Glaucous-winged Gull

Glaucous-winged Gulls are found around the Pacific Rim, from Japan to northern Oregon. This individual opened mollusks by dropping them on the rocky mud flat at low tide where Schneider Creek meets Budd Bay in Olympia on 3 April 2021. I figure this is a first winter gull, judging by its black bill and white wing tips. Glaucous-winged Gulls are abundant here and inhabit ocean waters and urban areas. In Puget Sound, these gulls hybridize with the more southern-breeding Western Gulls. There are almost no pure birds in the hybrid swarm that breeds here.