01 March 2025

February 2025 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

  • Ross's Gull (adult). Ford County, Kansas. 01 February 2025.
    • Continuing 2nd state record. Found dead on 05 February 2025.
  • Kamchatka Gull (adult). Essex County, Massachusetts. 01 February 2025.
    • Likely two different individuals present in this general region.
  • Swallow-tailed Gull (adult). Los Angeles County, California. 05 February 2025.
    • 1st County Record. 9th State Record.
  • Vega Gull (adult type). Volusia County, Florida. 05 February 2025.
  • Vega Gull (adult). Cameron County, Texas. 08 February 2025.
    • Continuing from January 2025.
  • Vega Gull (adult). Alameda County, California. 12 February 2025.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Franklin & Benton County, Washington. 12 February 2025.
    • Presumably the same returning adult with semipalmated feet, since at least 2016.
  • Kamchatka Gull (adult). Westchester County, New York. 17 February 2025.
    • 1ST STATE RECORD. Same individual that has returned to Fairfield County, Connecticut since at least 2019.
  • Glaucous-winged type (2nd/3rd cycle). Sarasota County, Florida. 19 January 2025.
    • 1ST STATE OCCURENCE. Tending mostly to Glaucous-winged. Inconclusive.
  • California Gull (2nd cycle type). Sarasota County, Florida. 20 January 2025.
  • Thayer's Gull (adult type). Sarasota County, Florida. 20 January 2025. 
  • Vega Gull (2nd cycle). San Diego County, California. 22 February 2025.
    • Continuing since October 2024.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (subadult). St. John's, NL. 24 February 2025.
  • Heermann's Gull (6th cycle/adult). Volusia County, Florida. 24 February 2025.
    • After an almost one-year absence from Florida, this individual has returned south from North Carolina, in alternate plumage. 
  • Glaucous-winged Gull (3rd cycle). Strafford County, New Hampshire. 24 February 2025.
  • Kamchatka Gull (adult). Fairfield County, Connecticut. 25 February 2025.
    • Continuing.
  • Kelp Gull (2nd cycle). Cameron County, Texas. 27 February 2025.
    • Continuing at the Brownsville Landfill.


Notes:

1. The adult Common Gull, BLUE 74J, that was first found in Norfolk County, Massachusetts in April 2018, and then subsequently seen in Rockland and Cumberland County, Maine this winter (2024-2025) was banded under a University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) project that monitors the movements and population dynamics of Ring-billed Gulls. The gull was misidentified as a Ring-billed at the time of banding and assigned an ambiguous age. It serves as a great reminder of how valuable photos can be when banding a gull, or any bird for that matter, and the importance of expertise when handling birds. You can read more about this interesting story by Louis Bevier here. Thanks to Alex Lamoreaux for sharing this news on North American Gulls. 

2. The Swallow-tailed Gull found in Los Angeles County this month may very well be the same individual that has been furnishing a number of first county records along the California coast in recent years. Interestingly, all of the recent California sightings involve an adult type in alternate plumage.

3. An interesting, dark mantled Herring type first found in Suffolk County, New York in February 2022 has returned for another winter. This individual, with bright yellow legs and all-white tip to p10 has elements of northern argentatus, European Herring Gull. The pattern on p9 and p10, however, combine for an atypical combination for nominate argentatus. Despite the great amount of variation found in that taxon, given the yellow legs, it's a nonideal record, and ruling out a hybrid (likely involving Lesser Black-backed Gull) is not possible. 

4. The Glaucous-winged type found in Sarasota County, Florida by John Groskopf should be the first official state record involving this taxon. Ruling out outside influence (likely Herring) is not trivial.

Featured Highlight March 2025 - Video 3

Welcome to Featured Highlights, March 2025. This video series aims to highlight ideas found in The Gull Guide - North America. I'll be expanding on and detailing concepts you're reading about in the book, beginning with establishing a foundation for molt and plumage. 

Video 3 reviews the four molt strategies found in birds, detailing that which is found in our small gulls such as Bonaparte's and Sabine's Gull. It is strongly recommended that you watch Video 1 & Video 2 beforehand.


                                         

Requests and suggestions can be forwarded to thegullguide@gmail.com

02 February 2025

Featured Highlight February 2025 - Video 2

Welcome to Featured Highlights, February 2025, a video series that aims to highlight ideas found in The Gull Guide - North America. I'll be expanding on and detailing concepts you're reading about in the book, beginning with establishing a foundation for molt and plumage. 

