Eric Henriksen wrote:

"I'm not looking for an easy answer, rather a good reference
that I could read to advance (initiate) my ability to identify
local Gulls. I want to know what's possible based upon time
of year and locale."

Other than National Geographic Society field guide, which is pretty darned
good for gull ID, *the* book to use is P. J. Grant's "Gulls: a guide to
identification," T. & A. D. Poyser, 1986. You must get the second edition
to include all the Northwest gulls.

Status of the northwest species is given in A Guide to Bird Finding in
Washington. Much more detail about occurrence in the general area can be
gleaned from The Birds of British Columbia.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416