Tweeters:

Between 2 and 3pm today (Tuesday), at high tide, I observed two small white birds just north of the Edmonds Ferry dock and out beyond the white canister type bouys and a stream of Surf Scoters, Mergansers and Grebes.

I observed them through a scope for about 20 minutes on the water, and briefly in flight, and made note of the following field marks: gray crown and nape, small straight pointed black bill and what looked like a black eye line, white breast, back and rump, solid dark underwings, black primaries (looked like black side stripe while on the water) that were much bolder that those of a Bonaparte (evident in flight). Also, the one that flew away had a tail edged in black.

These birds, unlike the Bonapartes I've seen, seemed smaller and chunkier on the water and in flight. After reviewing Sibleys ... at length ... and ruling out the larger Common Murre and Pigeon Guillemot, my guess is that it was one of the small hooded gulls in winter plumage. Has anyone else seen these birds and, if so, could they be Little Gulls?

Ann Marie Wood,
Mountlake Terrace, WA
annmariewood at comcast.net
425-697-2961