Subject: mystery birds
Date: Jun 19 09:11:44 1999
From: Christy Anderson - christya at gte.net


Your gull sounds like it might be a Heerman's. Check that picture in your
guide to see if the other field marks are right.

----- Original Message -----
From: Rahne Kirkham <rahne at mindspring.com>
To: tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Saturday, June 19, 1999 7:24 PM
Subject: mystery birds


On my recent Eastern Washington trip, I saw two birds that confused me. Just
before I got to Cle Elum, a large raptor flew practically in my face (or my
car's rather). Because of the location, I assumed it was an osprey but it
was very white and brown. The trailing edge of the underwing was white and
there was a stippled pattern making a capital M on the leading edge. It had
some color on the head but it too was light brown. Do immature ospreys look
like this? The only thing that looked like it in my Stokes and Peterson was
a Ferruginous Hawk and surely we don't have these in Cle Elum or do we?

The other mystery bird I saw was a gull beside the Columbia south of Vantage
and on the east side of the river. It's mantle was darkish grey but not as
dark as pictures of Western Gulls. The rest of it was extremely pure white
so I don't think it was some kind of juvenile. Its beak was red with a black
spot on it and its legs were also red. Western (with a black spot?)?
Ring-billed (but with red legs?)? Some kind of wierd mutant or hybrid? An
alien pretending to be a gull to spy on us but he didn't get his costume
right? An insane from much birding observer? Please help me, fellow birders.
I appeal to you.

Rahne
Federal Way
"All the creeds that wind and wind
when just the art of being kind
is all the sad world needs."
Ella Wheeler Wilcox