I have noticed--personally, and far more often by reports going back over a hundred years--that here in the landlocked central counties immature smaller gulls, however rare, (such as Sabine's, Bonaparte's, little, and Franklin's gulls) are much more likely to show up here than adults of these species, by and large in the fall season, when they are inexperienced. My guess is that these first-year smaller gulls may often rely on blind direction--that is, heading south where conditions are warmer--even if they must fly over forests and mountains. Larger adult gulls are less likely to migrate south overland (though some may spend the winter foraging at large unfrozen inland reservoirs, where young birds less often stay for long), but most of them head east along the Great Lakes and rivers to reach the sea via shortcut, as will small gulls once they mature. This phenomenon seems to apply to jaegers, too; nearly all of the jaegers seen inland in Ohio have been juveniles, with the mature birds presumably taking the Seaway east. One way of looking at it is that many amateurs may head south overland here, but the pros usually take the water route east. How do they learn to adjust their migrations? One explanation might be that migrant flocks of adult gulls may easily accept other adults as companions, but tend to shun small youngsters... If anyone knows of research done on this phenomenon I'd be glad to have a reference, or if anyone has speculations that would be good to hear as well. Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]