Pomarine Jaeger in St. Louis County
2011-10-02

'Accidental' in Minnesota

Juvenile Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) near Sky Harbor Airport on Minnesota Point, Duluth, St. Louis County, Minnesota, 2 October 2011. This individual was first found by Kim R. Eckert and his Minnesota Birding Weekends group near the pumphouse on Minnesota Point in the mid-afternoon. It was refound and photographed by Peder H. Svingen later that same afternoon. Images were taken within an hour of sunset on a warm fall day with the sun setting behind the photographer; these conditions produced warmer hues than was apparent in life, especially when the bird was sitting on the water and no longer illuminated by the setting sun. This bird's large size and lack of agility were apparent during pursuits of Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis) and its wingspan was compared to multiple Ring-billeds in order to document its large size. In comparison to the images of juvenile Parasitic Jaeger (S. parasiticus) previously uploaded to Recently Seen, note this bird's relatively thick, dark-tipped, gull-shaped bill with prominent hook; dark face; relatively large, unstreaked head; broad inner wings (arms); blackish and cream-colored barring on the under wing-coverts and axillaries producing an underwing paler than its body (underwings typically darker than or in some cases concolor with the body in parasiticus); classic double underwing flash produced by the combination of pale bases to the underwing primaries and pale bases to the under primary wing-coverts; heavy-chested and pot-bellied body appearance; distinct and well-organized barring on its under tail-coverts; wedge-shaped tail; and broad, blunt, thumb-shaped central pair of rectrices. Many thanks to Stanley Walens (San Diego, California) and Tom Schultz (Green Lake, Wisconsin) for reviewing my images and offering detailed comments on this bird's identification. Additional images and commentary can be found at https://picasaweb.google.com/psvingen/JaegersAtMinnesotaPoint2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOWIupbfirnpqwE&feat=directlink

Peder H. Svingen