Is this ‘mega-rare’ bird lost? It was found over 6,700 miles away from its home

There’s a “mega-rare visitor” spending time at an Oklahoma lake, and if you’re not a bird expert, you might not have realized this particular gull is a long-distance traveler.

In two photos captured by Steve Metz, a Slaty-backed gull is seen “hanging out” at Lake Hefner, according to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

Slaty-backed gulls typically live along the coast of northeastern Asia, about 6,700 miles from the Sooner State.

“This dude, this gull right here, is LOST,” the wildlife department said in a Jan. 24 tweet.

The adult gull may have made a wrong turn somewhere, officials said, adding that the bird is “wayyyyy off the beaten path.”

But this wouldn’t be the first time a Slaty-backed gull has made it to the contiguous U.S.

While they typically call the northeastern Asia coastline “home,” small numbers of them will regularly visit western Alaska in the summer, according to the National Audubon Society.

“In winter, it has appeared as a rare stray at widely scattered points in North America, as far east as New England and as far south as Texas,” the society said.

This is believed to be one of the first times a Slaty-backed gull has been spotted in Oklahoma.

“We’re pumped to call such a mega-rare visitor an Oklahomie,” officials said.

Lake Hefner is a reservoir in the Oklahoma City area.

This story was originally published January 25, 2023 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Is this ‘mega-rare’ bird lost? It was found over 6,700 miles away from its home."