Amazing eBird Checklist

The birding community has long supported citizen science by reporting bird sightings to scientists.  In our digital world, the most popular system for reporting bird sightings is run by Cornell Labs, ebird.org.

Sightings can be recored via the web or by using an iOS or Android phone app.  It’s a fantastic system for reporting bird sightings, keeping your “life list” and finding out what birds have been seen in a specific area.  

The Ross’s Gull is an Arctic gull, and is rarely seen in the continental United States.  This eBird.org map shows the sightings in the US over the last five years.
Recently, a Ross’s Gull was sighted near the airport at Half Moon Bay in California.  (It’s an area I know well, as my sister lives only twenty minutes away in Pacifica.)    There were lots of reports sent to eBird.org as shown by this eBird.org map.

Unfortunately, the Ross’s Gull was taken by a Peregrine Falcon this last Saturday, resulting in an eBirds.org checklist by Peter Sole that will go down as one of the most classic checklists ever.

Peter Sole’s ebird.org checklist for the Ross’s Gull.