Posting for Cameron Cox:



Greetings,



This afternoon I allowed the beautiful weather and my desire to go see some birds pull me outside despite my better judgment screaming it's head off the about the 36 other things that I should have been doing. My judgment piped down quickly when an adult Slaty-backed Gull landed in the middle of my field of view while I was watching gulls at the Tukwila Thayer's Gull spot right off I-5. Talk about dumb luck. As far as I can tell this is a different individual than the Renton bird from a couple of weeks ago. This bird appears to have a larger bill with more gonydeal expansion, seems a little larger compared to Glaucous-winged Gulls, the darkened area around the eye is less noticeable, and the nape has darker streaking. Fun bird, got a few passable photos.



This site is going to be a little more difficult for groups of birders to gather than the Renton site. Please use caution and judgment when looking for this bird. From I-5 take exit 156, Tukwila/ Interurban, go west and take your first right onto 48th Ave. The bird was on the roof of the shipping company about 1/3 of a mile down. Parking is an issue. I wouldn't make any suggestion other than don't do anything illegal that could make "No Trespassing" signs sprout like tulips in the Skagit! I had a security guard on me in less than two minutes, but I was extremely polite and showed him the gull and warned him that other birders might be coming to see it. He seemed interested and friendly, so, again, use massive amounts of good judgment when looking for the bird and we will be allowed to keep birding there.



Good numbers of gulls at Renton this evening, but nothing unusual. I wouldn't discount seeing this bird in Renton in the evening. Tukwila is quite close to Renton as the gull flies. However, I don't believe that the majority of the Tukwila birds roost in Renton. I never find the numbers of Thayer's Gull that are usually found at Tukwila arriving at Gene Coulon in the evening. Also, I have been at Tukwila in the evening and seen the majority of the birds heading west down the small river that runs next to the industrial complex. Fortunately, finding this Slaty-backed should be less time sensitive than looking for the prior bird just before sunset. The afternoon often seems to be best at Tukwila. Good Luck! I will work on putting some variety into the good birds I find!



Cameron Cox

Seattle, WA