Hi Tweets,

Cindy Sprecher, Martha Taylor and I also did the afore-mentioned 'gull
trail' on Sunday. We never saw the Slaty-backed Gull, but we got 9 Gull
species (10 if we count a probable California fly-over)...pretty amazing!

Glaucous (1 juv, in Takwilla)
Glaucous-winged (all over)
Western (several at Gog-le-hi-te wetlands)
Bonaparte's (> 30 at American Lake)
Little (1 at American Lake)
Mew (several at Coulon park)
California (1 brief fly-over at American Lake)
Ring-billed (scattered around)
Herring (Several in Takwilla)
Thayers (amazingly common in Takwilla and Tacoma)

At various times during the day, we ran into Jim Flynn, Gene Hunn, Dave
Bodett, and several others who helped us with some tips on confusing Gulls.
I wanted to thank you guys for your patience and good humor. I usually try
not to invade the privacy of other birders who are trying to have their own
'experience', but sometimes I get so excited I can't help myself. And IDing
gulls is as hard as it gets.

Also, at about 10 AM Sunday 18 Jan, at Coulon park in Renton we watched a
pretty dark adult Peregrine hunting Coots in a grassy area...all the coots
would pile together in a tight, terrified ball-o-coots as the falcon
swooped over... The Peregrine had bands on both legs. I was able to read D
and 10 on one band. Maybe someone could forward this info to the falcon
people?

Rick Romea "We're gonna need a bigger boat"
Seattle, WA - Jaws
rromea at stioptronics.com
206-523-5831 (Home)
425-827-0460 X 316 (Work)