Bird chasing gull at Bamberton Beach, Vancouver Island

[james]

Yesterday my family and I were at the beach and I saw two birds in a high speed chase. One was a Mew Gull and the other was brown with a light belly and narrower wings than the gull. They were pretty far away, even with binoculars, but my first thought was that the pursuer might be a jaeger. It was only slightly bigger than the gull, though, and I've never seen a jaeger. Any ideas on most likely candidates for ID?

[Chris]

Hi James, could also be a juvenile gull of a different species.

[james]

Thanks Chris, that is a possibility I overlooked. Either way I'll be back to see if there's any more action at the beach