March 4, 2007

I added a black-headed gull to my life list yesterday at Montrose Harbor. Reports surfaced mid-week that the gull had appeared at Montrose, mixed in with a flock of resident ring-billed gulls. Black-headed gulls are common in Europe and only recently began breeding in Newfoundland and the maritime provinces of Canada. There are only a half-dozen records in Illinois.

This is an instance where the Internet really has changed the way people communicate. In the past, only word of mouth or the Rare Bird Alert hotline would have lured birders to the harbor. Within hours of the sighting, it was posted on the Illinois birding message board and people were heading to Uptown. I hoped it would be around when I had a chance to get to the lake. I drove up to the harbor yesterday and immediately saw three people huddled around a spotting scope. The scope had the gull in its sights. I took a quick look before they departed. Finding the bird without assistance would have been near impossible as it was amid dozens of other gulls. I stayed a while before the gull flew away. Another birder approached, seeking the gull. I had the sad duty of informing him it had flown away minutes before. The gull is still there today, though, as I saw birders gathered again along the harbor.