Dear Tweeters,

Bob Kuntz and I saw what I first thought was a Glaucous Gull in Skagit County on Saturday (12-6-03). When we pulled off Chuckanut Drive (just north of Sunset) and got out our scopes, we realized that this bird was an albinistic gull, presumably a Glaucous-winged Gull. Its plumage was virtually all pure white, except for the primaries, which were medium grey. Of three Glaucous-winged Gulls standing near it, two had paler primaries than the albinistic bird, and one (which may have had some Western Gull heritage) had darker. The albinistic gull also had a bit of pale grey smudging about the nape and upper back, but the overall impression was quite snowy-white. Legs were pink, bill yellow with reddish spot; size was about the same as the Glaucous-wings near it--certainly the bill was not the massive one expected on a Glaucous Gull.

We also saw a flock of over 100 Pacific Loons at Samish Island Public Beach, but unfortunately we missed the Avocet.

Good birding!



Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

near Lyman (Skagit County), Washington

garybletsch at yahoo.com


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