CHARLIE WRIGHT GULL WORKSHOP REPORT, Nov 24, 2014.

We had such an enthusiastic response to hearing Charlie talk about gulls that Peter Wimberger of UPS had to find us a bigger room to hold it in!

I think everybody took notes! Of the 24 species ever seen in Washington, Charlie covered the 8 main species (Mew, Thayer’s, Ring-Billed, California, Herring, Glaucous-Winged, Herring, and Glaucous), as well as two hybrids (the common Glaucous-Winged/Western and the more-common-than-realized Glaucous-Winged/Herring, plus the bonus gull, Slaty-Backed, now being seen at Gog-Le-Hi-Te in the Tacoma tideflats!

You have to love a presenter who tells you to identify your gulls by facial expressions! Glaucous-Winged: Horse face! Thayer’s: Bambi-like, gentle! Charlie says to learn gull faces like your friends’ faces.

Charlie finished up by moving the group to the Slater Museum. Museum honchos Peter Wimberger and Gary Shugart had put out a plethora of gull specimens for our study, which provoked more one-on-one questions, which Charlie and Peter fielded admirably.

Field trips are still coming up for those of you lucky enough to get into one. If so, you’ll be getting reminders soon. If not, you can get on the waiting lists by contacting Diane Y-Q at Avosetta@hotmail.com.

Click on photo below to enlarge.