Subject: [Tweeters] Late glaucous gull in Seattle?
Date: Apr 22 15:58:10 2017
From: Katie Sauter Messick - kfsauter at hotmail.com


Hi Tweets,


My parents live north of Carkeek Park in Seattle, about 4 blocks from the Sound, and have a pretty constant view of various gulls wheeling over the neighborhood and resting on conveniently flat street lights. Yesterday, there was an especially large-looking gull in breeding plumage (bright white head) with a pale gray mantle and bright white wingtips with zero gray on them. I'm used to seeing posts of glaucous gull sightings around Puget Sound in the winter, but this seems both awfully late and, although near the Sound, not ON it, so a bit off from prime habitat. Is there anything else this could be? A leucistic individual of another species, perhaps? There are lots of 4-year gulls around, particularly glaucous-winged and "Olympic" hybrids. If anyone wants to go look, it was hanging out on the street light on the west side of 9th Ave NW about halfway between 125th and 127th (about where the sidewalks start). I got pretty good looks at it, but didn't have binoculars with me.


Thanks,

Katie