I had a great couple of hours at Schoolhouse Pond today.  When I arrived at the pier, I bumped into Joe Byrnes and Jeff (sorry, forgot the last name) who were already searching through the gulls.  Numbers weren't super high when I arrived, but began to build steadily.  Best gull at Schoolhouse Pond was an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.  We then got a call from Clive Harris, who had found a 1st winter Iceland Gull at the Brown Station landfill.  We all went up there (where we scoped the landfill from behind the fence along Brown Station Road), and were all able to see the pale, first winter bird.  The gulls were very skittish, and moved about quite frequently as there was a Bald Eagle in the area.  But we saw the Iceland Gull on the ground several times and in flight a time or two.

We then returned to Schoolhouse Pond where the gull numbers had continued to increase.  There were now two Lesser Black-backed Gulls (1 adult and 1 1st winter) and 1 Great Black-backed Gull in addition to the Ring-billed, Herring, and Laughing Gulls.  Totals at that time (early afternoon) were: 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 531 Ring-billed  Gulls, 269 Herring Gulls, and 107 Laughing Gulls. Gulls were constantly coming and going.

Another highlight was when a Peregrine Falcon flew fast over the pond, probably 40 or 50 feet up.  We got good looks at the bird in flight, and then as it perched atop a high snag.  It sat in place for a minute or so and we all got scope views of the bird.  It then flew off to the east.  Other birds continuing at the pond included the male Pintail, male Wood Duck, Black Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, and American Coot.

Fred Shaffer
Patuxent MOS