mark
Member
Posts: 2
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Post by mark on Nov 10, 2007 23:05:35 GMT -8
Sightings for Saturday, Nov 10th
An IVORY GULL was found on the Matsqui Flats just east of the Hwy 11 (Abbotsford-Mission Hwy) in a large flock of gulls and crows on a farm field. (to get there, take Hwy 1 east, head north on Hwy 11, turn left on Harris Rd., right on Riverside, follow Riverside under Hwy 11 and turn right on to Page Rd. The flock was on the south side of Page about 200 metres east of the intersection with Sim Rd.
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Post by Gord on Nov 10, 2007 23:14:01 GMT -8
Welcome Mark! I dont think in the history of this forum has there been more of a stellar first post! What a great find! Now I have to find a way to get out there tomorrow afternoon!
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Post by b1schmor on Nov 11, 2007 13:48:45 GMT -8
Hello birders,
the Ivory Gull was still present as of about 10:45 on Sunday. Carolynn and I arrived at the site at about 10 am greeted by a number of birders. The bird was present in the large field noted in the directions above. We did not see the bird immediately as there are a number of hollows in the field. The large flock of gulls was disturbed and rose off of the field and the Ivory Gull was quickly spotted, eventually landing about 40 metres from us for excellent views. The bird then flew to another area of the field, but eventually into another hollow. At about 10:45 the bird flew over Page road in a northeast direction.
The bird is quite easy to pick out in the large flocks when the flocks of gulls fly. I was really quite taken aback by how beautiful this bird was.
Good luck,
Brent Schmor
Harrison Mills
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mark
Member
Posts: 2
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Post by mark on Nov 11, 2007 14:57:24 GMT -8
Fraser Valley Birders,
An update regarding the Ivory Gull. It was found and photograhed by Chris Kinman around 3:30pm on Nov 10th. Chris phoned it to the Vancouver Rare Bird alert which I am operating for November. I picked up the message around 10 pm.
I immediately joined your group so that I could forward the write up I composed for the Vancouver Alert.
Thanks Gord for your comment regarding the stellar first post, but I can't take credit for finding the bird.
Regards,
Mark Wynja
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Post by tmanson on Nov 11, 2007 17:23:20 GMT -8
Hi Fraser Valley Birders: Wow, what a great bird for the Valley. As Brent says, the bird is so beautiful, it is worth going.
The gull was still in the reported Matsqui location when I left around 2:30 p.m. Mike Newery deserves all the credit for finding the bird amongst the rest, in flight, for the relatively small group of birders that were there when I was.
There are tons of gulls there, so, if you go, be patient, as the bird could be there hiding in a gully or even a tall tuft of grass. It is so pure white, however, it is hard to miss if it is visible.
I tried to get a picture, but it flew into a gully while I was retrieving my camera. With the wind starting to blow strong, I " chickened " out, and retreated to warmth of the car. Cheers, Thor
Thor Manson
Hope, B.C.
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Post by Gord on Nov 11, 2007 17:38:16 GMT -8
Thanks and gratitude all the same, Mark for sharing it with us out here! Hope Chris joins the online birding community sometime! (and not because he found a neat bird!) I went for a looksee this afternoon. I arrived in the area at about 3:00, and decided to work my way to the last known location through an area Ive seen good gull flocks before. Harris Road and Bell Road had good flocks which I looked through carefully. Lots of Mew Gulls but the whitest birds I saw were over 20lbs overweight in the way of Trumpeter Swans (there were lots around). As I got closer to the last sighted area where Brent saw it (congrats!  ) my surprise at not seeing other birders was extinguished as there were several looking at a good flock of gulls at Page Rd. I didnt get a chance to talk to anyone aside from Len who had seen it in the morning. It didnt sound like anyone had seen it this afternoon. It could be anywhere in the vicinity. There seemed to always be a lot of gulls flying around and the flocks did not stay still for long. It could have been one of those. Right as I was leaving and checking Page Rd and Sim Rd, the gulls, a good 400 of them, were right at the edge of the road. It would have been stellar views and I permitted myself to hope that it had moved in with these birds. I held my breath for nothing. I sure hope it sticks around and survives its new environment. With the heavy rain coming, it should produce a lot of food in the way of worms escaping the water. Maybe an old member of the multitude of harbor seals that inhabit the Fraser will conclude a long and rich life by offering himself to the Ivory Gull in good sight from a road or trail.  |
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Post by mikey on Nov 11, 2007 21:32:22 GMT -8
Hi guys - took me a while to remember how to post to your group Just FYI, the post I sent to bcvanbirds today: Hello all, The IVORY GULL was seen again this afternoon at about 1:30pm - sounds like we had a harder time than the first group in the morning since it had flown off towards the dike (around 10:30 ?) and disappeared by the time the next shift had arrived. When it re-appeared like a ghost out of nowhere it was very obvious, standing out in the flock and landing close enough in the field south of Page that we all had tremendous views - a lifer for me and I'm very grateful for the non-birding photographer who discovered it and stopped by to say hi to us today. Sylvie decided that bingo with her mum in Chilliwack would be more fun than standing in the cold, so she missed it ... too bad, so sad  Mike Newey South Surrey |
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) my surprise at not seeing other birders was extinguished as there were several looking at a good flock of gulls at Page Rd. I didnt get a chance to talk to anyone aside from Len who had seen it in the morning. It didnt sound like anyone had seen it this afternoon. It could be anywhere in the vicinity. There seemed to always be a lot of gulls flying around and the flocks did not stay still for long. It could have been one of those. Right as I was leaving and checking Page Rd and Sim Rd, the gulls, a good 400 of them, were right at the edge of the road. It would have been stellar views and I permitted myself to hope that it had moved in with these birds. I held my breath for nothing. I sure hope it sticks around and survives its new environment. With the heavy rain coming, it should produce a lot of food in the way of worms escaping the water. Maybe an old member of the multitude of harbor seals that inhabit the Fraser will conclude a long and rich life by offering himself to the Ivory Gull in good sight from a road or trail. 
