[mou] 60-70 Sabine's Gulls - Duluth - No, I'm Not Kidding...

[Tom Auer]

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Only a few rare times in a person's life do they get to witness an event so=
=20
mind-boggling and unbelievable, that it creates a mini-paradigm shift withi=
n=20
that person. For me, it's happened occasionally; once when landing a 32"=20
Walleye and other times while discovering some other incredibly rare birds.=
=20
The event causes you to see the sunlight in a different way and to think=20
differently about things; tonight in my case, birds, specifically Sabine's=
=20
Gulls.

On a whim, I elected to make a stop at the Lafayette center on Park Point,=
=20
before heading off to get some dinner. When the bridge was up and I was=20
stuck in an incredibly busy Canal Park, I almost turned around and left, bu=
t=20
I think that apathy prevented that. I stuck with it. As soon as I set my=20
scope up on the platform, I was on a Sabine's Gull. Astounding! Great=20
bird...I called around and got the word out. Back to the scope, wait a=20
second, there's three...no four! They're like flies out there, flitting=20
around in front of the freighters. More phone calls. Then pure disbelief. I=
=20
was on one particular adult, following it right, towards the Superior Entry=
,=20
as it was joined by two more individuals, juveniles, before beginning an=20
ascent into the sky.

As it rose, it met an entire solid FLOCK of Sabine's Gulls. My eyes weren't=
=20
working, these must be poorly lit Bonaparte's, but everytime one banked, I=
=20
could see the bold upperwing pattern and dusky markings on the nape. I=20
started to shake and breathe heavily, but maintained in an attempt to count=
=20
the flock. At first, it was too difficult, an estimate of 50 was made. The=
=20
flock swirled and shifted too much, but then, not long after spotting the=
=20
flock, it started to take shape and move quickly towards me and head=20
steadily west, over Park Point. The birds made a nice solid and well spaced=
=20
formation and dispatched almost directly overhead, moving west. In this=20
shape, with birds trailing behind the flock, I was able to accurately count=
=20
and even 60 birds! Surreal. This was total euphoria...then heartbreak. I wa=
s=20
the only one to see it, nobody had been there to see it. That feeling didn'=
t=20
last long, though, I was certain people would believe me.

Not long after the flock departed Peder Svingen arrived on the scene, only=
=20
to learn he had missed the largest flock of Sabine's Gulls ever recorded in=
=20
Minnesota, and potentially within the Interior US (as he later suggested).=
=20
Nonetheless, with me shaking my head in a gull-stupor, Peder plucked anothe=
r=20
pair of birds off the big pond. And then another...we were able to count at=
=20
least another ten individuals on the lake at that moment, bringing the tota=
l=20
up to a potential 70 Sabine's Gulls. We spent the next hour just savoring=
=20
the beautiful birds and hoping the large flock would return en masse, but i=
t=20
never would.=20

Overall, amazing. I've never witnessed such a scene, to see 70 Casual birds=
=20
in one evening. I'd only seen two Sabine's in my entire life, let along 60=
=20
at once. Even 10 would have been quite a feat. It's also an event of hope,=
=20
for in this time of doom and gloom stories about birds and habitat, it was=
=20
glorious to see such an overwhelming presence of such a scarce species.

Still in Shock and Shaking his Head,
Tom Auer
Duluth, MN

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Only a few rare times in a person's life do they get to witness an
event so mind-boggling and unbelievable, that it creates a
mini-paradigm shift within that person. For me, it's happened
occasionally; once when landing a 32" Walleye and other times while
discovering some other incredibly rare birds. The event causes you to
see the sunlight in a different way and to think differently about
things; tonight in my case, birds, specifically Sabine's Gulls.<br>
<br>
On a whim, I elected to make a stop at the Lafayette center on Park
Point, before heading off to get some dinner. When the bridge was up
and I was stuck in an incredibly busy Canal Park, I almost turned
around and left, but I think that apathy prevented that. I stuck with
it. As soon as I set my scope up on the platform, I was on a Sabine's
Gull. Astounding! Great bird...I called around and got the word out.
Back to the scope, wait a second, there's three...no four! They're like
flies out there, flitting around in front of the freighters. More phone
calls. Then pure disbelief. I was on one particular adult, following it
right, towards the Superior Entry, as it was joined by two more
individuals, juveniles, before beginning an ascent into the sky.<br>
<br>
As it rose, it met an entire solid FLOCK of Sabine's Gulls. My eyes
weren't working, these must be poorly lit Bonaparte's, but everytime
one banked, I could see the bold upperwing pattern and dusky markings
on the nape. I started to shake and breathe heavily, but maintained in
an attempt to count the flock. At first, it was too difficult, an
estimate of 50 was made. The flock swirled and shifted too much, but
then, not long after spotting the flock, it started to take shape and
move quickly towards me and head steadily west, over Park Point. The
birds made a nice solid and well spaced formation and dispatched almost
directly overhead, moving west. In this shape, with birds trailing
behind the flock, I was able to accurately count and even 60 birds!
Surreal. This was total euphoria...then heartbreak. I was the only one
to see it, nobody had been there to see it. That feeling didn't last
long, though, I was certain people would believe me.<br>
<br>
Not long after the flock departed Peder Svingen arrived on the scene,
only to learn he had missed the largest flock of Sabine's Gulls ever
recorded in Minnesota, and potentially within the Interior US (as he
later suggested). Nonetheless, with me shaking my head in a
gull-stupor, Peder plucked another pair of birds off the big pond. And
then another...we were able to count at least another ten individuals
on the lake at that moment, bringing the total up to a potential 70
Sabine's Gulls. We spent the next hour just savoring the beautiful
birds and hoping the large flock would return en masse, but it never
would. <br>
<br>
Overall, amazing. I've never witnessed such a scene, to see 70 Casual
birds in one evening. I'd only seen two Sabine's in my entire life, let
along 60 at once. Even 10 would have been quite a feat. It's also an
event of hope, for in this time of doom and gloom stories about birds
and habitat, it was glorious to see such an overwhelming presence of
such a scarce species.<br>
<br>
Still in Shock and Shaking his Head,<br>
Tom Auer<br>
Duluth, MN<br>


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