[obol] Bonaparte's Gulls

[Cindy Ashy]

Late afternoon at the Yaquina Bay South Jetty there were at least 26
Bonaparte's Gulls congregating on the water on the west side of the first
finger. There were a couple in perfect winter plummage, a couple in perfect
breeding plummage, and the rest were somewhere in between...their black hoods
with various amounts of white "speckles" and in some of these inbetweens you
could still see the ear patch from the winter plummage. They were feeding on
something at the surface of the water but couldn't figure out what until I ran
into Darrel Faxon later who told me herring had spawned in the bay this
morning.

There were a good number of gulls at the gull puddle and I found one California
Gull amoung them. 

Driving out, I saw an adult eagle flying south from the first finger....I could
see something dangling from its talons so I stopped and got my bins on it just
in time to see it was a Bonaparte's Gull!

Then on a small rock exposed at low tide next to the bridge was a beautiful
immature eagle...it took off under the bridge and then toward the fishing pier
scaring up a cloud of gulls.

Cindy Ashy


 
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