Jan. 14, 2005 - A DULL (OVERCAST) GULL DAY - It was a gray day in Parksville - perfect for taking pictures of gulls, and that's what I did for a half hour this afternoon at Parksville Beach. As mentioned previously, my gull skills are very limited so I try to focus on the typical adults. However, that isn't as foolproof as it might appear. Don't be surprised to find a few mistakes.

DINNER GUEST - There's nothing like a free lunch to attract the gulls on Parksville Beach. This Glaucous-winged Gull was no exception as it zeroed in on a bread crumb snack.

CLASSIC GLAUCOUS-WINGED - Only about a tenth of the gulls responded to the free lunch. Most of them, like this Glaucous-winged seemed completely disinterested. I wonder if this was a case of "pecking order", or most of the gulls weren't into "junk food".

DIGNIFIED RING-BILLED - Ring-billed Gulls have been characterized as garbage birds, but this bird was happy to look for its own food.

COOL, CLEAR WATER - I'm not sure if gulls drink salt water like some ducks, but the (?) Gull sure enjoyed drinking from the fresh water stream running over the beach.

MEW GULL - There seems to be a lot of interbreeding with most gulls. What about the Mew Gulls?

Jan. 20/04 - The several days of record rain haven't been any good for photography, but I got a lot done on another project I'm working on, so I'm happy. How about you? I think the gulls are happy too as there were hundreds of them in every flooded field I saw today on the way to Qualicum. It was still raining when I stopped to take a few pictures along the beach, but the sun even came out when I got home. However, I needed a few pictures to complete this journal, and for better or worse, mission accomplished.

1, 2, 3, STRETCH - Everyone is into fitness these days, and so is the Western Gull. Notice the black under the left wing.

WHERE'S THE SUN? - Even the Western Gull is tired of all the rain.

AN UNTURNED STONE - Here's one stone that the Black Turnstone won't turn.

A BROWN SCOTER? - With political correctness dominating the scene these days, will gender equity affect the name of the Black Scoter?

RAINING FLICKERS - I made one stop on the way home by Eaglecrest where it was raining rain, Robins, and Northern Flickers. If the weather were decent, I could have gotten some good shots as there were Flickers all over the place. I was surprised that this picture turned out ok. (Photo note: most of today's pictures were taken at about a 60th of a second - that's the advantage of a tripod.)