Hi Tweets,

It seems that this year I've come across an unusual number of birds-with-bumps, as well as other problems. At Lincoln Park this afternoon, I encountered a crow with an apparent tumor on its beak, and a juvenile gull (or possibly a jaeger?) that seemed listless and unhappy. Last month, also near the park, I encountered a Junco with what I thought might be a tick on its face, then a rabbit with a similar bump on Whidbey Island.

To avoid having my Flickr photo stream loaded with photos of ill animals, I've put photos of these creatures in a separate, hopefully private folder at http://www.flickr.com/photos/trileigh/sets/72157636099371866/. If you would like to see the photos and the link doesn't work, let me know and I'll send them privately. None of them are truly gross, but obviously unpleasant for the animals concerned.

Do you think these are ticks, tumors, or something else? There was a recent Tweeters posting from Denny Granstrand about a sparrow with a tumor, which makes me wonder whether there's any evidence of an unusually high tick or tumor rate this year? Also, it would be great to get a species confirmation on the gull/jaeger from someone who knows gulls/jaegers better than I do, and a take on whether it might be ill or just resting.

Thanks in advance for any diagnoses,
Trileigh

Trileigh Tucker
Lincoln Park, West Seattle
Natural history website: naturalpresence.wordpress.com
Flickr page: flickr.com/photos/trileigh