The Red Dot

I've been noticing this red dot on the bill of some Sea Gulls. After some research, here is what I've learned. The Western Gulls have the red dot on their bill. The other two are California Gulls and have the dark spot on their bill. There are many other kinds of gulls and to make it even more complicated their feather colors change over several years as they mature. All this makes it a little tricky to identify each kind.

It is interesting to note that the California Gull is the Utah state bird. The California Gull swooped down in1848 and ate hoards of crickets that were destroying the crops of the pioneers. The people of Utah showed their appreciation by naming the California Gull their state bird in 1955. How cool is that?

Minus Tide

We caught a low tide of -1.2 the other day. There was so much sand to drive on and the beach was swept clean.

The Seagulls and Sanderlings were having a feast on all those critters in the sand that they had access to because the water was so low.
It was a Sand crab buffet!