> [mailto:TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of Randy_Hill at fws.gov

> I have not seen that many together, but I wouldn't doubt the late
> migration even though some were here in early April. Every
> year there
> is an outbreak of Mormon Crickets on the North Slope somewhere, and
> last week there was a flock of 50+ gulls doing the same thing in just
> about the same area. My guess is the Swainson's Hawks were
> feeding on
> the crickets.
>
> Randy Hill, Othello

I think you are right about the hawks.

I observed the same thing this past weekend. I didn't see the hawks but saw
the gulls, by the hundreds, dropping and picking up the crickets.

And the crickets were literally everywhere. They were hitting my windshield
(or the other way around) like driving through the beginnings of a
rainstorm. And when I stopped to take a 2 minute gander, I returned to a
car with 4 crickets in it (dang those open windows).

As I watched the gulls constantly land and eat these crickets amidst the
sage and grass, I wondered how many of these a gull could eat (they're big)
before a gull leaves the table, so to speak. I would think one of these
crickets would be a decent meal for a gull. 3 or 4 would be a nice cache of
protein for a while. But these gulls weren't going anywhere. They were
hitting it hard and often.

Eric Henriksen
High River Vineyards
Basin City, WA