Well gang, After a few weeks of down time, my computer is partially working enough so that I should be able to get out this message. A dandy day a Conowingo. (The only place I love more than Hart-Miller.) Here are the details: Observations: 0700-1800 Weather: 30 degrees, Partly cloudy Peregrine Falcon 2 (adult) Bonaparte's Gull 1 (adult) Ring-billed Gull ~3000 *CALIFORNIA GULL 1 (2nd-winter) Herring Gull ~1000 mystery gull 1 (1st-winter: pale Herring? dark Thayer's? Hal Wierenga, Lynn Davidson, and I watched this bird flying around and on the water for about 15 minutes) *THAYER'S GULL 2 (1 1st-winter,1 2nd-winter) *ICELAND GULL 1 (3rd-winter) Lesser Black-backed Gull 0 (Hello! What's wrong with this picture?) *SLATY-BACKED GULL 1 (adult; frustratingly brief looks today; 0825-0835: standing on rocks, flew behind wall 1105-1115: standing on rocks, flew over dam? 1645-1646: swimming behind wall, went behind rock 1725 (30 sec): walked out from behind rock 1745 (10 sec): flushed from behind rock & left Great Black-backed Gull ~100 I guess I better head to St. Mary's County tomorrow to see the KELP GULL since everyone is giving me grief for not having gone yet. Some have even suggested that I turn in my license plates (MDGULLS) if I don't get down there soon. Good to be back, Gene Gene Scarpulla Towson, Maryland gscarp@erols.com