The juvenile Franklin's Gull found at Fern Cove on Vashon Island yesterday by Michael Hobbs and Matt Bartells showed up again today at low tide. Low tide is the best time for gulls and shorebirds at Fern Cove. The gulls feed along the shoreline of the mud flat and shorebirds feed along the various routes of the streams across the delta of Shinglemill Creek. The Franklin's hangs out with Bonaparte's Gulls. Sometimes the gulls and shorebirds will shift to the point just to the north of Fern Cove and slightly into the next small cove. Also present were a few Semipalmated Plover, a couple of small mixed flocks of Leasts and Westerns and many Killdeer. I counted 50 in just one part of the mudflat in August. Thanks to Michael Hobbs and Matt Bartells again, the Franklin's is a county bird and an island bird for me. I'm at 186 for for Vashon-Maury Island now, slowly closing in on 200 with a few more each year.

Ed Swan
Vashon Island
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