the year, besides our yard list of usual suspects, is:
Bald Eagle
Song Sparrow
American Kestrel
Black-billed Magpie
Bufflehead (love those little guys)
American Goldfinch
Ross’s Gull = the highlight of the year most likely
Tundra Swan
Common Goldeneye
California Quail
Starling
Red-tailed Hawk
Ruff-legged Hawk
Snow Bunting
Belted Kingfisher
When we arrived at the lake, it was easy to see where the bird might be hanging out by the number of cars. License plates from Washington, Oregon, California, and British Columbia all attested to the importance of this sighting, and everybody we talked to was happy and excited, and cold.
My first view of the gull was across the lake. Through the binoculars, I saw it standing on some ice, and then it put its wings straight up in the air, giving a great look at the darker gray under the wings, and the light hit it’s breast just right so I could see a rose tint. It could have been rose-colored glasses but I swear I saw the color. The dark spot on the head was clearly visible and is diagnostic, as is the small size. So exciting!!!! Then the bird lifted off into the air and flitted around, flying like a tern. It stayed too far away for a picture, unfortunately, but it was so neat to watch it flying around, back and forth above the edge of ice on open water. We heard that the day before yesterday a Peregrin Falcon chased the gull away for a while, much to the dismay of every birder on the shore. People are flocking from all around to see this bird.
We’re off to a good start!
On Monday we’re going to see if we can find the Snowy Owl that is near here, out in the flats. That’s my most favorite owl of all, and we don’t get to see them very often.