Going into Friday, I had no idea that my mom and I would be driving 16 hours to see an Ivory Gull at Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana. But when my good friends sent me the Facebook post, I knew it was an opportunity that I might not get again. The Ivory Gull was first spotted Thursday, and reported Friday. I heard about it Friday morning, and I immediately convinced my mom to take me on Saturday. The bird was seen throughout Friday afternoon, so we had high hopes that we could see it Saturday. We got up bright and early Saturday morning (or dark and early), and left for Montana. This would be my first time birding in Montana so I was excited! The drive up was grueling. We encountered heavy fog, serious black ice that had wrecked 4 semi-trucks and a mini-van, and 60 mph winds that had blown over 2 trailers. But we persevered and through all that we ended up in Montana. Early that morning, birders had been looking for the gull but the winds were so bad that people had started to leave to look elsewhere, and to look for a nearby Northern Hawk Owl. It turns out that was probably for the better since a huge tree snapped in half and came down right where the birders had been standing! We arrived in the afternoon and the wind was no better. There was no sign of the gull and there were very few birds. We met a group who had traveled 14 hours from Colorado overnight just to see the bird. After a couple hours of looking ourselves, we decided that it was more worth our time to look for the Hawk Owl. However, the mile and a half walk through 5 ft of snow put us a little late so we didn't have much time to actually look for the owl. We left disappointed and soaking wet as it started to pour down rain. We hurried back to where we were going to stay, while anxiously looking at the weather for Sunday. It was looking to be particularly stormy for our drive back. Disappointed and worried, we booked a hotel room and prepared for the next day. We woke up to a beautifully calm, crisp morning. Our car doors were frozen shut and branches that had been broken off by the severe winds littered the streets. We headed straight for Blue Bay Campground, where the gull had been seen, praying that we could see the gull before we left to beat the severe storms in southern Idaho. We arrived just as the sun started to brighten the lake. We spent the next hour staring at the docks and the shore, waiting for the gull to appear. I got overly excited a few times as some Ring-billed Gulls flew in from afar, but I had my hopes up - at least there were some birds today! Red Crossbills flew over, Townsend's Solitaires called from the tops of the trees, and an American Dipper sang his heart out on the shore. We were in below freezing temperatures so I hopped back in the car to warm up my fingers and replace my camera battery. I look up and see a beautiful white gull flying in to the docks. "There it is!!!" I exclaim. The incredible IVORY GULL flew gracefully in to dock. It alighted on the railing and sat in all its glory. What an incredible bird! Another birder from Seattle approached and pointed and shouted "There it is!" We spent the next hour and a half staring at the bird as few other birders began to arrive. Over the course of the day people from all over would be able to see the beautiful gull. We left at 10:00, not quite prepared for the drive home. The 7.5 hour drive back home ended up taking 9 hours due to heavy snow, ice, and winds. However, we got back safe, and even now I can't quite believe that we drove 16 hours and got to see a first state record, a code 3 bird from the arctic planes north of Canada, an Ivory Gull. What an incredible experience!
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