On Lake Fremont near Zimmerman there was the typical string of hundreds of gulls present last night (have counted up to 1500 in past) as this lake begins to open up. One gull had a dark mantle, and appeared larger than the Ring-billed around it, although smaller than the few Herrings present. However, the bird was at least 3/4 of a mile away, observed at 20-60X through heat shimmer. Therefore I wouldn't assert this bird's ID in a court of law. First of year Vesper Sparrow in Sherburne Refuge, Blue Hill Trail this morning. Surprisingly, have not observed or heard a Brewer's Blackbird yet. Good birding to all! Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html