01 April 2025

March 2025 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

  • Kamchatka Gull (adult). New Haven County, Connecticut. 01 March 2025.
  • Vega Gull (adult type). Sarasota County, Florida. 01 March 2025.
    • Same individual from Volusia County in February 2025.
  • Great Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Flathead County, Montana. 01 March 2025.
    • 6th State Record. 
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Franklin County, Washington. 01 March 2025.
    • Continuing.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (subadult). St. John's, Newfoundland. 01 March 2025.
    • Continuing. 
  • Heermann's Gull (6th cycle/adult). Volusia County, Florida. 01 March 2025.
    • Atlantic coast bird.
  • California Gull (adult). Muskegon County, Michigan. 03 March 2025.
  • Vega Gull (adult). Cameron County, Texas. 07 March 2025.
    • Apparently, the continuing adult from January 2025.
  • Heermann's Gull (6th cycle/adult). Pender County, North Carolina. 08 March 2025.
    • Atlantic coast bird, apparently back north.
  • California Gull (1st cycle). Hancock County, Mississippi. 08 March 2025.
  • Thayer's Gull (adult & 1st cycle). Hancock County, Mississippi. 08 March 2025.
  • Gray Gull (adult type). Walton County, Florida. 14 March 2025.
    • Presumably the returning 1st ABA individual, last reported here in late October 2024.
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull (3rd cycle). Comox Valley Regional District, Vancouver Island. 15 March 2025.
    • 5th island record.
  • Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Sussex County, Delaware. 15 March 2025.
    • 1st State Record, although a previous report from 2023 may supersede this.
  • Black-headed Gull (adult). Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 16 March 2025.
  • Heermann's Gull (1st cycle). Nueces, Texas. 18 March 2025.
    • Ambiguous report from Mustang Island. Photos.
  • California Gull (adult). Dane County, Wisconsin. 18 March 2025.
    • 1st County Record.
  • Azores Gull (1st cycle). Volusia County, Florida. 20 March 2025.
    • 1ST STATE RECORD. 
  • Black-headed Gull (adult). Volusia County, Florida. 21 March 2025.
  • Gray Gull (adult type). Mobile County, Alabama. 23 March 2025.
    • Alternate plumage. Apparently, the FL Gulf Coast bird that drifts west from time to time. 
  • Vega Gull (1st cycle). Los Angeles County, California. 26 March 2025.
    • Pale individual found on the Los Angeles River. 

Notes:
  • On 20 March 2025, Michael Brothers found what appears to be the first bona fide 1st cycle Azores Gull (Larus michahellis atlantis) in the ABA Area. This is a remarkable sighting and may prove to be the farthest south and west this taxon has ever been recorded. 
  • On 26 March 2025, John Cassady & Bill Sharkey recorded 168 Lesser Black-backed Gulls in northern Indiana. 104 in Fulton County and 62 in St. Joseph County surely shatter any previous county high counts, with 104 now being a new state high count for the species. The majority of individuals were reportedly adults, with few 3rd, 2nd and 1st cycles.  
  • In the last several years, an increasing number of putative adult California x Ring-billed hybrids have been reported in the West. In particular, Liam Singh has been recording individuals from Vancouver Island in California Gull flocks beginning in 2022 with a noticeable spike in sightings this month. This begs the question, have these hybrids always been under our nose unnoticed, or is there a genuine increase in this hybrid of late?