Massena - I posted this shot not so much for the bird but for the backstory. We spotted the bird along a road and I grabbed a few shots. To stabilize the camera I went off the road about 7 feet to lean the camera against a sign. About 30 seconds later I returned to the van and not long after I felt something crawling on my hand. It was a tick. I brushed it out the window and pondered what had happened. The grass was not that long, about 10 inches but this critter was lurking somewhere, waiting for an unsuspecting birder to show up. You probably know about the issue with black-legged ticks and lyme disease (a real nasty issue that can be debilitating if not detected early). The percentage of infected ticks has risen to between 20-50% depending on the area. Read up on it. Take precautions and try to stay on trails and hardened surfaces as much as possible. Winter has its pluses.
Tupper Lake - A rare bird in North America and a very rare breeder. COSEWIC designates the Ross's Gull as threatened. There are about 50,000 birds worldwide mainly in Siberia but between 0 and 10 pairs breeding annually in northern Canada. There is a slight pinkish blush below, present in both sexes. Viewing conditions were poor and the bird was not as close as I'd like but we got it which was the main thing. This bird is currently in the Adirondacks on a nearly frozen river. That is possibly the most illogical place one would expect to find it. This bird should be between Russia and Alaska in the Pacific.
United States (New York)
