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Ivory gulls are very rare visitors to Lake Champlain, distinguished by their all white backs, black legs, and orange-tipped beak. This one was spotted near Rouses Point on Feb. 19th. Photo by Henry Trombley

Natural History Note – Ivory Gull in Rouses Point

A rare ivory gull was sighted on Lake Champlain near Rouses Point on February 19th and repeatedly thereafter. The ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) is a small white gull of the Arctic. It rarely comes south of the Bering Sea or the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Sightings of ivory gulls in the United States bring birders from far and wide to add a species to their life lists. The Rouses Point gull has been hanging around ice-fishing shanties feeding on scraps. The bird has been observed from the pull-off on the Rt. 2 bridge and from the end of Stony Point Road south of the village of Rouses Point.