This Bird Should NOT Be in the United States!

Sometimes, birds stray far out of their native range. This was the case when a Black-tailed Gull from Asia was seen in Waukegan Illinois. Along with some friends, we went to see if we could find this rare visitor.
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Colony of black-tailed Gulls photo by Jura Tone (public domain)
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[@ultimateparkmasters4735]

Glad you all got to see it! I had a work trip to lake county and the timing was just perfect that I ended up missing the bird. The Indiana Brown Booby made up for it 😅

[@matthewrmellor]

also, you asked about seeing birds that "shouldn't be in your country" - this is basically my twitching life in a nutshell! As I have seen more and more birds in the UK, my new UK lifers tend to be American birds, so this year, Northern Waterthrush, Dark-eyed Junco, Myrtle Warbler, Indigo Bunting...

[@elyzsabethahne2116]

The black-tailed gull is here on an HB-1 work visa. He's catching fish and having them shipped back home to family.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

🤣🤣

[@cathco9]

Congratulations to you all!!! 🎉🎉🎉 I live in NJ, about 20 mins from where the Red-flanked Bluetail showed up in December 2023 and stayed for nearly four months. I went to see it often. It was really exciting.

[@Carlos00123]

- Swallow-tailed Gull, California. - Lesser Black-backed Gull, California. - Laughing Gull, California.

[@GWTFFarm]

Ty, guys so very much. I really enjoy your videos. I always give a thumbs up, but rarely comment. One of my first book reports in grade school was on Ornithology while living in California. I've been fortunate to live in different countries and over half the United States, with alot of time spent outdoors but not enough time to view the birds in depth. Now over fifty years later, and regaing vision and living with epilepsy, i have more time. I was so thankful with limited vision for the sounds of my feathered friends who greeted my every morning and made me thankful everyday. I currently live in Alabama in a hollow where im surrounded by native plants, and a creek as well as I've planted other much needed food by many species. After many surgeries, i have long range vision. Anyway, I'm rambling but your channel has inspired me to increase my knowledge as epilepsy has affected my memory but thats alright as everyday can be a delight. Again ty. I appreciate your hard work and great overview. I may need youre help identifying some species. 🧑‍🌾🌻✌️🐦 from the woods of Alabama.❤ 4:46

[@BadgerlandBirding]

That’s awesome to hear! Thanks so much for the comment and we’re so happy you’re enjoying the videos and the birds!

[@theavidavian]

Great find!! Recently an American Golden Plover turned up in Melbourne Australia,so awesome to see such a rare visitor!

[@darylbernard2616]

AND...it was gone "tomorrow" - only to be found ten days later in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We made the drive to Manistique, leaving at 3AM and arriving at 6:30AM, and getting on the bird right away. LIFER!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Awesome! Glad you got to see it!

[@jimmosley3382]

Common Crane and Rufous-necked Wood Rail are two of my best birds. They were both at Bosque Del Apache NWR in NM.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Wow, the wood rail being there is crazy!

[@Stukin_The_Pines]

Most recently in December 2023, along with many other birders, saw a Red-flanked Bluetail from Asia. This bird appeared in a suburban backyard in the Pinelands of southern coastal New Jersey, & remained on site for several weeks.

[@cathco9]

Wasn't it so exciting to see this beautiful bird? It actually stayed just a few days shy of four months. I'm a local, so I went quite a few times to see it. I met so many nice birders there. It was fun to share stories. Harry and Nancy were the best hosts as well.

[@NathanWebb-c5h]

Congratulations on your lifer black-tailed gull! It's amazing how one ended up in Wisconsin.

[@Oltoir]

Nice find! I had a similar encounter with a Heermann's last summer as one showed up on our beach. (Granted it was only 2000 miles lost, not 6500 like yours!)

[@mmps18]

Thanks Badgerland Birding for your wonderful videos! It's been wonderful seeing your channel grow.

[@matthewhaverkamp8657]

I saw a Slaty-backed Gull a couple of years ago in Muskegon County michigan. The same place had a Sharp-Tailed Sandpiper a few years ago, but I did not see it.

[@Carlos00123]

Incredible find, congrats to you all!

[@matthewrmellor]

pleased for you guys, but very dischuffed for me - I left IL for CA that very morning! Would have been great to see the bird and maybe coincide with you too!

[@snowbirdie]

This bird may have made its way to the UP of Michigan as a Black-tailed Gull showed up in Manistique a few days ago. I got to see it yesterday!!!

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Nice! I believe it is likely the same bird

[@snowbirdie]

​@BadgerlandBirding Good chance of it. I like your videos. You two do a great job creating them. I like your low key factual style. Keep up the great work!

[@sevindee1843]

White Wagtail in Michigan and Buff-bellied Hummingbird in Georgia.

[@nickpaarlberg73]

Just leaving here now! There was another rare gull:the laughing gull was reported earlier today. No luck seeing it though. Well, no luck knowingly seeing it anyway. To me everything looks like a ring billed gull. 😂

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Dang! Seems like that beach is the place to be though.

[@nickpaarlberg73]

⁠ It is! Should’ve assumed it wasn’t free lol. There probably 500 gulls today, just all ring billed and herring.

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@nickpaarlberg73 don’t you just hate paying for gulls? 🤣

[@nickpaarlberg73]

Yes! Especially ring billed. I used to park at the Bird Sanctuary at Montrose and I finally got ticketed for not paying… TBH the ticket was probably way less than all the parking fees I dodged. All of which is to say that I park at the beach now and walk. 😂 Not worth paying so much for going there once or twice a week…

[@BadgerlandBirding]

@@nickpaarlberg73 I hope our state never gets toll roads 🤣

[@lindaeshbach6494]

Great! Thanks

[@verthosand]

Stellar’s Sea Eagle-Maine

[@Beryllahawk]

My only question really is "how" - is this a "blown off course" thing, caught up in a storm and taken far from home? Like with the Flamingos? Or is it more of an "on-purpose" thing, maybe not quite like Ospreys coming to northeastern US from South America but... just how uncommon is this behavior in general, I guess is what I'm really wondering. Obviously ANY bird could get carried halfway around the world, but the resident expert fellow said this is his second for the state? I think that's part of what's got me so curious too.

[@markshen3280]

The Black-tailed Gull looks extremely similar to the California Gull …. 🤫

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Maybe at a distance but the red-tipped, pencil thin bill and black tail band are super distinctive

[@dicksonsmith2702]

Tundra-bean Goose in southern California in June of 2023.

[@micahgrove4518]

Yeah, I've seen a bird that should be in another country... house sparrows

[@BadgerlandBirding]

Mic drop

[@pauraque]

Preach

[@allcreaturesgreatandsmall5956]

True. House sparrows were brought here as "pets" and people let them go. The starling is another non-native bird. I saw a video of a man who hunted them with his falcon. He would throw the falcon out of the car window and the bird would grab one.

[@micahgrove4518]

@@allcreaturesgreatandsmall5956 Yeah, I saw that vid also. He was using a kestrel.

[@BirdNirdz]

😂