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Ross's Gull: Arctic beauty in the Adirondacks (1 Viewer)

ovenbird43

Well-known member
United States
This past Thursday I saw on the local listservs that a juvenile Ross's Gull had been found around Tupper Lake, in the Adirondacks. Normally a denizen of the high Arctic and only rarely straying into the lower 48, this bird hadn't been on my radar as even a remote possibility in the near future - but it's always been high on my wishlist! I very nearly dropped everything to go on Friday, but with a lot of work to do, a 3-hour one-way drive from Syracuse, and uncertainty that it would stay, I decided to wait.

I had already made plans on Saturday to take a friend out to see Snowy Owl, Northern Shrike, and Gyrfalcon (score on all three!), I decided to give it a go today, since the gull had been reported as late as 5 pm yesterday evening. I left at 5 am, choosing a slightly longer route to avoid the worst of the lake effect snowstorm that had been pounding the Tug Hill area for several days - though it was still falling heavily between Old Forge and Blue Mountain Lake, and I was glad for my snow tires as I cruised along on several inches of fresh snow yet to be plowed from the highway. It was a beautiful winter wonderland, refreshing given the unusual lack of snowfall in Syracuse since November.

I arrived into Tupper Lake at about 9 am, and several birders were already on the bird - easy! Right there, on the ice, was the Ross's Gull. It was foraging on some fish that had been discarded onto the ice of the lake, making repeated flights to circle the area, landing for a moment and pecking at the snow, then lifting off again. I stood with a growing crowd for an hour watching the gull, until my hands were frozen and the gull had taken to flying around in the distance toward the far side of the lake, hanging out near a Common Raven feeding on something on the ice. Also in the area were Bald Eagle and a single fly-by Snow Bunting.

I warmed up in the car and spent sometime driving around the area, trying without luck to track down reported Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, and Bohemian Waxwing, though I did see three Wild Turkeys in the road and a Northern Shrike on a windswept island in the lake. I returned to the Ross's Gull, delighted to see that it had moved in quite close. By now the wind had picked up to 20 mph, with horizontal snow, but I stood enamored as the gull made repeated passes right by the dock on which we stood, providing nice photo opportunities. I noticed that when it landed on the ice, it often kept its left leg tucked away and stood only on its right as it pecked at the ice, sometimes lifting off again without ever setting the left foot down. Eventually I was satisfied and had filled up my SD card (hadn't cleared it in a while...), the snow was falling heavier, so I decided it was time to say good-bye to a bird I will likely not see again for many years.

Perhaps anticlimactic after the Ross's Gull, but on the way home I made a brief stop at Sabattis Bog, where suet had brought in some 15 Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatch, 3 Gray Jays, and 2 Blue Jays.
 

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Thanks for the kind comments folks! It was well worth the 7-hour round trip drive, and I was so glad I went back after failing to find grosbeaks, that's when the gull was most cooperative!
 
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