Vermont Rare Bird Reports 2020

Liz Lackey, Stowe, VT

Air temp 39F, water temp 47F, north-northeast wind ~15mph, 100% clouds; some atmospheric distortion detectable at this range but not problematic

Zeiss 8x42 TFL binoculars, and Nikon 60mm Fieldscope with 20-45x eyepiece set at 20x and Celestron 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with Celestron 18mm X-Cel LX eyepiece (effective 113x magnification) mounted on custom platform, Manfrotto 3066 video head and Manfrotto 132XB heavy duty tripod.

Have seen small number in Newfoundland, off coast of Maine, and one at this location 20 years ago.

Narrow passage of Lake Champlain bordered by mountain on New York side and approximately 40 foot bluff on Vermont side, from which bird was observed.

Bird was first seen gliding south with wings held flat and level. It banked and descended, flapping a few times with relatively quick and shallow beats, then resetting its wings in a flat position. Nearly reaching the water, it then banked back up. It repeated this roller coaster/shearwater flight pattern several times before we lost sight of it behind the trees to our south. It did not interact with other birds. (An adult Herring Gull was flying nearby when I first spotted it, but they did not appear to be traveling together and soon parted ways.)

None heard, and none would likely be detectable at that distance and with those wind conditions.

This bird was first spotted nearly due west of us as it glided quickly in front of Split Rock Island roughly 30 feet above the water. (The dark wooded background of NY provided an excellent viewing backdrop.) Its rapid glide - much faster than gulls on the same tack line - and its wings held flat invited immediate scrutiny. Switching from binoculars to scope, it was quickly recognized as a fulmar with a bulbous white head and stiff, straight wings. It was significantly smaller than an adult Herring Gull flying nearby. It soon banked and descended, flapped a few relatively shallow, stiff-winged flaps, and reset its wings in a flat, fixed position. This afforded excellent views of its upper side, which was tilted toward us. It descended nearly to the waterline and then gradually ascended, though this time only perhaps 10-20 feet above the water. It repeated this roller coaster/shearwater flight pattern several times as it cut south-southeast across the north-northeast wind. Our view was then blocked by trees. We quickly relocated to another vantage point where Liz spotted the bird up much farther to the south. I saw a potential candidate only briefly.

Bird was significantly smaller than nearby adult Herring Gull, perhaps in the size neighborhood of a Ring-billed Gull though none were nearby for close comparison. Superficially it appeared somewhat like a gull, with a white body and gray upper wings. However, it was overall more stout with a much larger head, shorter tail, and straighter, stiffer, and less pointed wings.

Bulbous, bright white head, dark eye area (not carefully scrutinized), white face, throat, and nape. Much larger forehead than any gulls and somewhat reminiscent of a beluga whale.

Feet not seen. Bill short but otherwise not studied.

Whitish to light gray

Light gray

Straight and stiff, almost board-like, with nearly same width throughout and ends less pointed than gulls. Upper sides generally light gray with darker/medium gray flight feathers and light areas at primary bases. Coverts not uniformly gray, but rather had a somewhat blotchy appearance with some slightly darker gray tones.

White

Light gray, relatively short and rounded

Distinguished from gulls by different shape, head, wings, tail, and flight style as detailed above. Distinguished from the wholly unexpected Southern Fulmar by bright white head and much less contrasting flight feathers of medium gray rather than near black of Southern Fulmar.

Distinguished as light morph by white body and relatively lighter upper side. Age and sex unknown. Interestingly, though there were decent numbers of southbound Common Loons (~90) and Common Mergansers (~300) this morning, there was not a significant movement of other species. Also, although a strong storm system is currently approaching from the south and we were seeing the beginnings of this "nor'easter" this morning, points north of our latitude had not yet been impacted. In other words, this morning's north wind provided a good reason to migrate, but there were no extraordinary conditions driving this bird.