The Great White Ghost from the North

This Winter this moniker would most aptly be given to the Snowy Owl.  Having already had three sightings of this bird in my county, however, I am going to apply it to another bird that I have been anticipating.  There have been two separate occasions where others have come to Webster and seen the bird; I have been keeping my eyes peeled for three months now, waiting for the bird to make an appearance in my binocular-aided field of vision.
It wasn't until yesterday that I was rewarded with a view of this winter-visitor from the North.  As I scanned the lake from the north side of the lake yesterday, I happened to get a glimpse of a large congregation of Common Mergansers with quite a few (~50) gulls going nuts while feeding on something in the water.  I wasn't sure if I was close enough to get a good view of the gulls, but I thought I'd take a quick glimpse before I headed to the south side of the lake.  Not long after I started scoping the gulls, I got a quick look at a Herring Gull-sized gull that had pearly-white primaries: Glaucous Gull (#97)!  From this vantage point, the sun shone through the primaries giving the bird a noticeably distinct appearance from the Herrings that surrounded the bird.  From the north side of the lake, though, I could not tell if the bird was a 1st- or 2nd-cycle gull; I couldn't see if the bird had gray on its mantle or if it was white, speckled with brown/black spots.  I also couldn't see if the bill was pink with a black tip or yellow (as a 3rd-cycle or adult bird would have).
I drove down to the south side of the lake and after a few minutes found the bird again.  From this vantage, I could tell that the bird was either a 3rd-cycle or adult bird.  The mantle was a light gray, noticeably lighter than the adjacent Herrings.  I could tell the bird had a yellow bill; however, I could not tell if the bird had a thin ring towards the end of the bill.  Thus, I could not differentiate whether it was an adult or 3rd-cycle bird.  Regardless, these ages are much more rarely seen in Kansas than 1st- or 2nd-cycle bird.  So I found an even rarer plumage of a rare winter visitor to the state, one that I have been waiting for a while now.  I love when patience pays off!
The Glaucous Gull was my 180th county bird and my 222nd Kansas bird.  I don't think it will be too long before I get to 200 for the county.  There are still a few easy birds (Yellow-headed Blackbird, Orchard Oriole, White-rumped Sandpiper, etc.) that I should get with no problem in the coming months. There are also quite a few birds (both godwits, Red-necked Phalarope, Black-headed Grosbeak, etc.) that I shouldn't have too much problem getting in one of the next few migrations times without having to do special searches for them.
Also of note, I have most of my target winter birds taken care of.  Now I can spend March looking for new migrants and specifically targeting waterfowl (Cinnamon Teal, Long-tailed Duck, Greater Scaup, and the scoters) and owls (Long-eared, Short-eared, and Barn).