Franklin's Gull Invasion

There is nothing like a good old rare species invasion to a region. Some last full season, others a mere few hours. Either way, it always gets birders excited. In the last week or so, the East has seen a good amount of rain coming from the West. Once that bad weather cleared, a perfect wind from the northwest moved through, bringing with a good amount of western species to the East. Some of these include Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, and Le Conte's Sparrow. However, probably the most exciting of them were the hundreds of Franklin's Gulls that could be seen at many coastal locations. Flocks of over 60 were sometimes seen, with the heart of the action in Cape May (where else?). The combined total ended up being 315 individuals, and that was conservative. An invasion of Franklin's Gulls to the East like this one has not happened since 1998, and that did not come anywhere near these numbers. Today, they're still being seen in some locations, but the bulk of them have departed. Although I was unable to witness the action, it was still exciting to watch all the texts come in of tons of Franklin's Gull being spotted up and down the coast.

I wasn't super disappointed, I was able to see one when I was in Colorado. One of the other young birders and I were walking in Pawnee National Grasslands, and we looked up and saw a gull high overhead. He and I just passed it as a California Gull, as that was a safe thing to assume. Instead, we watched a kestrel flying overhead, which he photographed. Later on, however, when I was getting my lunch, he came over to me and told me that the gull was actually a Franklin's Gull, as he showed me a photo of the kestrel with a very clear Franklin's Gull in the back. I was very excited, however I knew it wouldn't go over well with the other birders. We young birders tend to be a bit more of counters than birders, and missing a lifer is like missing the winning penalty kick shot a championship soccer game. I'll admit, when I know lifers are a distinct possibility, I get a little intense...but that's besides the point. When they heard this, some were pretty pissed, others didn't really mind as they would have passed it as the same thing. I felt bad either way, but the number of birds seen on that trip probably clouded the fact that many of them missed that (because God forbid you miss ONE bird).

So invasions are cool, whether you're in the action or a bystander. Happy birding!

- Mike

By the way, be sure to check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDLKRpu959tma--2sBRnmSA
I'm starting to take videos of birds on my normal camera.

Franklin's Gull

(Photo from public domain)