It has been an interesting winter for gulls at Blue Marsh L. in Berks County. A first winter Glaucous Gull was there 1/28, a dark imm. Thayer's type Iceland Gull on 2/3 and a much lighter imm. Iceland Gull today, 2/4. All these are described in eBird reports. Besides those rarities, we've seen more than the usual number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and recently a few Great Black-backed Gulls. As usual, the most abundant gull is Ring-billed (up to 5000 counted some days, but not that many recently) and more than the usual number of Herring Gulls, with local birders commenting on the large number of brown immatures present. Most of my eBird reports get flagged for high numbers of Herrings, sometimes in the hundreds. If you go, try State Hill Boat Launch in mid- to late afternoon, when gulls arrive for the night and afternoon light streaming over your shoulder really helps in identifying the gulls out on the ice. Scope necessary. E. J. Breneman Quarry, just over the hill from the lake, has lots of handsome ducks to look at if you get tired of gulls. Rudy Keller Boyertown, PA Berks County
