As still a relatively new birdwatcher, I am becoming used to fielding all sorts of bird questions from my friends and coworkers, but there are still many new queries that I?ve never had before. Today was an example of something new!

I work in the Health Sciences Center on the UW main campus, and by the wing where I work, there is a small courtyard enclosed on all sides by high walls.

Yesterday, people told me that a gull had been in this courtyard for several days, and they thought it was stuck there. Sure enough, there was a nest above the courtyard, and there was a rather forlorn Glaucous-winged Gull fledgling that must have dropped straight down when it fledged, becoming trapped in the enclosure because there was not enough space for it to gain sufficient lift to leave. People had left some treats for it, and I decided to go home for the night and figure out what to do.

I read about GWGU on Cornell?s Birds of North America Online, which informed me that little was known about parental care, if any, following fledging. I decided it must be getting dehydrated, and that the best course of action would be to trap it in a large box, and carry behind my building to the edge of Portage Bay, where it would have a chance to either meet back up with its parents, or to make it on its own.

As someone who has not handled birds, much less large, scared, wild birds, it turned out to be quite a challenge to corral Junior today. With some help (and gloves for protection), I was able to get Junior into the box, and things turned out well from there. I carried the box down to the water, where some people sitting out on the bench enjoying the nice day gaped as I opened the box and out hopped Junior! He scurried down to the water, where he swam out, took several big gulps of water, and then settled down before flying off. I hope he has learned, via trial-and-error, several important lessons about life!

Evan Houston
Seattle, WA