ML634383796

Détails de l'observation

***very rare: Appears to be the first record on eBird in the interior of AK outside of the southeast. Initially seen circling pretty low around the pullout at around 2:45, presumably having come up the highway corridor from the northwest. We assumed it was a SBIG until one visitor decided to throw bread at it to have it land. No matter our personal opinions on feeding wild birds, it certainly made us realize that it wasn’t just a normal SBIG as soon as it landed nearby, and the promise of more food made it stick around for closer study. Smallish, adult gull with medium gray mantle shade, yellow legs, dark irises, long wings, and mid-length yellow bill with a bold black and red gonydeal spot. In flight, showed more black in the primaries than AHGU and SBIG, and a single white window on the outermost primaries. Spooked by local CORA at one point, when it gave a nasal “keer” call, lower pitched than a SBIG but higher pitched than HERG. Proportionally it perfectly matched CAGU we’ve seen in the west. Phone pics. Flew off at about 4:15, heading down the valley southeast, hugging the road. Maybe it got caught in the storm and thought the pullout was as good a spot as any to hunker down and rest up, given no lakes are open yet and we were eating snacks at the time.