A flock of 6 birds in this molt-like plumage were found busily bathing and preening between 10-100 feet off the ebbing bayside waterline about 100 yards north of the start of Plum Hills. I'm not sure what the age or gender is, and the photos are not sharp enough to help much as I took them from a distance. The options appear to be females or eclipse males. The plumage is so indistinct that I'm guessing that these are first year birds and quite likely males. (Informed insights to rbowes@bowesweb.com will be appreciated.)