Feathered Spies

We here at Blue Crab Boulevard have written about the Salton Sea in California before. Well, it seems that it is not only people who are interested in the shrinking body of heavily polluted water. Oh, no, others have plans for the Salton. In fact, they are busy scouting the area in preparation for a major invasion. The Animal Uprising sent one of their top operatives to check the place out. A Ross' gull normally only found in the arctic turned up there.

The Salton Sea, a 35-mile-long lake stretching across the Imperial and Riverside county line, is a popular stop for birds heading south, and Guy McCaskie, co-author of "Birds of Salton Sea," believed he spotted a Ross' gull there a week ago.

The appearance of the arctic bird nearly 100 miles east of San Diego would be the first reported in California and would place it hundreds of miles farther south than it had ever been seen.

The gull, which normally breeds in Siberia or Greenland, rarely appears south of Alaska, and is only spotted in even the northern part of the lower 48 states every few years.

"It was a really fancy bird," McCaskie said.

McCaskie had seen the bird several times on trips to Canada and Alaska and had seen hundreds of pictures, so despite his amazement he had little doubt it was a Ross' gull.

Still, he wanted witnesses.

McCaskie called bird-enthusiast friends who lived nearby, and they quickly appeared and took pictures. He reported his sighting on the Internet news group Calbirds the night of Nov. 17.

By Sunday morning, bird watchers from around the state were racing to the Salton Sea.

"We thought it was worth a 10-hour drive, even knowing we might not see the bird," San Francisco ornithologist Scott Terrill said. "It's a really good bird."

Uh, a ten hour drive to see a pigeon of the sea? A feathered sea rat? A winged poop machine? You're kidding, right? Oh, Lord. He's serious. (Picture of a Ross' gull here).