A few more words on the black-tailed gull south of Tyee Marina. I was
finally able to see this gull today (when it thankfully wasn't pouring and
blustery). Under overcast skies, with my scope, the difference in mantle
colour from the Californias was subtle, and I would not have picked this
bird out by scoping for a darker mantle. Many thanks to Joel for putting us
onto it - he found it because it happened to flash its tail while it preened
as he scoped past. Five birders had been scoping the gull flock
unsuccessfully for a while. We were not helped by the presence of other
birds in front of it. Once found, all the previously described field marks
could be noted in turn as it preened.



I tried eating lunch at the Point Brown lighthouse picnic tables, in the
hope the Lapland Longspur decided to put in a reappearance, but no birds
showed. I walked the beach are too, but only turned up a Savannah sparrow.



Louise Rutter

Kirkland