This morning I birded the Atwater sewage ponds and found an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. It landed on the dike separating the north and south ponds. The bird was noticeably bigger than the nearby Ring-billed Gulls, with solid dark wings and back, and yellow legs. I took some pictures from a long distance, then walked around the pond to see if I could get closer. The light was bad in the new location, so I walked back and was walking beneath the dike and not keeping the ponds in view. When I got back to my original location I scanned the gulls again, and I couldn't find it again! Ron Erpelding went out and looked, and he called me and said he did not refind it either. Just giving you fair warning in case you go look.
Here is my eBird checklist where you can see pictures of the Lesser Black- backed Gull. http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18081509 I did not find the American Avocet this morning. Tony Lau birded the ponds yesterday and found a Red-necked Grebe and an American Pipit. I did see and photograph an American Pipit on the north shore of the southern pond this morning. Josh Wallestad http://www.aboywhocriedheron.com http://birdingacrossamerica.com ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html