September 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Western Gull (2nd cycle). Texas County, Oklahoma. 11 September 2026. 1ST STATE RECORD. 
• Little Gull (juvenile). Barbara County, California. 13 September 2026.
• Laughing Gull (2nd cycle). Fort McMurray County, Alberta. 15 September 2026. FIRST PROVINCE RECORD.
• Kelp Gull (adult). Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. 18 September 2026.
• Known Milwaukee adult. Last seen in July 2026. 
• Ivory Gull (juvenile). Baffin County, Nunavut. 19 September 2026.
• Vega Gull (adult). Lancaster County, Nebraska. 20 September 2026. 1ST STATE RECORD.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Grant County, Washington. 26 September 2026.
• Returning individual with missing foot webbing. Now back for 10th consecutive year.
• Yellow-footed Gull (adult type). Coconino County, Arizona. 27 September 2026.

August 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Laughing Gull (3rd cycle type). Yolo County, California. 02 August 2026.
• Ross's Gull (2nd cycle). St. Paul Island, Alaska. 08 August 2026.
• Continuing from July.
• Black-headed Gull (2nd cycle). Worcester County, Maryland. 08 August 2026.
• Black-headed Gull (ad.). Anchorage Municipality, Alaska. 09 August 2026.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Juneau City & Borough. 11 August 2026.
• Ivory Gull (adult). Baffin County, Nunavut. 13 August 2026.
• Kelp x American Herring - putative (ad. type). Gosier Island. Louisiana. 14 August 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (ad.). Pickaway County, Ohio. 17 August 2026.
• Western/Yellow-footed type (2nd cycle). Chaffee County, Colorado. 18 August 2026.
• Identification currently inconclusive. 
• Sabine's Gull (ad.). McLean County, Illinois. 20 August 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (ad.). Transylvania County, North Carolina. 20 August 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (ad.). Nueces County, Texas. 21 August 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (ad.). Washington County, Arkansas. 21 August 2026.
• 1st County Record.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (ad. type). Clatsop County, Oregon. 22 August 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (ad.). Mono County, California. 22 August 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (ad.). Harney County, Oregon. 23 August 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (ad.). Cochise County, Arizona. 25 August 2026.
• Black-headed Gull (ad.). Juneau City & Borough. 26 August 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (1 ad; 14 juv.). Cook County, Illinois. 28 August 2026.
• New State High Count.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (ad. type). Clallam County, Washington. 28 August 2026.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (juv.). Madison County, Mississippi. 29 August 2026.
• Short-billed Gull (3rd cycle type). Lorain County, Ohio. 30 August 2026.
• Little Gull (juv.) Franklin County, Illinois. 30 August 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (ad; juv.). Nipissing District, Ontario. 30 August 2026.
• Franklin's Gull (ad. type). Nipissing District, Ontario. 31 August 2026.

Notes:

• Of note this month was an above average occurrence of adult Sabine's Gulls in the interior.
• Yellow-footed Gull numbers in Imperial County, California appear to have reached record lows for the month. Once recorded here by the hundreds in August, the species may soon become a rare sighting at the Salton Sea due to the almost complete collapse of fish populations here. 
• A Super El Niño is underway and observers should watch for extraordinary gulls from the southeast Pacific. Swallow-tailed Gull and Gray Gull seem particularly prone to movement during these events, but Gray-hooded, Kelp, Yellow-footed, and Heermann's should also be expected in unexpected regions. 

July 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Laughing Gull (1st cycle type). Douglas County, Kansas. 01 July 2026.
• Iceland Gull. (2nd cycle type). Cape May County, New Jersey. 02 July 2026. 
• California Gull (3rd cycle). Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. 04 July 2026.
• Sabine's Gull (adult). Washington County, Rhode Island. 05 July 2026.
• 6th nonpelagic State record.
• Sabine's Gull (adult). Suffolk County, New York. 08 July 2026.
• Little Gull (2nd cycle). Suffolk County, New York. 13 July 2026.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Fairfax County, Virginia. 20 July 2026.
• Ross's Gull (2nd cycle). St. Paul Island. Alaska. 20 July 2026.
• 3rd Summer record for the island.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (2nd cycle). Okanagan-Similkameen, British Columbia. 23 July 2026.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Richmond County, New York. 23 July 2026.
• Heermann's Gull (1st cycle). New Mexico. 25 July 2026.
• 8th State record.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Niagara County, New York. 30 July 2026.
• Kelp Gull (adult). Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. 31 July 2026.
• Continuing. Failed nest.

June 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Laughing Gull (adult). Humboldt County, California. 02 June 2026.
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Adak Island. Alaska. 03 June 2026.
• Continuing from May, 2026.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (2nd cycle). Grays Harbor County, Washington. 03 June 2026.
• California Gull (4th cycle type). Racine County, Wisconsin. 10 June 2026.
• Glaucous Gull (2nd cycle type). Coos County, Oregon. 11 June 2026.
• Ivory Gull (2nd cycle). Nome, Alaska. 12 June 2026.
• Black-headed Gull (2nd cycle). Anchorage, Alaska. 17 June 2026.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Prince County, Prince Edward Island. 19 June 2026.
• Potential 4th Provincial Record. 
• California Gull (adult type). Racine County, Wisconsin. 23 June 2026.
• California Gull (2nd cycle). Cape May County, New Jersey. 24 June 2026.
• Western Gull (2nd cycle type). Chaffee County, Colorado. 08 June 2026.
• Kelp Gull (adult). Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. 30 June 2026.
• Continuing. 

