Highlights: Fairfield, Penfield Reef- 2 adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, 400+ BONAPARTES GULLS, 1 drake PINTAIL, 1 AM. OYSTERCATCHER other birds: 7,500++ Scaup, 1,000 +/- Brant, 125 Common Goldeneye, 250 Scoter (mostly White Wing), 450 Sanderlings/Dunlin (mostly sanderling), 2 additional flocks unidentified small shorebirds at end of reef (probably sanderling/dunlin), 9 Black Bellied Plover, 50 Red Breasted Mergansers, approx. 65 Green Winged Teal, 5 Wigeon, 100+ Oldsquaw, hundreds+ assorted waterfowl flying out in the Sound past the lighthouse (probably Scaup and Scoter). West Haven boat ramp- first cycle ICELAND GULL Guilford, Lost Lake- BLACK-HEADED GULL continues. First I would like to personally Thank James Purcell for his exciting report last night, and for his generosity in giving me details to the birds location and directions. Thank You James! I am trying to remember everything I saw this morning, but it was difficult and very overwhelming. (7:30 am - 12:00 pm). Low tide, easterly wind light to moderate snow. The reef was exposed and Gulls covered the entire length of the reef (both edges and in the middle) to the end-mostly Ring-billed Gulls for the first 3/4 of the reef, Herring Gulls and G B B Gulls the last part of the Reef to the end. Conservative estimates- total-8,000++. Not including the later massive swarms I saw out beyond the Lighthouse. I walked out and back many times as far as the SE bend in the reef to about 3/4 the way to the end. The gulls would just fly around me, and regroup so I could look at them again when I was walking in. On my second walk out about a third of the way out, I saw a single adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the eastern side of the reef. He was swimming near the reef with 5 Herring Gulls. He flew off a short distance to the beginning of the reef (photos both swimming and flying). I resumed walking out the reef when I saw another adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the western side of the reef. It was standing on the shore mixed with both Ring Billed and Herring Gulls. I got photos of the second bird both standing and flying. This bird flew around me, and then out farther on the reef. All the time, Scaup were flying in continual flocks from the west numbering from a few to several hundred and began rafting up on the eastern side of the reef about 1/2 mile out from the reef. The raft started in the harbor area, and extended well beyond the reef and Lighthouse into the Sound. I am sure there were over 7,500 Scaup in this raft, I just couldn't see the end of the raft, my binoculars range was exhausted. The birds flew constantly while I was there, and were still flying when I left at noon. Same with the Brant. All the birds came from the west, and rafted up along the entire eastern length of the reef. They were still flying when I left. All the birds listed above under highlights were present along the reef, some flew back and forth, some landed and some flew over. The OYSTERCATCHER was walking on the reef with a few Ring Billed Gulls. It flew off to stones at the end of the reef when the tide began to cover the majority of the reef. The single drake PINTAIL flew over my head at the small jetty at the start of the reef. The oddest part of the day were the Green Winged Teal flying with the SCaup. All the shorebirds were hanging out on the reef and beach with the exception of the B B PLovers, they flew over the reef heading SE over the Sound. After walking back and forth a few more times searching through as many gulls as I could looking for something that stood out; I spotted one gull that was different; not similar to either Lesser Black Backed I saw and photographed. I lost sight of it when the flock of Herring Gulls it was associating with took flight. I raised my binoculars to hopefully find it and ID when a small amount of snow that had accumulated in the eye pieces of my binoculars went into my eyes and made me blink a bit. What I saw was a large gull about the same size as the Herring Gulls it was with. Very dark back and much wider white terminal banding on the tertials and secondaries, with a heavily streaked brownish head and quite dark feathering around the eyes. If anyone is in the area, they might want to keep a eye out for this gull.....now I need to know what it was!!?? The flock of Gulls that contained this gull headed west to the distant reef off the farthest point. By this time, I didn't see any Bonapartes Gulls, anywhere. Heading back to the start of the reef. I saw a few hundred gulls spread out on the sand bars along the beaches of either side of the reef. I looked on a small high ground sandbar to the west of the reef and saw what appeared to be a few small gulls mixed in with the Ring Billed Gulls. I walked through the shallow water to the sandbar and saw 5 BONAPARTES GULLS standing and preening (around 9:15). After a few short walks back out onto the remaing reef, I began to see a few Bonapartes Gulls flying in from the east. The birds landed on the small sandbars to the east of the reef. When I walked over to them I noticed 7. By now the tide was coming in at a pretty good pace and the small sandbars disappeared. The Ring Billed had begun to spread out along the beach and began surface feeding. Within 15 minutes, Bonapartes Gulls were flying from the east and landing on the beach near the second small rock jetty. The number had grown to 100. I walked up to them and began looking through all of them for red bills and legs, black ventral primaries or hopefully a Little Gull. The gulls were tightly packed, and even though I didn't see anything other than Bonapartes Gulls, I took insurance images of all the birds to look through later. A dog came running down the beach and over the jetty. The gulls took off and flew a short distance into the water joining the feeding Ring Billed Gulls. By now the Bonapartes Gulls had grown to 250. I also examined every small gull that flew in for dark ventral primaries or short blunted wings with dark wing linings. At around 11:15, a massive swirling flock of thousands and thousands of gulls could be seen out in the Sound about a mile outside the Lighthouse. The whole horizon was filled with a white swarming mass. Thye birds appeared to drift farther out in the Sound and out of binocular view. I went back and stood on the end of the first small jetty just east of the now disappearing reef. All the Bonapartes Gulls were feeding heavily in an area within a 75 foot radius of me. All the gulls were Bonapartes Gulls and many have begun to show the beginnings of the black hood, with most having broad double straps on their heads. By the time I was leaving (around noon) the Bonapartes Gulls numbered over 400. The majority of the reef was now covered, and as far as you could see was one massive blanket of feeding gulls, Scaup and Brant....the water was literally covered with birds. I would think this afternoon would be unbelievable there! Good Luck to anyone that shows up! Heading home I stopped at a few favorite spots to check. Stratford, Long Beach Park (12:30) beaches were empty. Stratford Boat Ramp, Coot, Gadwall and Black Ducks. 2 Great Egrets. West Haven/Woodmont Circle, Oyster River; maybe 50 Gulls, nothing stood out. West Haven Beaches/Bradley Point beaches/Sandy Point sandbar: 100-200 gulls-I didn't stop to look. West Haven boat ramp- a first cycle darker plumage ICELAND GULL was standing in the middle of the parking lot with 100 other gulls taking bread from the bread lady. It looks like one of the two gulls I photographed there in Jan/early Feb. Guilford, Lost Lake-my old friend the BLACK-HEADED GULL continues. It was swimming alone in Lost Lake. Great day for gulling, I wish I found that Little Gull!! Keith Mueller Killingworth