The elusive IVORY GULL did put in an obliging appearance at 3 PM this
afternoon, but for the great majority of the masses of desperate rare bird
nuts out looking, only after seven hours of fruitless searching at all its
old and possible haunts in the general vicinity of the barge at the
Deltaport Ship Access Gate, the Tsawassen Ferry causeway, Point Roberts,
72nd Street, etc. The bird apparently has adopted a routine of loafing,
digesting, and just standing about on the barge from late afternoon until
sometime before dawn (it can be seen at midnight by the searchlights at the
facility) when it may set off in search of a meal, like the dead mallard it
feasted on this afternoon. The site of this afternoon's feast was on the
rocks along Middleport Rd. (as described by Brian Self), which turns off
right at the blinking yellow light just shy of the big curve and the parking
area near the barge. However, this road is restricted as are the railroad
tracks you need to cross to see the bird if its feeding in that area (as it
was last Sunday when Barry Levine saw it). In any case, you should not
expect it to necessarily be right there on the barge waiting to be admired.
The Deltaport is a massive industrial facility. At 7:30 AM today there were
literally hundreds of container-laden trucks lined up to transfer their
containers to ships for export. Be sure to keep out of harms way.

The gull is a beaut, though. A second winter bird apparently with some few
traces of immaturity, some light speckling above and behind the eye and some
very fine dark edging to the outer primaries and on a tertial. The bill
looks essentially greenish to me, not gray, though it was smudged at the
base on the upper mandible, perhaps with mallard blood, which bloodied its
forehead also. It can be a stinker, though, standing nearly out of sight on
the back edge of the barge with only its head showing. By the way, we were
told in no uncertain terms that the barge is off limits... insurance
problems, need for the barge to be available for emergencies, etc.

Gene Hunn.