A Mega Rarity Appears in Goleta

All Gulls are Not Created Equal; Our Columnist Recounts the Great Adventure of the Swallow-Tailed Gull Sighting

The star bird flanked by a California and a western gull | Credit: Hugh Ranson

There are certain bird sightings that are so outstanding that they will be talked about and relived for years to come. On July 19, local birder Eunice Schroeder was checking out the resting gulls on the slough at Goleta Beach County Park, and amongst the western and California gulls, she noticed one that looked quite different. It had a dark hood and a bright red ring around its eye. She took a few photos and consulted her app field guides. There was no match.

Puzzled, she went home, looked at her bird books without finding a likeness to the mystery bird, then uploaded her photos. She decided to enlist the help of others, so she put a picture on the local birding Slack channel. Within minutes, Alex Castelein responded that the bird was a swallow-tailed gull.

Mayhem ensued. Those who could dropped what they were doing and made a beeline for Goleta beach.