larus dominicanus @ Sandgates, Sunday 2/21
David (dstrother@pop.dn.net)
Wed, 24 Feb 1999 17:20:03 -0500
Once you've seen one (and at some other time have seen a Dominican
friar) you'll understand that the bird wears its Latin name well (and
equally so its German appellation "moewe dominikaner"). Thanks to
Robert Lewis, you'll be able to see my digital photo of the kelp gull
at http://www.fordham.edu/lewis/birds/Kelps/stroth.jpg
Thanks to Jane Kostenko and Tyler Bell for being such great on-site
hosts, and to the fellow who chummed it into squabbles with other gulls
for thrown tidbits, thereby eliciting loud low squawks three times.
There was chilly cameraderie in the lee of the Seabreeze while the gull
obligingly waded, posed on pilings, performed aerobatic displays, and
played "king of the piling" when other gulls challenged it. It is a
big, beautiful, and very self-confident bird. The view of the
orange/red orbital through someone's astronomical scope was totally
amazing; it is faintly visible in the photo, where the light
bile green legs are easily seen.
The lo-hassle route to Sandgates from the beltway down 381 (avoiding the
Route 5 congestion in Waldorf) suggested by Bob Mumford in an earlier
posting is great....as long as you obey the 30mph posting in Brandywine;
we saw the local constabulary keeping Brandywine green. The Seabreeze
chow is good, and reasonably priced....and where else can you get a
pitcher of Killian's Red for five bucks? The local gentry took
occasional breaks from the NASCAR North Carolina 400 on the big screen
to be bemused by all the visitors, replete with binoculars and scopes,
looking at "some bird".
Altogether a wonderful way to enjoy a bright and breezy mid-day....
Toni and David Strother
Bethesda, Maryland
dstrother@pop.dn.net