Greetings, VTBIRDers:

In the lovely maelstrom of Bonaparte's Gulls you may find humility and 
opportunity. Among the swirling flock at the Tri-Town Water District 
Plant in Addison yesterday there were at least two Little Gulls: an 
adult and a second-winter bird.

Without going into all the details, the adult shows dark underwings 
edged cleanly in white, and clean gray upperwings (without the bold, 
white flash of an adult Bonaparte's Gull). The second-winter bird (about 
18 months old or so, entering the second winter of its life) showed 
medium-to-dark gray underwings with paler wing linings (underwing 
coverts) AND a dark subterminal smudge on the upper-side of the wing 
tips. We could see all this (and more) with scopes from, oh, at least a 
half mile away. We found no first-winter Little Gulls yesterday. (Life 
can be so unfair.)

Elsewhere, Snow Goose numbers have risen a bit at Dead Creek Wildlife 
Management Area in Addison in the past few days, with recent counts 
(depending on the counter) ranging from 1700 to 3000. I'll keep updating 
my Snow Goose Scoop page at: http://bryanpfeiffer.com/the-snow-goose-scoop/

Best,
Bryan Pfeiffer
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