This morning (Friday), I ran into Josh Adams at the Edmonds fishing pier. He mentioned that he heard there's squid fishing on Puget Sound. Squid are apparently a preferred food of Swallow-tailed Gulls, which they feed on at night when the squid come near the surface. I looked up information on this fishery, and what I've read makes the appearance of the gull seem a little less surprising.


Relevant links include http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/squid/howto_fish.html and https://www.squidfishingwa.com/2017. The first says that squid make their way into Puget Sound, showing up around Edmonds around September and working south. The second has a comment that the squid have been around Edmonds for the past six weeks, which may suggest they're also further south (like to Seattle?) by now. While it is of course shocking that a Swallow-tailed Gull is anywhere near our latitude, the occurrence of squid in the Sound makes the gull's presence here a bit more understandable, given that the gull was already in the general area.


>From what I read on that first link, looking for the gull around the Edmonds fishing pier at night may not be a terrible idea right now.


John Puschock

Matthews Beach, Seattle