?
This morning (1 October) at about 8:15 a.m., I observed a juvenal-plumaged
California Gull on the beach at Cape Charles.? It flushed from the north end of
the beach, flew southward, over the dunes near the fishing pier, and toward the
harbor (southeastward).? Tom Saunders has looked at the small roosts of gulls
in the area without relocating it.? Other than a candidate at Kiptopeke several
years ago, I have not seen a first-cycle California Gull at all in the East,
though I have seen a fair number of adults in North Carolina and southeastern
Virginia.? I know of only a few Virginia records/reports of younger California
Gulls, and rather few for the Atlantic Coast generally, so it was a pleasure to
see one.? I did not have a camera (was walking the dog), but I will try to
relocate the bird and will post if I can find it again.?
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
