Dear Tweeters,
New Year's Day found me at the lovely Wallula Poop Piles in Walla Walla County--an offally nice place!
At one point, a small gull flew in and circled the bigger gulls that were feasting there. I was pretty sure that it was a Franklin's Gull, but?then I suddenly realized how unlikely that species would be this time of year, when it should be in South America.
If anyone else can get out there to the?site?and find that gull, I'd love to hear about it.
The bird had what I'd call a typical Franklin's hood, dark and well-defined. The wings looked dark on the underside, especially the outer part of the wing, but I could not tell if it was all dark, the way it would be on a Little Gull. The bird certainly did not have any "M" or "W" on the wings-mantle,? nor did it have any trace of a white triangle that one sees on a Bonaparte's. I could see a white trailing edge to the wings. The white tail had a narrow black band. I could not tell if the outer tail feathers were white, but there was a tiny bit of a white break in the center of the black tail band, perhaps just one or two feathers' worth. This bird did not look as tiny as I would expect for a Little Gull. It did not land, just did two or three quick circles and flew off. I did get the sense that it was Mew-Gull-sized or smaller. I think if it had been a Laughing Gull, I would have noticed the bigger bill.
Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch