MA - IVORY GULL - 01/17

After a near miss (by one day) at Plymouth, MA last January 2009, we didn't expect to be given a second chance so soon. The discovery of this bird on a Provincetown beach on January 14th had both myself and Susannah on edge for several days before our first opportunity to go finally arrived on Sunday morning. A family twitch ensued. We left Amherst at 0540hrs and arrived at Race Point parking lot at 0915hrs after a pleasantly traffic free drive. Conditions couldn't have been better for mid-January - nice and mild, nearly windless and partly cloudy. The bird itself was walking (quite literally) down the shoreline at a nice pace, picking at food items as it went. It was just a question of staying put and letting the bird walk past. During our two hour stay, it was constantly on view, much to the delight of a steady stream of birding visitors. It was also the only gull on the beach during that period. All in all, it was quite bizarre - a stunningly beautiful gull parading up and down the beach on foot, and no apparent fear of the public.

The day went on to produce seven more gull species; Black-legged Kittiwake (40+), Kumlien's Gull (11, including 8 adults), Lesser Black-backed and Glaucous Gull, plus American Herring, Great Black-backed and Ring-billed Gulls, recalling another outstanding day for gulls on the Outer Cape back in November 2008. A truly amazing place for birding.

Ivory Gull - Adult, Race Point Beach, Provincetown, MA. January 17th, 2010. Found by Ivan Ace and Ed Yargeau on January 14th.

Glaucous Gull - Second-cycle (center), Pilgrim Lake, Truro, MA. January 17th, 2010.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (left) and adult Kumlien's Gull (right) with American Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. Pilgrim Lake, Truro, January 17th, 2010.