Sabine’s Gull
I was lucky to spot the distinctive wings of this juvenile Sabine’s Gull as I happened to be looking out the window of the classroom towards the channel. Sabine’s Gulls have been reported near town before, but they are mostly seen off-shore of Sitka during migration. I only recall one other report (from Totem Park) in the past 8-10 years, and this was the first one I’ve seen. Unfortunately, it does not seem to have stuck around, as it has not been seen again since I took these pictures.
For more photos, see my phalareopes and gull post from the day I saw it.
Red Phalarope
While watching for the Sabine’s Gull, I was only mildly surprised to see two pale shorebirds flying down the channel. It was only after they landed on the water that I thought it could be something even more unusual than the Sanderlings I initially thought they looked like. I had heard previously that very late phalaropes are as or more likely to be Red Phalaropes then Red-necked Phalaropes. I could not remember the differences off the top of my head, but definitely wanted to get some photos just in case. Red Phalaropes may be fairly common migrants off-shore, but it is not at all typical for them to be seen from along the road system. The mediocre photos I was able to get of the distant birds in poor light were enough to suggest they were Red Phalaropes.
The day after spotting them for the first time, I went out to look for the Sabine’s Gull and Red Phalaropes when there was better light. I never found either, but talked to two other people who had seen one or two phalaropes. So, with a little time that opened up in my schedule Thursday afternoon, I spent the afternoon hanging around the channel hoping to get some better photos of the phalaropes at least. After a bit of a wait, I was able to get good shots of a couple of phalaropes. Interestingly (to me), at least one of the two I saw Thursday seemed different from one I had seen on Tuesday.
For more photos of the Red Phalaropes see:
Phalaropes and Gull
Waiting for the Red Phalarope
Note the red/brown tinting (probably remnants of juvenile plumage) on the neck of the phalarope in back.
Neither phalarope on the second day seems to have the same degree of red/brown on the neck as the one in the photo from the first day.