Hello!

I would have liked to have written this last night, but I didn’t get home until almost 9pm after spending the day at Alum Creek Reservoir along with a lot of Ohio birders hoping to get a look at a very, very rare Ivory Gull.

I think like a lot of people I set out with a bit of skepticism about the sighting.  The details didn’t flow as we have come to expect in the birding community.  I am still a newbie at birding as I enter my 4th year of doing it, but I have learned a lot once again this year.  I have a bit more to say on expectations in a moment.

After taking a break for lunch, I returned to the beach area and connected again with Ethan Kistler and his father scanning the area for the bird.  A few moments into this, a gentleman walked up and asked us if we had seen the bird.  We said no and he said that he would sure like to see it again.  AGAIN?  Well, we soon learned that he was the person who had seen and photographed the bird the previous day.  While he does use eBird to enter some of his sightings, I would not say that he came across as a “birder”, per se.  My impression was that he is a photographer first and is learning like we all are.  He was pretty clear that he is not one to seek attention, so the interest in this bird, and specifically the interest in him was not something he was too comfortable with.  This is perfectly understandable and totally acceptable.

We got to see some of his shots on the back of his camera and talk with him about how the afternoon and night played out for him.  Everything he conveyed to us makes perfect sense in the proper context.  It was an almost 2 hour drive home for him.  He did not know what he had seen, only that it was different.  He indicated that his sister helped him with the ID and he then began to realize just how rare of a bird the Ivory Gull was in our area, let alone in N. America.  He was a pleasure to talk with and I could not be happier that he is willing to submit his sighting to the Ohio records committee.  At the end of the day, that is what matters, no?

As to OUR expectations as birders, I had a nice conversation with Jay Lehman about that.  As he said, “in the words of Mark Twain, the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.”  We both entered the day with skepticism, but we showed up anyway.  It’s important that we not lose sight of the fact that those of us who seek to “list” a species have become too accustomed to always assuming that we will have a chance to see a bird.  This has led to discussions in other venues this year with a few other reports.  There is a lot to consider in such things.  Is it at a public area?  Is there a chance that the bird could get “pushed” by overly enthusiastic birders or photographers?  And then there is the fact, as the case of the Ivory Gull shows, that not everyone out there knows about, or even cares about how things are “done” in modern day birding.  It is up to us to keep our expectations in check and respect the diversity of views on how these things are approached, or even avoided.  The finder of this gull is not tied into the Ohio birding community and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps it’s human nature to assume the worst in people and perhaps that is a reflection of the times that we live in, but as a person who spent a long, cold day in Columbus hoping to see a beautiful, rare gull, I see this whole experience as something quite the opposite.  I am overjoyed that this person happened to be there at the right time to get photos that will document Ohio’s 2nd Ivory Gull.  I learned to try to keep my skepticism in check, even if it is a healthy reaction to some circumstances.  The truth is, indeed, sometimes stranger than fiction.

Happy birding and Happy New Year!  It was nice to see many of you yesterday and to meet a few new folks along the way.

Peace!

Jon Cefus
Carroll Co. 

PS.  The views expressed here are solely my own.  I am not speaking for anyone else.  If others have views, they will share them as well if they are inclined to.




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