Hello birders, Tried for the Ross’s Gull at Cherry Creek Reservoir on Sunday afternoon, gave up too early. It showed up 30 minutes after I left. This afternoon, Tuesday, I drove to Denver from Boulder for a second try. Nice, sunny day, 54 degrees, not much wind. About a dozen birders were waiting near the sand spit near the dam, east of the marina. Bill Schmoker and his dad were leaving, but Eric DeFonso was there from Ft. Collins. Also Glenn from the Four Corners area arrived right after me. He drove 10 hours today to see this rare gull. (Glenn said that last week he drove to California’s Salton Sea to see a Bean Goose. He had to get back home fast as he was “trying to stay married.”) How rare is a Ross’s Gull? Glenn said he is a bird biologist who spent 12 years on Alaska’s north slope studying Eiders. He said in all those years he never saw a Ross’s Gull.
I waited about 40 minutes, determined not to leave until sunset. Suddenly at about 3:15 pm Eric exclaimed, “We have a bird!” There all alone in perfect light at the end of the sand spit was the Ross’s Gull. It walked up and down the sand spit like a fashion model on a runway, flashbulbs popping. (Note most fashion models on runways walk pigeon-toed and the Ross’s Gull was no exception.) I think it was blushing, as you could see a faint pink cast. Did a few pirouettes, pecked at the sand, examined the dead Mallard, flew up a couple of times to show off its underwings and wedge-shaped tail, then flew west toward the marina into the setting sun. Wow, were we happy! Glenn said this bird had faulty “GPS,” a problem he said is turning up lately in more and more birds. Most of its brethren spend the winter in the Sea of Okhotsk, west of the Kamchatka Peninsula, north of Japan off Russia’s east coast. So our Denver Ross Gull is about 5,000 miles off course, probably a one way trip to Colorado. So good luck Ross bird, hope you live long and prosper here. Many thanks to Joe, Glenn, and Cole for finding this beautiful gull from Siberia. Some of my pics from today: http://twilberding.zenfolio.com/p718900898 Happy Thanksgiving! Tom Wilberding Boulder, Colorado -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobi...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
