Hi Folks! My first post to Osprey..I hope some of you do not want it to be my last. After carefully examining photographs taken by Mark Hoffman on January 1 of the "Common Gull" (Larus canus canus)at Conowingo, I am certain that the bird is actually a Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis). The defining character is the shape of the dark areas on the wing coverts. I will gladly change my mind if someone can show that Common Gulls can have arrowhead-shaped dark areas on the wing coverts. Good Birding! Jim Stasz North Beach MD jlstasz@aol.com