A bird rarely seen on the West Coast is getting attention
By Josh Copitch
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SALINAS, California (KSBW) — A bird rarely seen on the West Coast is getting attention in Santa Cruz County.
The Black Headed Gull is usually found in Europe and Asia.
It was first seen on Dec. 27 in the Santa Cruz area, and today, birders flocked to Rio Del Mar to snap photos of the bird.
A 13-year-old Elias McKown helped identify the bird by calling local experts to confirm the rare sighting.
“I thought, oh maybe it’s possible that’s what it is because it had a red beak, so I sent it to Abram, other birders, and they confirmed it was a black headed gull, so we all came here to look for it,” said McKown.
Once word got out, birders came out from all over.
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