Finding a Jaeger on the ground is very,very unusual for Duxbury Beach and I suspect for most places other than its breeding grounds far north of here. This gallery documents an adult Pomarine in near alternate plumage (central tail feathers not grown out yet, other molt in progress) that was found on the Beach this afternoon....

I received a call in the late afternoon about this bird from Gabrielle Gareau, Mass Audubon's South Shore Coastal Waterbird Program Biologist. Minutes later I joined her about halfway down the Beach road from the Bridge to the 1st crossover where she had the bird staked out on the bay side. The following pictures have commentary about various aspects of the bird. She said the bird was originally on the road but had walked and half-flew west off the road onto the rocky beach where it had been resting for quite awhile. Earlier in the day a resident of the Gurnet had seen the same bird in the road and picked it up and put it on the beach above the rocks when the tide was higher so that it wouldn't be hit by a car (I learned this when he called me later in the evening to see if I could tell him what it might be). He said it was alert but not aggressive for which he was thankful given the sharp beak! (see pix)

These shots were taken between 5:50-6:30pm in heavy fog and thus lousy light. I apologize to viewers for the inconsistency and quality of many of the photos I've included. Between the conditions and my not being good with the camera, a number of these I would never post except for the fact that there is value from a documentation and learning perspective (at least I've learned a lot trying to differentiate the Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers). One doesn't get to see a Jaeger up close and on land like this, and so I'm hoping that the shots will carry enough of interest for other learning birders like me to warrant their inclusion!

I've looked through 8 books and read through Cornell's Birds of North America Online, and it seems like there is a ton of variation in plumages but there are enough definitive things on this bird to be sure it is a Pomarine. From the molt in the wings and underwings and the fact that the tail is not yet showing the long central tail feathers - my guess is this is a bird coming late into breeding plumage. I'll put additional comments with the individual photos.

Why is it on Duxbury Beach? One guess is that the big storm out in the ocean that blew heavy east winds for a few days may have just worn it out. It didn't seem injured so much as resting, but I'm not trained in what to look for. It was able to stand and relieve itself, and could walk about a bit so it didn't seem like anything was broken. It was very calm and not bothered by human proximity as none of the 3 of us who got near to it saw any signs of agitation. I just pray that it stays out of the road when the Saturday recreation traffic gets out there tomorrow.