I finally made it down to Gog-li-hi-te yesterday and saw a Thayer's =
Gull. I didn't see any more unusual Gulls but I was only there for a =
little over an hour.

Thanks for the lead!
Steve


----------
From: Christopher Hill[SMTP:cehill at u.washington.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 1997 12:30 AM
To: 'Tweeters'
Subject: Re: Thayer's gull location(s)


On Wed, 8 Jan 1997, Steve Preston wrote:

> I've decided to test my gull ID ability by trying to positively =
identify
a Thayer's Gull. My guide is the "Advanced Birding" book by Ken Kaufman
(Peterson series). Could someone tell me where I should look for
Thayer's. I've tried Green Lake a couple of times but no luck yet. > >
Thanks! > Steve >

Steve,

Why look for one Thayers when you can study 200 at once? The best place =
I
know is down on the Tacoma Waterfront, where the Slaty-backed Gull hung
out the past two winters. When down there looking for the Slaty-backed
(which I didn't see), I spent a good part of a day looking at a flock of
several hundred Thayers at the Gog-li-hite wetland and on a nearby roof. =

90% adults, but with some first-year birds around, too. It will give =
you
an opportunity to really study the individual variation in Thayers at
pretty close range, and if the sun's out, the light on the little inlet =
in
the wetland is terrific in the afternoon, allowing you to really study
stuff like eye color. Bring a scope if you have one. In addition to =
the
Thayers, look for a flock of large (i.e., Glaucous-winged) gulls =
numbering
in the thousands. Glaucous Gull is likely, and who knows - the
Slaty-backed may be back, too. When I was there, there was also a
flock of small (Bonaparte's) gulls out in the harbor, so it's gull =
heaven
down there.=20

Here are some directions I saved from back when the Slaty-backed was =
being
reported.

***begin quote [credit Dave Nunnalee for the directions]***

The Slaty-backed Gull has again been seen near the Gog-li-hi-te (sp?)
Wetlands in Tacoma, the same place where it spent several months last
winter. As last year, it was seen atop the meat processing plant just
northeast of the wetlands. Ruth and Patrick saw the gull on Sunday,
December 25. A Western Gull was also seen, together with many other
lighter-mantled gulls.

The wetlands and meat plant are located along the SE side of Lincoln =
Ave,
just NE of where Lincoln crosses the Puyallup River. This is
approximately a long mile downstream of the I-5 bridge over the Puyallup
River.=20

***end quote***


Chris Hill
Everett, WA
cehill at u.washington.edu