May 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Short-billed Gull (adult). Le Rocher-Percé Regional County, Quebec. 02 May 2026.
• Only the 9th Provincial record, and the first since 2017. 
• Ross's Gull (1st cycle). Lethbridge County, Alberta. 04 May 2026
• 1st Provincial Record continuing from April.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Essex County, Ontario. 07 May 2026.
• Ivory Gull (1st cycle). Homer, Alaska. 10 May 2026.
• Little Gull (adult). Comox-Strathcona District, British Columbia. 10 May 2026.
• Ring-billed Gull (adult). Fairbanks, Alaska. 13 May 2026.
• Little Gull (1st cycle). Comox-Strathcona District, British Columbia. 14 May 2026.
• Kelp Gull (adult). Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. 23 May 2026.
• Continuing all month, now on nest.  
• California Gull (2nd cycle). Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. 23 May 2026.
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Adak Island. Alaska. 25 May 2026.
• Western Gull (2nd cycle). Chaffee County, Colorado. 25 May 2026.
• Continuing from April.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Gambell, Alaska. 27 May 2026.
• Western Gull (4th cycle type). Davis County, Utah. 29 May 2026.
• Continuing from April. 
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Rimouski-Neigette County, Quebec. 31 May 2026.
• Likely the same individual from Coin-du-Banc earlier in the month, some 400 km away.
• 
  

Notes: 

1. On 07 May 2026, Joachim Bertrands reported 22,400 Sabine's Gulls offshore on the Canadian side of Swiftsure Bank (British Columbia). The report describes the sighting "like locusts" with a presence of 30,000+ birds likely.
    
2. On 12 May 2026, Josh Spice, reported the same apparent female type Ring-billed Gull in Fairbanks, Alaska, paired up with a Short-billed Gull. No nest found although the two birds were recorded copulating. It must be noted that the bill pattern and wingtip pattern are both inconsistent with a typical Ring-billed, and thus, the presumption that some Short-billed influence is at work might be considered. 

April 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Black-headed Gull (adult). Winnipeg County, Manitoba. 02 April 2026.
• Great Black-backed Gull (adult & 1st cycle). Winnipeg County, Manitoba. 02 April 2026.
• Ivory Gull (adult). Yukon County, Yukon Territories. 05 April 2026.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Winnipeg County, Manitoba. 08 April 2026.
• 2nd Provincial Record. 
• Western Gull (adult type). Mohave County, New Mexico. 10 April 2026.
• Western Gull (3rd cycle type). Davis County, Utah. 14 April 2026.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Fort McMurray, Alberta. 18 April 2026.
• 1st for the Fort Murray region. Same bird from southern Manitoba.* 
• Western Gull (1st cycle). Chaffee County, Colorado. 19 April 2026.
• KELP GULL (adult). Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. 19 April 2026.
• Returning now for at least year 3. Copulating with American Herring and nest-building.*
• Little Gull (2nd cycle). Accomack County, Virginia. 24 April 2025.
• California Gull (adult type). San Bernardino County, California. 25 April 2026.
• First for Morongo Valley since 2014.
• Ross's Gull (1st cycle). Lethbridge County, Alberta. 29 April 2026.
• 1st Provincial Record.

Notes: 

1. The Manitoba Slaty-backed Gull was found some 1,000 miles away in the Fort McMurray, Alberta area just eight days after it was last seen in Manitoba. This is a fascinating data point several reasons: 1) It is the first record for the Fort McMurray region, 2) It reinforces just how much distance gulls are capable of covering in a short period, and 3) The bird is presumably on a northwest trajectory, as it should be.  

2. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin Kelp Gull has returned for another breeding season. First detected in the summer of 2024 and well-documented in the summer of 2025, this is now year 3 of it nesting in an American Herring Gull colony. 

3. At least 3 Western Gulls were reported in the interior West this month, following a pattern of increased reports away from the Pacific Coast in recent years. Whether the species is undergoing a period of exploratory behavior that will evolve into range expansion, or simply coincidence, remains to be seen.  

March 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Glaucous-winged Gull (adult). Kenosha County, Wisconsin. 01 March 2026.
• 2nd County Record. Same individual from Lake County, IL in February.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 03 March 2026.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (adult type). Tompkins County, New Yortk. 07 March 2026.
• Continuing from last month.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Palm Beach County, Florida. 10 March 2026.
• Continuing form winter 2025-2026.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. 13 March 2026.
• California Gull (Adult). Lake County, Illinois. 17 March 2026.
• Thayer's Gull (1st cycle). Marion County, Indiana. 17 March 2026.
• 1st County Record.
• Little Gull (adult). Grayson County, Texas. 18 March 2026.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Fairfield County, Connecticut. 22 March 2026.
• Black-tailed Gull (adult type). Harrison County, Mississippi. 24 March 2026. 
• 1ST STATE RECORD