The rare Ross’s Gull spotted in Kansas
Cleon’s cousin Rick Radis sent me a text a few days ago to tell me a Ross’s Gull – a quite rare visitor to our lower 48 states – was sighted in Kansas. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of this gull – please check your field guide or allaboutbirds.org. Look at the range map and you will see this bird is found in the waters around and in-between Alaska and Siberia, on the east and west coasts of Greenland, and along the northern coast of Russia. Only rarely can it can be found in the lower 48 states of the U.S. – I think a good place to look is for one to be mixed in with a flock of other gulls – most often Bonaparte’s Gulls.
Rick and I spent some time texting each other – talking about listers. And what are ‘listers’? These are people whose main goal in birding – and often the only goal – is to see how many birds they can find – and list them. This can get quite competetive. Some of these people have long, long lists – many, many more sightings than I can ever hope to have. And both Rick and I know birders who actually keep a packed bag right at their door with several days worth of supplies and clothing in order to leave at a moment’s notice as soon as they get word of a rare bird somewhere. And one of Rick’s friends even has his own plane! Wow. This is birding on a scale I cannot even fathom and totally opposite from me. I am a birder who will sit for long perilds of time watching the same bird – or flock of birds. I am watching their behaviors, and their interactions with each other, other species, and their habitat. There is no right or wrong when it comes to purtsuing birding as a hobby or vocation. The point is to enjoy yourself, foster a closer connection with nature, and to observe how everything on this earth is connected.
Sadly this tale does not have a happy ending. As with many birds that are way outside their range, this Ross’s Gull did not survive. A young man working for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks retrieved its body.
This is a quote from the Topeka Journal:
“What did Ross’s gull in southwest Kansas die from?
Those biologists think the bird may have died from disease, starvation or exposure to the weather, said Laura Rose Clawson, chief of public affairs for the KDWP.
Bird populations across the United States have seen outbreaks of H5 bird flu, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One symptom of bird flu is becoming disoriented.”
Here is the link to the entire article from this Topeka, Kansas newspaper – copy and paste it onto your search engine. I am guessing this posting by the newspaper is time sensitive and will only be easily available for a few more days.