Date: 3/14/26 9:36 am From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] A Gull Named Bob
Hmmm
Could be Bob has passed on;, but some Bobs are VERY OLD; but still around,
You can find them anywhere.
S/he might have been home at some point in the past..
Check these out. They are short-form urls that you must click on twice to
open the full site;
All photos by Bob
Best regards, Bob
On Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 7:57 PM Alan Roedell <alanroedell...> wrote:
> Eloquent!
>
> On Fri, Mar 13, 2026, 7:25 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> AreIs Bob's photos available online somewhere? Seems intriguing.
>> Best Regards, Bob from Portland
>> Or, preferably, send Bob down here.
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 7:18 PM Carol Riddell via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>>> Hey Tweets,
>>>
>>> Okay. Showing my age here. How many still alive and still subscribing to
>>> Tweeters remember the ID controversy of Bob? Marv Breece does because his
>>> excellent photo of Bob appears on page 67 of Gene Hunn’s Birding in Seattle
>>> and King County (2d ed.) with some accompanying text on page 68. Bob
>>> appeared each winter between 2004 and 2009, in both the Kent Valley and the
>>> south end of Lake Washington (Cedar River mouth). Bob always inspired
>>> lively debates over his/her ID. Iceland nominate glaucoides? Thayer’s?
>>> Kumlien’s? Runt Glaucous Gull? Those were fun times to listen in on the
>>> debates of local experts. I don’t think Bob ever got a definitive ID, but
>>> Gene Hunn did get in the last word! Those were good times when Tweeters was
>>> the definitive place to share and discuss birding information. Now we have
>>> eBird, Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups by county, and Tweeters still
>>> limping along. I rue the balkanization of our sharing and discussing birds.
>>> When everyone came to the discussion table at Tweeters, it allowed new
>>> birders to benefit from more experienced birders and for lots of people to
>>> get to know each other statewide.
>>>
>>> It is fun to see that even an expert such as Amar Ayyash is reluctant to
>>> give a definitive ID based on the Hadley-Robinson photo of the Cedar River
>>> mouth gull. But such fun to puzzle over the photo and to be humbled by gull
>>> identification. At least Amar did not offer the possibility of a runt
>>> Glaucous Gull! It is an Iceland Gull of some race. Thanks so much Jane, for
>>> sharing the photo, the various Tweeters opinions, as well as that of Amar.
>>> And I second Jane’s recommendation for his excellent 2024 Gull Guide.
>>>
>>> Good Birding,
>>>
>>> Carol Riddell
>>> Edmonds, WA
>>> cariddellwa at gmail dot com
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