Thanks to Paul Pisano's posting of Gary Allport's sighting of a 
FRANKLIN'S GULL on the Hains Point (East Potomac Park) golf course 
just after 1 p.m. today, I was motivated to make a swift trip from 
Bethesda into DC.  And thanks to timely help from Gary and Frank 
Hawkins, who were just finishing their "short lunch break" when I 
arrived on the scene, I knew where to go to look -- on the golf 
course a short distance south of the clubhouse.

The bird was quickly spotted just off the edge of the 2nd green 
("Whatcha think, Johnny, should he chip it or putt it?") in the 
company of many immature Ring-billed Gulls.  The much smaller size 
and black hood stood out like a beacon.

I watched the gull for 30 minutes, between 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., 
mostly from a covered bench area midway between the 2nd and 3rd 
greens, which afforded some shelter from the steady rain.  Most of 
the time it snoozed with its head tucked in and only occasionally 
looking around.  The front half of the bird certainly looked like a 
full adult - the hood was solid black with no lighter flecks, the 
white eye crescents sensational, the bill all dark red, and the 
breast and belly very bright white (with however no hint of pinkish 
flush, which would be characteristic of breeding).  The legs were, as 
far as I could tell, black (as opposed to dark red).  The back half 
of the bird looked a bit less like an adult (I agree with Gary that 
there was quite a bit of brown in the tertials and some, not much, in 
the coverts.)  Looked like quite a few wing feathers were missing.

I  later moved around to view the bird from the other side of the 
chain link fence, by the road down to the point.  The gull suddenly 
took off once and flew very briefly before landing again by the 
shelter I'd just been standing under!  I did not note much dark below 
the primary tips.  I don't have enough experience with Franklin's 
Gull to be sure, and perhaps it's a 2nd cycle bird (I can't find a 
suitable photo in my various gull books),  but I would guess that 
this bird is in its 3rd year and just undergoing its pre-alternate 
moult before becoming a gorgeous looking (snazzy was Gail's 
description and a good one) adult up there somewhere in the upper 
midwest or Canadian prairies. Let's hope it gets there safely - it's 
a long way east of the normal migration route.

Nearby were 2 BONAPARTE'S GULLS still in basic plumage.  I had a 
SPOTTED and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER in a rain pool and I am sure there 
were more around, but beat a hasty retreat before pneumonia set in.

Mike Bowen
Bethesda, MD



D.H. Michael Bowen
8609 Ewing Drive
Bethesda, MD  20817
Telephone: (301) 530-5764
e-mail:  dhmbowenATyahooDOTcom