3 BLACK-HEADED GULLS IN BC IN A YEAR!

I twitched 2 different Black-headed Gulls (BHGU) in 3 different locations this year. There were 3 different birds in the province this year one in Vancouver, Delta and Sayward. The first one I twitched was an adult found by Edward Nygren at Trout Lake. I successfully found him right at the lake as he sat on the water. I then saw him at the Cardero Sea Wall where it had been relocated by James Palmer on Feb 6th. The Gull was at Cardero Rd and Beach Ave at English Bay in Vancouver, BC. This gull appears to be the same adult gull that was first seen at Trout Lake between Jan 25th-31st, 2016. He is currently in winter plumage.

In nearby WA state they have had 2 different BHGU's this February in Monroe! It is an incredibly rare phenomenon in the Pacific Coast! The last Black-headed Gull before this in BC was in 2001 and in WA the last BHGU before this year was I believe 1993.

After that I didn't chase it to Spanish Banks or Iona where it was subsequently sighted. I did however get a good Christmas present when Ilya Povalyaev found an immature (1st winter) bird on Xmas Eve at the turf farm on 72nd in Delta near Boundary Bay. Mike Toochin, Ilya and I were the only people there. I guess people were spoiled by seeing that persistent  BHGUs  but I never tire of seeing them. The more the merrier!

You can read more about the BHGU sightings at my other blog the BC RBA HERE and HERE

Adult Black-headed Gull at English Bay in Vancouver  - Photo: Melissa Hafting
First winter Black-headed Gull in Delta - Photo: Melissa Hafting

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