adUlt migrations | 59mythical creature breeding in the high Arctic. There, fewer than 200
nests have been found since the very first scientific specimen was ob-
tained by the supremely handsome James Clark Ross in 1823, not far from
the North Magnetic Pole. Even more enigmatic has been the species’
wintering grounds. At last, progress in discovering those grounds has
been made thanks to an intrepid couple, Mark Maftei and Shanti Davis,
and collaborator Mark Mallory.^8 Using data from geolocators and satel-
lite tags deployed at two colonies in the far north of Canada (approx.
75°N), Mark Maftei reported on the gulls’ movements at the 2015 World
Seabird Conference. Unusually, possibly even unprecedentedly for a sci-
entific presentation, his talk was partly delivered in impeccable rap.
They’re so rare, they’re pink, just like a fine steak.
And you might think you know them but you might be mistaken,
Cos the fact of the matter is that no- one really knows,
Where the rarest little gull in the Arctic really goes.
Their breeding grounds are poorly known and poorly surveyed,
But as far as they are concerned that’s the way it oughta stay
Cos it’s invitation only when they are trying to copulate.Not only did this enthral the audience, it probably also confirmed that
studying Ross’s Gulls on a forlorn chill Arctic island involves long peri-
ods sheltering in a tent with nothing much to do beyond compose rap!
However, impatience was building; the audience wanted to know where
the gulls wintered.
Well they’re highly pelagic: they stay far offshore,
In the icy cold waters off the coast of Labrador.So we learnt that the birds from the Canadian study colony of Nasaru-
vaalik concentrated in winter off Labrador in cold seas around 63°N,
barely south of the Arctic Circle. Since these seas, on the western side
of the Davis Strait, are little visited in winter, it is no wonder that this
Ross’s Gull locality had never been detected by traditional observation.
The wintering grounds of the Ross’s Gulls of Siberia are yet to be iden-
tified precisely.
These studies show how modern technology is helping fill the gaps
in our knowledge of seabird migration, and sometimes provides truly