Highlights: This morning (8:45 am - 11:45 am) Falling tide light southerly winds Stratford, Long Beach Park- (9:15 am) 1 fly-by 3rd cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL heading SE coming from Bridgeport Harbor area. Stratford sea wall- out in front of Marnick's Restaurant- (Very quick view) 1st cycle ICELAND GULL Stratford, Short Beach- (10:00 am) 550-600 BONAPARTES GULLS on the beach and swimming along the beach in front of the parking lot. 1 BLACK-HEADED GULL mixed in with one group of mostly Ring Billed Gulls standing/resting on the beach at the southern end of the park. Stratford, Long Beach Park (11:00 am) 2 PIPING PLOVERS along the beach out in front of the entrance booth. Additional highlights: 800+ Brant, 500+ Scaup, 50+ W W Scoter mostly outside from the eastern point of Long Beach Park to Stratford Point. Picked up my truck from the repair shop at 7:30 am this morning. Had a little business planned and then take my wife out for lunch in Stratford, so a good oportunity for a little gulling. Started the morning at 8:45 at Long Beach Park. There were approx. 2,000 gulls in the area from the east and western ends of the beach and two large roosting groups in the marsh at the gut. Many gulls were flying in both directions (mostly Ring Billed Gulls). I took a walk first down the beach at the western end of the parking area. All I could find were mostly Ring Billed 80%, 18% Herring and the remainder G B B Gulls. I then walked to the eastern end of the beach to the point near the broken jetty and there was a good concentration of gulls on the point/jetty and in the cove; same perportions as above. There was also a large concentration of Brant on the beach line and flying towards Bridgeport. When I went back to the western end of the parking lot for the second time, a large flock of gulls were flying from the Bridgeport Harbor area. This flock contained a single 3rd cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (could have been one of the two I photographed last week at Penfield Reef). The entire flock headed east beyond the point. Stopping at Marnicks restaurant next at the sea wall, there were at least 1500 gulls in the area including 450 Ring Billed Gulls standing on the beach next to the restaurant. Of course I searched through all the gulls looking for a (hopeful) possible Mew Gull with no luck. The Brant and Scaup continually flew by in both directions and I could see a few rafts towards Stratford Point. I was searching through the gulls out in front of the sea wall by the restaurant and on the outer fringes of the group I found a single 1st cycle ICELAND GULL about 100 yards out. I only saw the bird for ten seconds when a car pulled up behind me and a pleasant gentleman who lived nearby was a bit curious as to why there were so many gulls lately? And also what the tiny geese were called? I politely answered his questions as best I could and we had a brief chat. When he thanked me and drove off, I turned around to relocate the gull, but of course it was gone. I don't know where it went or in what direction. Heading over to Cove Beach, I saw two rafts of Brant and Scaup in the cove near the lighthouse and off the point. The gulls were starting to gather off the beach. At this point, I didn't see any Bonapartes Gulls. Next I drove over to Short Beach. When I drove into the park, they were cleaning and grading the beach. There were three flocks of gulls on the beach (one on the north end, one in the middle and one on the south end) containing at least 100-150 birds in each group, mostly Ring Billed. I walked down to the water in the middle of the beach, and first saw two large groups of gulls on Pompeys Bar off Milford Point. I then noticed two large flocks of gulls (over 250 in each flock) out from the beach where I was standing. When I got closer, I heard the calls of Bonapartes Gulls. The two flocks were made up entirely of BONAPARTES GULLS. THe large beach pay loader/grader equipment on the beach had left several piles of dry beach debris and weed. The Ring Billed Gulls kept changing positions when the grader came close to them. In the one flock at the south side of the beach, a single BLACK-HEADED GULL was loafing with the Ring Billed Gulls. The entire flock lifted up when the grader came close to them. The Black-headed Gull flew out over the beach heading south with a small group of Ring Billed Gulls and I lost them in the sun. I noticed that some of the Bonapartes Gulls flew in and landed on the beach near one of these piles on the north side of the beach/park. As I watched more and more Bonapartes Gulls flew into the beach joining the others. I walked slowly to the pile of beach debris and sat along side of the pile using it as a hide. More and more Bonapartes Gulls flew in, and the beach flock grew larger, I was scanning all the birds with my binoculars for that Little Gull, but became difficult as one of the flocks was swimming in the sun reflected water. I then estimated the flock at 500 and posted this on CT Birds site. At one point half the gulls were 20 yards in front of me, and I was able to take many good images; it was a perfect set-up. I began to count the birds, and counted approx. 550-600 Bonapartes Gulls. When all the Bonapartes Gulls were mostly in front of me (some on the beach, some in the water) a single beach jogger came from the north and continued to run down the beach. I motioned with my camera that I was taking pictures, but he continued and ran between the gulls and me, and you know the result. Most of the Bonapartes Gulls flew south down the beach and flew over the houses heading towards Cove Beach. A small group remained at the south side of the park on the beach and in the water. I went back to Long Beach Park, and most of the gulls were gone except a few hundred at both ends of the beach. I walked down to the eastern point and found 250 gulls mostly Ring Billed. When When I was walking back to my truck, a pair of PIPING PLOVERS landed on the beach in front of me (near the entrance booth), and I managed a bunch of good images. THey were there when I left. I reversed my trip to Cove Place Beach and found that a small group of 750-1000 gulls had begun to start surface feeding. By now the wind started to pick up a bit from the sw. A kind gentlemen birder told me of a small gull group in the cove by the lighthouse and I walked down the beach. There were maybe 250+ gulls mixed with SCaup, Brant and W W Scoter inside the cove just nw of the lighthouse. The gulls flew off to join the feeding gulls off the beach. A quick stop at Short Beach again, and a small group of Bonapartes Gulls remained on the beach at the south end of the park. STratford boat ramp- few Coots and Gadwall The best part of the day: lunch with my wife!! On the way home I stopped at a few of my favorite spots: West Haven/Woodmont Oyster River- maybe 75 gulls on the sandbars. West Haven Beaches/W H boat ramp/Long Wharf- not many gulls at all! Keith Mueller Killingworth http://pelagic2011.blogspot.com/