Jerry Smith of Orrington is an expert on gulls as well as hawks. Both are hard to identify. In February seven Audubon birders braved the cold, windy weather to learn about gulls from Jerry.

They crowded into one car and went from Bangor to Belfast,with stops to look for birds in Winterport, Stockton Springs, Sears Island and Searsport harbor. Cold wind and rough water made it difficult, but they tallied a total of 30 bird species, including 10 duck species and five gull species.

Among the many common gulls, Jerry found two glaucous gulls in Searsport harbor. Jerry not only identifies gulls, he also can tell their ages and he said these were secondyears. Glaucous gulls are a larger than herring gulls, and second-year glaucous gulls are nearly all white. “Glaucous” means grayish white or with a powdery look.

By the time they are four years old, glaucous gulls have a very light gray back and wings.

Next, Jerry found an adult Iceland gull at Belfast Harbor among several thousands of the common gulls such as herring, black-backed and ring-billed gulls. An Iceland gull is smaller than herring gulls. Its wings and back are very light gray.

Pleased to find these unusual gulls, the birders celebrated and warmed up with a hot, delicious lunch at the Belfast Coop.

The glaucous and Iceland gulls make their nests and bring up their young in the high Arctic before flying south to the coast of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Maine for winter. National birding groups sometimes stay in Bangor to see these species that can be found with more common gulls on the ice of the Penobscot River in Bangor.

It is likely that the number of glaucous and Iceland gulls that is already small will decline with global warming.

Onward toward the arrival of spring. Last week, other birders and I saw robins, and we have been hearing cardinal, tufted titmouse, chickadee and mourning dove songs, another sign of the incipient spring. If you look carefully, a few willow shrubs are already showing pussy willows.

For information on Fields Pond Audubon Center, call 989-2591.