During a two hour-long “lake watch” today from Gull Bluff on Wisconsin
Point, Douglas County, Wisconsin, I spotted a light-morph subadult
Pomarine Jaeger chasing a Herring Gull approximately 500 yards north
of my position. The jaeger continued heading towards me and briefly
harassed two more Herring Gulls before turning east less than 250
yards away from my elevated position. I watched the bird through my
spotting scope for a total of three minutes before it disappeared. A
second jaeger may have been present in the area. The winds were NW to
WNW at 20 mph gusting 30–35 mph, and the temperature barely reached
40º F by noon. I stayed at Gull Bluff for another hour and also
checked various locations along Park Point and Wisconsin Point
including the Superior Entry, but never refound the jaeger.
This individual was probably a third-year bird since its blunt,
rounded central rectrices were not twisted and did not extend as far
as would be expected for an adult. It showed a complete but ragged
chest band. Its wingspan was estimated to be the same as that of a
Ring-billed Gull (the jaeger chased three different Herring Gulls, but
ignored the Common Terns, Caspian Terns, and Ring-billed Gulls). If
accepted by the WSO Bird Records Committee, this would provide one of
the very few spring records of this species in our region. Previous
reports include an adult seen by Scott and Ann Swengel in Douglas
County, Wisconsin, 22 May 1997, and an adult or subadult seen by Bob
Janssen, Don Bolduc, Ray Glassel, and Dick Ruhme at Park Point,
Duluth, Minnesota, 20 May 1982.
Also seen from Gull Bluff were an alternate-plumaged Red-throated Loon
and an adult-cycle Thayer's Gull. A first-cycle Glaucous Gull was seen
on the Minnesota side of the Superior Entry. Five Whimbrels were near
Lafayette Square on Park Point earlier in the day. Hundreds of
Bonaparte's Gulls and Common Terns were observed in the Duluth-
Superior harbor. Gull Bluff can be reached by taking Moccasin Mike
Road off US 2/US 53 on the east side of Superior. Proceed past the
Superior Landfill on the unmarked gravel road and then take the first
left towards the bluff overlooking Lake Superior.
Peder Svingen
Duluth, MN
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