Tweeters,

Would you travel over 5000 miles? Would you go 5.5 time zones east to
feast your eyes on a whole different group of gulls?

St. John's Newfoundland, North Americas furthest east city, is winter
home to 11,000 Larus. They spend most of their time either at the
city dump or cleaning up and hanging out at the cities largest fresh
water lake.

Check this out from their 08 Christmas bird count. http://cbc.audubon.org/cbccurrent/current_table.html

Herring...4729
Great Black-backed...2924
Iceland...2115
Glaucous... 817
Black-headed...121
Lesser Black-backed...8
Ring-bill...4
Black-legged Kittiwake...1
Mew (Common)...1
Yellow Legged...1
Slaty-backed...0

The prize is the Yellow-legged, which has shown up yearly. There are
14 individual birds with yellow legs among 11,000 with pink ones.
Picking them out may test your tenacity, especially when they are all
laying down.

This year's gull watching has been complicated by six Bald Eagles. An
eagle flies over hourly, and all the gulls go into the air. If you
are too stupid, lazy, sick, injured, or dead to do so, you are lunch.

It is also very soon to be further complicated by the decision to
shoot gulls at the dump.

AND

How about those 20 Tufted Ducks?

If you were to go in December or January your chances would be good
for a, perhaps even close, Dovekie encounter.

AND

As the only? USA flight goes through Newark, some creative planning
could get you Barnacle Goosed. There has been one 40 miles west of
the Newark Liberty and one 50 miles east. You could get one, or maybe
both in the same day. They can be ridiculously easy. The Califon, NJ
one is the more sure thing.

AND

Feeling down lately about your job security and mutual funds? When
the road ahead seems exceptionally challenging, visit the small marker
for kilometer one of the Terry Fox run. Canada's greatest hero dipped
his artificial leg here in St John's harbor before beginning his
endeavor to run across Canada. If you don't know the story, you
probably should.

There are no Polar Bears, but, as those on the Titanic discovered, an
occasional ice-burg.

Larry Schwitters
Issaquah