Well, it's happened again. I begin this year with an Ivory Gull. It was found at Canal Park in Duluth, Minnesota on New Years Day. Ethan Gyllenhall, Andy Sigler and I drove out the same night and bagged it the next morning:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7NWoJIZbYlKswWbx2KA5VYys7bpWxd_Xy9fcak9ifgTFN-ZQqOVlnrPTnRkn9GEYLQUx1XaUaY9ytNRVVY7mvo7klS8zl71d6l2kS-Qfro4MuHY4nfLX0r2v8ZlkhpjYvNIDCS7DWz0m/s640/DSC_6678.JPG) |
IVORY GULL (1ST CYCLE). DULUTH, MN. 02 JAN 2016. |
We arrived with plenty of time to spare before sunrise. Around 7:20 a.m. - still dark - the bird appeared in the distance over the pier, and I immediately remembered the jizz and flight pattern of last year's adult in Quincy, IL. I also recalled Bruce Mactavish describing this species to me, and likening it to a jaeger - could not be more true!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bqQapg70lFjXKZYjwB7mnuJd9wQvC49Owk-YIvyBxGlJs3F1rOryqVSA5mOy3U_x3j6dLwo6Ozc9N-xWWLMkfVIUFTdNCu-FWg-rjPLyOjnDSLjjkB2N3Bnr4w3qvIo3AmLYs5RL-RNy/s400/DSC_5558.JPG) |
One of my first photos of this bird... |
Eventually more birders showed up and that's when the salmon was offered...
A fun bird to watch!
This is now Minnesota's 12th Ivory Gull record.