>> This is a rather vague sighting, so I don't know if anyone can help me.
>>At Golden Gardens/Shilshole this morning I saw a small gull-like bird
>>flying just off shore. It was about the size of a Bonaparte's Gull, but
>>was uniformly gray. It was silhouetted against fairly bright clouds,
>>though. The bill was of average length, dark and down turned. The most
>>distinguishing feature was it's call, a rhythmic repetitive
>>cheep-cheep-cheep, quite loud and a fairly clear note. I said this was
>>vague...
>>Thanks.
>>=================
>>Cliff Drake
>>Ballard, WA
>
>Cliff, I can give you a definitive answer to that one:
>
>I don't have a clue. Neither the description nor the call evoke a response
>in me. Maybe someone else will have a brilliant idea.
>
>Dennis Paulson, Director phone 206-756-3798

One clue that could be elaborated upon:

The bill was of average length, dark and down turned.

Average for what? Most "average" bills in my book aren't long enough to be
down turned. The vast majority of birds with down turned bills are
shorebirds.

--Jerry Tangren
<tangren at wsu.edu>