There have been a nice assortment of gulls on and over Schoolhouse Pond 
today.  There was a medium sized mixed flock on the water at noon.  Mixed 
among the Ring-billed Gulls and noisy Laughing Gulls was a group of 14 
Bonaparte's Gulls.  It was interesting that the Ringers and the Laughers (plus 
a few Herring Gulls) formed the large mixed-species flock, while the 
Bonaparte's Gulls stay mostly together in a small, tight group to the rear of 
the other species.  When all the gulls flushed, the more common species 
settled back down on the water or pier while the Bonaparte's Gulls flew off 
together in a group in the general direction of Jug Bay.  Numbers at noon were:

152 Laughing Gulls
194 Ring-billed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
14 Bonaparte's Gulls

This morning, among the large number of daily flyover gulls heading to the 
nearby landfill were 3 Great Black-backed Gulls and 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 
making it a 6 gull species day at the pond.  Other birds of note included a 
singing Marsh Wren near the cattails at the rear of the pond and the small 
group of Green-winged Teal that have been present the last week or so.

Fred Shaffer
Patuxent MOS