Typically I watch the daily ebird rarity report for sightings of this species and then head out and sift through the thousands of gulls in the flock where they are found. Two days ago a report appeared of a LBBG in a restored tidal marsh on the northern edge of San Pablo Bay. Thanks to the sharp eyes of Gene Hunn and his timely report, I felt I had a chance of finally seeing this elusive gull. The location of this sighting is interesting for another reason. Slowly but surely, tidal marshlands in the Northbay are being restored after having been diked and drained over 100 years ago. The area in the image below that is circled in red is an example of this restoration and is where the LBBG was to be found. Looking at the image you can see that the area just to the east of the circled area is "reclaimed" land and is still being farmed probably for hay. A good comparison of a more natural state vs. one of human engineering. As sea levels rise these tidal marsh areas will become more and more important in mitigating that problem. The restoration of these once "reclaimed" marshlands is also extraordinarily important to the long-term survival of the bird species that depend on them during migration.
It was only about a 30 minute drive from my house to get to Reclamation Rd. and the parking lot for the Sonoma Baylands Trail. The tide was falling when I arrived and much of the marsh was showing exposed mud with channels of draining water. It was only about a 1/4 mile walk along the western levee before I spotted a likely candidate out along one of the channels. After carefully scoping a larger dark-backed gull working on a fish carcass there was little doubt that I had found my quarry. With the heat haze and the distance my pictures were poor at best but several field marks confirmed the sighting. Yellowish legs, size, a much darker back than other gulls, smudgy head and neck collar, and the orangish spot on the bill. All of this told me that this was a Lesser Black-backed Gull, bird number 583 on my North American Life List. Now that I have been able to list one I'm sure that I will get some closer looks in the future and I will look forward to that. My experience with this bird ended on a somewhat exciting note as well. As I was breaking down my scope and getting ready for the walk back to the truck there was a commotion out on the mudflat. A juvenile Bald Eagle had swooped down on the gull and stole the fish carcass from it! It was a brief encounter and the Eagle was soon flying away with his prize leaving what I can only describe as a somewhat bemused gull. Thanks to one of the deans of north bay birding, Gene Hunn for finding this bird.
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| The better of many poor images |
