Gulling after work in Costa del Este

And who can resist to stop after having this sight? I passed by Costa del Este this evening in order to check the flock of gulls (and shorebirds) that rest at the mouth of the Matías Hernández river with the high tide. I wanted to have a closer look despite my completely inappropriate office shoes and the clouds of chiggers in the beach. As usual, it was mostly composed by hundreds of Laughing Gulls, but a more careful scrutiny revealed a few Franklin's Gulls of different ages and at least two Black Skimmers . A decidedly smaller and slimmer gull catched my attention. It was easy to find among the hundreds of Laughings by size alone. It was browner above and whiter below than any juvenile plumaged bird around, with a thinner bill and a general more delicate shape. Unfortunately, it didn't show the wings or the tail. I'm still guessing its identity (maybe a juvenile Franklin's or simply a little aberrant Laughing?). Take a look and share your thoughts.

There were also a good number of shorebirds, in the form of Marbled Godwits, Willets, Short-billed Dowitchers, Whimbrels and few Black-necked Stilts. It was notable the abscence of sandpipers, like it has seen during all the season, with only Spotted Sandpipers along the shore. A group of noisy Southern Lapwings distracted me for a while, whereas a dark cloud in the distance turned out to be a flock of Black-bellied Plovers in synchronized flight that settled too far away for my camera. And thus the sun started to fall down over the horizon, indicating in that way that it was time to go away... away of the chiggers.