I was down at the Marine Science Center pier last evening and was treated to a spectacular sight lit by the days final sunbeams: a big load of gleaming white crap.


You see, the roof of the Center, typically the roosting spot of the local Rock Pigeons , had been taken over by about 75 - 100 Heermann's Gulls (or as I refer to them, Mexican Laughing Gulls).


Some nearby teenager's were daring one girl to dive off the pier (of course right at the "No Diving Off The Pier " sign) and the girl was being a little chicken about it. Hearing one of the gulls, another girl told the chicken,"that bird is laughing at you!", which validated my re-naming idea .


While pigeons poop, the Heermann's certainly outdid them - a large portion of the roof was totally whitewashed - a sharp contrast to all of the dark gulls mostly perched near the roof peak above the field of snowy crap. These were mostly all-dark immature birds (only one or two white-headed adults. They really looked like Crows from a distance - especially against that white background .


At one moment something spooked all the gulls (including the bunch that are usually perched on the nearby concrete seawall), and suddenly the sky was full of big dark swirling birds - many laughing - it was quite a sight. Then all the birds returned to their perches.


As I was leaving, the last sunbeam of the day spotlighted the building making the whole scene even more amazing - like a roof piled with salt and sprinkled with pepper on top. Or whatever.


Jeff Gibson.

Port Townsend Wa