FIELD NOTES Doug Bell July 6, 1985 Location: Sugarloaf Rock, Cape Mendocino, Humboldt Co., CA Time: Sunrise -> 13:00 Woke up late. Out of camp by 8:30 am. I headed with gun directly to creek mouth, where ca. 20 gulls were resting. Low tide. As these birds took off they drifted over my position. A couple shots didn't bring any birds down, although I think some were indeed peppered. Soon about 20 more birds drifted in. Took another shot at one which I thought was an adult. Hit it - it opened its bill, but did not emit any noise, flew startled first away, then back across my path. Second shot hit it again, but the gull flew on almost 100 yards out into the surf, lost sight of it, but soon saw a dead gull, belly up, floating in surf. Had to skip across 100 yards of low exposed rock to get to the surf and retrieve the bird - a gull (J-DAB044) in probably its last year of sub-ad. plumage. Bright yellow bill w/red spot, slight black on tail, some brownish-grey on mantle. No brood patches. Prepared this bird. 13:00 -> 17:00 Mareen and I drove thru Petrolia, Ettersburg on way to Shelter Cove. Shelter Cove was a real letdown. Too many people, campers, airplanes, boats and subdivision style roads criss-crossing the mountains.. Shelter Cove itself is beautiful. lots of imm. A sub-adult gull hanging around the cove. No breeding sites, though. On drive back up the western side of Kings Range we saw a Purple Martin. Very nice views as it sallied about a canyon.