Hey everyone-

As mentioned earlier by George Jett, Pete Webb, Kevin Graff, and I visited Schoolhouse Pond this morning on our way to Point Lookout.  There were not the immense numbers of gulls that Fred observed later in the day, however, we had one interesting gull that seemed to be a pretty good candidate for Thayer's.  The eye pattern, the smooth and neat markings on the body and wings, and the overall color helped support this guess.  However, the primaries did not show the pale edging that is supposed to be present in Thayer's Gulls.  Anyway, I have posted some sharpened crops of the very distant photos I took at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicobirdphotos/

Unfortunately, the primaries are blocked in both photos by a Ring-Billed Gull, but the rest of the bird is visible.

Any input on whether this bird is indeed a Thayer's (possibly the same one seen at Schoolhouse Pond a week and a half ago) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Nico Sarbanes
Baltimore