By Carl Runge
The big news in the birding world of Vermont this autumn has been the discovery of a Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris) at Charlotte Town Beach on October 18, 2005 by Julie Hart of Chester, VT. Julie had gone to the beach area around noon to use her cell phone, as it was the only place in the area where she could get good reception. While scanning the area for migrating waterbirds, she noted a gull associating with a flock of Ring-billed Gulls just off the beach that looked different from the others: it had a darker mantle, a red-tipped bill, and streaking on the back of its head. She called Matt Medler, who in turn called Ted Murin and they both came and had a look. They all tentatively identified this as a Black-tailed Gull, an Asian species never before seen in Vermont. Within several hours its identification had been further verified by Allan Strong, Dick Lavallee, and David Hoag. It was quickly photographed, videotaped, and widely posted on various bird lists, as indeed, a first record for this species in Vermont.
By October 23, people had come from as far away as Ohio and Virginia to view this rarity. The bird has, so far, remained in the area, and has been very accommodating to viewers. Several photographers posted spectacular pictures of the bird on the VTBIRD List. The photographs accompanying this article were taken by Marcel Gauthier of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec on October 20.
The Black-tailed Gull is a wide ranging bird, often wandering far from its native region of eastern Asia. It is a rather common gull in China and Japan, where it is called the Japanese Gull. It wanders the western Pacific from the Bering Sea to Australia. In 2004, the North Pacific Research Board counted 473 Black-tailed Gulls in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. There have been several other records down the west coast from Alaska to California.
There have also been several reports of Black-tailed Gulls on the east coast, almost always single birds, often in the presence of Ring-billed Gulls. Sightings have occurred from Newfoundland to Virginia, with records also in Texas and Belize. It is apparently rare to see this bird inland. The first inland recording in North America was at Lake Winnepegosis, Manitoba in 1987. A Black-tailed Gull was seen several times in several places in the Lake Michigan area during the summer of 2003. These were the only verified non-coastal records I found, making the Vermont sighting all the more notable.
Once one is aware of the existence and description of this species, it is quite easy to identify. It is about the size of a Ring-billed Gull, with longer wings and a darker gray mantle. Its most characteristic finding is a wide black sub-terminal band on its tail behind a white rump. It has a long yellow bill with red and black at its tip. The adult has a yellow iris. The head in winter is streaked, with a darker collar around the neck. All of these features were evident in the Charlotte Beach gull.
This has certainly been an exciting event for Vermont birdwatchers and other naturalists. Many thanks to Julie Hart for relating the story of her remarkable discovery, and to Marcel Gauthier for his magnificent photographs.
