Tweets:

News from the Second Avenue Glaucous-Winged Gull Colony (well,
actually they are mostly hybrids, but. . .)

As of 5/15, Horace and Gertrude have lain their first egg. This is
earlier than past years. In 1998 the first egg was May 16-18th (I
observed it on Monday the 18th, but it could have been over the
weekend. The same applied to this one, which could have been lain
5/13-5/15). In 1999, the first egg was the 20th. Horace and Gertrude
are generally earlier than other gulls in the colony. Pairs 2,3 and 4
are not on their nests regularly, so it is highly unlikely that they
have eggs yet. Pairs 5 and 6 are hidden, so I can't tell.

Pair 5 has been dismantling it's 1999 nest, which was on top of an
HVAC duct (as a result of worker activity on the roof) and seem to
have returned to their roof-level nest from 1998. The 1999 nest
failed, most likely due to the human activity. Now that that project
is done, it seems they have returned to their old home.

It is tempting to suggest that the timing of Horace and Gertrude's
first egg is related to the weather. Last year, with the wet and cold
winter and spring, they layed a few days later than 1998. This year,
with the warm spring, they layed earlier. However, the literature
I've read on the subject seems to indicated that weather isn't a
significant factor in nesting timing.

>From Second Avenue in Downtown Seattle. . .

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John Chapman ====================================================
Seattle, Washington =============================================
ragweed at igc.org =================================================