In this video we review the definitions of juvenile and 1st alternate plumage and also provide a few interesting examples of 1st alternate plumages in species such as Yellow-footed and Kelp Gull. Be sure you've watched Video 1 before this.


Requests and suggestions can be forwarded to thegullguide@gmail.com


Click on thumbnail above and be sure to watch in HD


01 February 2025

January 2025 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

  • Vega Gull (2nd cycle). San Diego County, California. 01 January 2025.
    • 1st County Record, first discovered in October 2024.1
  • Gray Gull (1st cycle). Cameron County, Texas. 03 January 2025.
    • 1ST STATE RECORD.2
  • Little Gull (adult). Charles Mix County, South Dakota. 03 January 2025.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). North River County, Quebec. 03 January 2025.
    • Continuing.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Muskegon County, Michigan. 04 January 2025.
    • Continuing.
  • Sabine's Gull (1st cycle). Palm Beach County, Florida. 05 January 2025.
  • Kelp Gull (1st/2nd cycle). Nueces County, Texas. 06 January 2025.
    • Continuing. p1 dropped between 05 and 06 January.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Charlotte County, New Brunswick. 06 January 2025.
  • Short-billed Gull (1st cycle). Mason County, Michigan. 13 January 2025.
    • 1st County Record; 3rd State Record.3
  • Short-billed Gull (1st cycle). Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 14 January 2025.
    • 1st County Record. 4th State Record.
  • Vega Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 15 January 2025.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry County, Ontario. 17 January 2025.
  • Little Gull (2nd cycle). Marion County, Tennesse. 18 January 2025.
    • 1st County Record.
  • Heermann's Gull (adult). New Hanover County, North Carolina. 19 January 2025.
    • Presumably the Atlantic coast bird, now 6th cycle.
  • Black-headed Gull (1st cycle). Brevard County, Florida. 23 January 2025.
  • Kelp Gull (2nd cycle). Cameron County, Texas. 25 January 2025.
    • 2nd County Record. The same individual found last month in Nueces & Kleberg County. Now with 2nd prebasic molt in motion with new p1 emerging, p2-p3 dropped.
  • Black-headed Gull (adult). Salt Lake County, Utah. 25 January 2025.
    • 2nd State Record. 
  • Kamchatka Gull (adult). Essex County, Massachusetts. 26 January 2025.
    • Possibly a returning adult.
  • Vega Gull (adult). Cameron County, Texas. 28 January 2025.
    • Putatively, a returning adult (no open wing).
  • Slaty-backed Gull (1st cycle). Midway Atoll, Midway Islands. 29 January 2025.
  • Kamchatka Gull (adult). Fairfield County, Connecticut. 31 January 2025.
    • Continuing
  • Ross's Gull (adult). Ford County, Kansas. 31 January 2025. 
    • 2nd State Record.

Notes: 

1. The 2nd cycle Vega Gull found in San Diego County on 01 January 2025 was observed offshore on a pelagic trip, and then, amazingly, relocated days later some 35 miles away, inland at Lower Otay Reservoir. It was still being seen as of 31 January 2025. There are reports of this bird first being seen in October 2024 by Matt Sadowski.

2. Perhaps the most anticipated site in Texas where a Gray Gull would be found, a 1st State Record was found at the Brownsville Landfill by Justin LeClaire on 03 January 2025. 

3. Over the years Michigan has aggregated 8 Common/Mew Gull records, pre-split, without a specific designation given to most of these. Only 2 of these have been accepted as bona fide brachyrhynchus, now Short-billed Gull. Thus, the Mason County individual from 13 January 2025 should be a 3rd State Record.


01 January 2025

Featured Highlight January 2025 - Video 1

Welcome to Featured Highlights. This monthly video series aims to highlight ideas found in The Gull Guide - North America. I'll be expanding on and detailing concepts you're reading about in the book, beginning with establishing a foundation for molt and plumage. 

This first video explains juvenile and 1st alternate plumage, and the patterns we find in several species including Lesser Black-backed Gull, Heermann's, American Herring and Thayer's Gull. 

