Ivory Gull in California.
Sensational finding at Pismo Beach in Central California on Thursday November 4. Mike Stensvold writes on Christopher Taylor’s Photography – Bird | Wildlife | Nature:
It was on the beach just north of the north drive-in entrance to Pismo Beach/Oceano Dunes…the one where the boardwalk path to the Monarch Butterfly Grove starts…
When I first saw it from a distance, I thought it was some kind of weird pigeon, but then realized it was eating a dead Gull, and don’t think pigeons would do that…
more info can be found on Christopher Taylor’s webpage as well as some exquisitie photos by Mike Stensvold; and on Calbird. An atempt to locate the bird in the late afternoon on Novemeber 5th failed. More searches will be done tomorrow November 6.
UPDATE: The Ivory Gull was refound in the morning of Nov 6.
Ivory Gull is extremely rare on the West coast in the US. As far as I can tell there is only one Ivory Gull previous recorded in California of an immature bird in 1997 in Orange county.
Photo. Mike Stensvold. Christopher Taylor’s webpage
I might add a slight correction here: Ivory Gull is NOT extremely rare on the West Coast of the US. It IS however EXTREMELY rare ANYWHERE in the Lower 48 states.
This clarification is needed because it is a very uncommon winter visitor to extreme Northern Alaska.
I would also note that it has been mentioned that this could possibly be the second southernmost record ever.