Natalie and I enjoyed a day full of gull watching in Renton, after
arriving in the fog around 8 a.m. and watching the gulls come and go
throughout the day until the GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL was spotted at the
mouth of the Cedar River shortly after 1 p.m. Once the GBBG arrived
there was no doubt that it stood out from the hundreds of Glaucous-winged
and hybrid gulls feeding in the area. Besides its bright white head and
distinct bill, it was clearly the largest gull on the south end of the lake.

I have posted a pair of digiscoped photos of the GBBG on my Web site:

<http://www.whiterabbits.com/2004photos/Jan/GBBG1_Jan17.jpg>
<http://www.whiterabbits.com/2004photos/Jan/GBBG2_Jan17.jpg>

In addition to the usual gulls, we did get a very long look at a GLAUCOUS
GULL near Gene Coulon Park in Renton, but we plan to visit again tomorrow
afternoon to see if we can get a better look at the gathering of gulls.

Since we still had some daylight left after returning to Tacoma this
afternoon, I decided we should see what we could find along Ruston Way
and the south end of Commencement Bay. Much to my amusement, we finally
found the albino YELLOW-BILLED LOON near Marine Park around 4 p.m., where
it was clearly visible from the road as it fed among Double-crested
Cormorants and Red-necked Grebes in the bay. This was a great capper for
the day, since I have been trying to see this bird off and on over the
last couple of winters.

Happy birding,

Rob

--
Rob McNair-Huff ---------- mailto:rob at whiterabbits.com
White Rabbit Publishing -- http://www.whiterabbits.com/
Mac Net Journal ---------- http://www.macnetjournal.com/
The Equinox Project ------ http://www.whiterabbits.com/weblog.html