Requests and suggestions can be forwarded to thegullguide@gmail.com



Click on thumbnail above and be sure to watch in HD








31 December 2024

December 2024 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

  • California Gull (2nd cycle). Butler County, Pennsylvania. 01 December 2024.
  • California Gull (adult). Wayne County, Michigan. 03 December 2024.
  • Yellow-footed Gull (adult). Clark County, Nevada. 03 December 2024.
    • Continuing since September. Presumably a returning bird since March 2022.
  • Great Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Lewis & Clark County, Montana. 09 December 2024.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Kawartha County, Ontario. 13 December 2024.
  • Swallow-tailed Gull (adult). Sonoma County, California. 13 December 2024.
    • Interestingly, this is the same site of the October 2017 Swallow-tailed Gull sighting, suggesting a likelihood of a returning individual.
  • Vega Gull (adult). San Francisco County, California. 13 December 2024.
    • p9 fully grown, p10 ~80% grown. 
  • Vega Gull (adult). Elkhart County, Indiana. 19 December 2024.
    • Putative. p1-p7 fully grown, p8 ~60% grown, p9-p10 retained. 
  • Franklin's Gull (1st cycle). Marion County, Florida. 20 December 2024.
    • 1st County Record.
  • Glaucous-winged Gull (adult). Bernalillo County, New Mexico. 21 December 2024.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Muskegon County, Michigan. 23 December 2024.
  • Vega Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 23 December 2024.
    • Returning winter bird (Maybelline) since at least 2021.
  • Kelp Gull (1st cycle). Nueces County, Texas. 26 December 2024.
    • 7th State Record.
    • 1st Nueces County Record. 
    • 1st Kleberg County Record as of 27 December 2024
  • Kamchatka Gull (adult). Fairfield County, Connecticut. 27 December 2024.
    • Returning winter bird since at least 2019.
  • Kamchatka Gull (adult). Nantucket County, Massachusetts. 29 December 2024.
    • Returning winter bird since at least 2013.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). La Riviere-du-Nord County Quebec. 29 December 2024.
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull (ad, 2 3rd cycle types, 1st cycle). Tulare County, California. 30 December 2024.
Notes:
  1. The Sonoma County, California Taimyr Gull has returned to Petaluma, reported by Noah Arthur on 07 December 2024. This bird has presumably returned for at least 8 consecutive years.  

  2. The Nueces County, Texas Kelp Gull, found by Andrew Orgill, is now only the second time a "1st cycle" Kelp has been recorded in the ABA Area, with the previous individual coming from Brazoria County, in similar conditions, ~150 miles to the north on 19 December 2008. The Nueces County individual has become the most thoroughly documented 1st cycle Kelp in the ABA Area, working a long stretch of beach where it is feeding on fish, and interestingly, not known to be visiting any landfills. It shows a fairly moderate 1st prealternate molt, such that it resembles some birds of Peruvian origin. Most tail feathers have been replaced (right r5-r6 & left r6 retained), as well as its tertials and perhaps 1-2 inner secondaries have been renewed (1st alternate). See Adriaens et al. 2023. for relevant reading. On 27 December 2024, the bird moved slightly south into Kleberg County, furnishing a first county record here as well.

  3. This month, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls with satellite transmitters were found at different locations in the Eastern United States. Red AS was found in Bucks County, PA on 14 December 2024 (banded as a 3rd cycle on Nantucket in February 2023), and Red BZ was found in Horry County, SC on 28 December 2024 (banded recently as a 2nd cycle on Nantucket on 10 December 2024). Both of these birds, found in landfills, are part of a long-term project managed by Dr. Richard Veit, which aims to study the movements of the species in North America. Incidentally, Red AS has been to Greenland and back, and as far south as Cape Hatteras. 

30 December 2024

December 2024 Monthly Quiz

 

Illinois. February.

Age: This appears to be a 1st cycle large gull, based on the mottled grayish-brown upperparts with extensive patterning, black bill and consistently patterned uppertail coverts.

Identification: With so many similar-looking large gulls in 1st cycle, where does one begin? Importantly, the outer primaries have a distinct two-toned appearance, often described as a venetian blind pattern. The plumage is fairly uniform, grayish-brown, and not very contrasty (as we find in California and Herring Gull). The warmer brown tones to the flight feathers, including the tail feathers, fairly straight bill -- and of course location -- all point to a 1st cycle Thayer's Gull (Larus glaucoides thayeri), which is what our December 2024 Quiz bird is.