My recommendation to anyone who wants to get a handle on Thayer's Gulls is
to quit messing around with your local mongrel flocks and go to Goglihite
"created" wetland near Tacoma Harbor and look at a flock of 200 or so
genuine bonafide pedigreed Thayers. When I went several winters back, the
light was particularly good in the afternoon, and you could study many
individuals in different plumages (most were adults).

The area near Goglihite attracts huge flocks of all kinds of gulls
(thousands of individuals) and had a Slaty-backed for several winters. I
think there's a meat proccessing plant next door (?). Anything could turn
up in the vicinity. But in the actual wetland pond itself, most of the
gulls were Thayers.

I haven't been back since, so maybe this advice is dated. If that's no
longer a good spot, I hope someone will correct me. And I'm afraid I
can't give directions, but someone on Tweeters can, no doubt.

But that approach beats the heck out of sorting through all the
Western-GWG hybrids wondering "is *this* one a Thayers?" which will drive
you crazy, or lead you to report...well....to report some of the gulls
I've seen reported on Puget Sound Christmas Counts. I'll leave it at
that.

CH

Christopher E. Hill
Department of Biology
Coastal Carolina University Ph: 843.349.2567
P.O. Box 261954 Fax:843.349.2201
Conway, SC 29528 E: chill at coastal.edu

Don't become an ornithologist if you can help it.
But if you can't help it, go ahead. - Frank Chapman