Western Gull

Larus occidentalis 

Appearance:
Large gull
Dark gray back
White head and underparts
Dark grey wings with black tips
Large, yellow bill with red spot near the end
Pink legs

Listen to its call.

When feeding young gulls at the WildArc where I volunteer, we are told to put the food in red dishes. Why, you ask?  I can only assume it is to mimic the small red spot near the end of the adult's bill that chicks peck in order to stimulate feeding.

Immature

Learn more about the Western Gull. 

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

Appearance:

Very large aerial waterbird

Smallest of the pelicans

Large, grayish bill with an expandable pouch on the bottom

Gray-brown back, rump and tail

Long, broad wings

Short tail

Immature: (above)

   Gray-brown head and neck

   White underparts

Adult:  (right)

   White head and neck

   Blackish-brown breast and belly

   Chestnet on back of neck during breeding

   Reddish on underside of throat during breeding

Listen to its call.

Brown Pelicans are not commonly seen in Victoria. You hear of the odd report now and then but nothing like this year. Sightings of these birds are being reported daily in the vicinity of the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria. As many as twenty-one were seen by one observer, according to the Rare Bird Alert. I spotted a group of eight of them today between Fisherman's Wharf and Laurel Point. 

Talk of pelicans always reminds me of my mother saying "A funny old bird is a pelican. His beak can hold more than his bellican. Food for a week he can hold in his beak but I don't know how the hellican".

Learn more about the Brown Pelican.

Thayer's Gull

Larus thayeri

Appearance:

• Middle to large gull
• White head and underparts
• Gray back
• Black wing tips
• Yellow bill with red spot on lower mandible
• Bright pink legs
• Brown eye with purple-red eye ring (photo below)

Listen to its call.  

Although the rocky shores of Clover Point are a hotspot for gulls all year round, on a less than perfect day (like today) the wind off the ocean tends to cut right through you. Thankfully, I ventured down there last Friday when it was sunny and warm: a perfect day for visting the area.  

I saw a number of these gulls interspersed with Heerman's Gulls, which were of relatively the same size. After studying the pictures and characteristics of all the adult gulls in Victoria, I concluded that this was a Thayer's Gull. And then I started to second guess myself. Its coloring seems to be correct and I think the bill is shorter than that of a Herring Gull. However, although the wing tips have larger white windows than the Herring Gull's, I'm not sure about the color of the underside of the wings.  Any thoughts?

Learn more about the Thayer's Gull.

Heermann's Gull

Larus heermanni

Appearance:
Medium-sized gull
Red bill with black tip
Dark eye
Black legs
Gray underparts
Dark gray back and wings
Black, unmarked wing tips - white trailing edge
Black tail with white tip
Breeding plumage: (not photographed)
    White head
Non-breeding:
    Mottled head

Listen to its call.

While kayaking today, I saw a large number of gulls (and seals) on some small islands near Oak Bay Marina.  As usual, I scanned the gulls looking for any interesting differences, however small, that might indicate a species I had yet to photograph. There was no need to look very far. This gull was fairly distinctive, with its gray underparts and bright red bill. 

Instead of perching on the ridge with the others, this one was sitting on the rocks right by the water. As I'm now able to bring my camera kayaking with me, thanks to my new deck pouch which keeps it handy and dry, I was able to get some nice photographs.  Unfortunately, I did manage to lose my sunglasses in the process but, all in all, I think it was worth it.


Learn more about the Heermann's Gull.




Additional photos:

California Gull

Larus californicus

Appearance:
Medium-sized gull
Dark eye
Greenish-yellow legs
Yellow bill with black and red spot near tip
White head, underparts and tail
Slate-grey back
Black wingtips with white near tip

Listen to its call.

According to experts, the most important basic keys to identifying gulls are size, shape, and color pattern.  However, there are so many variations between adult and immature gulls, as well as breeding and non-breeding plumage, that I find this an almost impossible task. 

Unlike most of the gulls I've seen around Victoria, many of the ones in the Broken Group Islands had yellow legs. They also had both a red and black spot near the tip of their lower mandibles. As the California Gull is the only gull in southwestern British Columbia with both of these features, I had a relatively easy time with this identification ... thankfully. 

Difference in size between California Gull (left) and Ring-Billed Gull (right)

Learn more about the California Gull.

Caspian Tern

Hydroprogne caspia (formerly Sterna caspia)

Appearance:

• Large, gull-like tern
• Large, thick, red-orange bill with dark tip
• White head with black cap
• White neck and belly
• Pale gray upper wings and back
• White, shallowly forked tail
• Pale underwings with dark primary feathers
• Black legs

Listen to its call.

Before today, my knowledge of terns consisted of crossword puzzle definitions like 'sea eagle' or 'gull-like seabird'.  However, I now know there are ten genera of terns, which were once considered a subfamily of the gull family. This bird, the only one in its genus, is the world's largest tern. I saw a number of them at Esquimalt Lagoon earlier this week. They are almost the size of a large gull, which is probably why I've never noticed them before, but they have a distinct way of flying that sets them apart from the gulls. 

This one was flying over the water with its bill pointing down, when it suddenly plunged in to catch a fish.

Learn more about the Caspian Tern.

Additional pictures:

Mew Gull

Larus canus

Description:

Small gull

Round, white head
Dark eyes
Small, unmarked yellow bill
White underparts
Medium gray back
Big white spots in black wing tips
Yellow legs

Listen to its call.

Last Saturday, I had quite a profitable birding day.  As odd as it may seem, of all the new birds I saw that day, I was most excited about this one. It was the first gull I'd seen since starting this project that didn't have pink legs or a red spot on its bill. Had anyone asked me before I started this blog, I would have said that a typical gull had yellow legs and a plain yellow beak. Consequently, I was surprised that it took me so long to find one that fit my ideal. I wonder if there is such a thing as avian stereotyping? Well, even if there is, I'm pretty sure my ignorance didn't have any negative or prejudicial effects on the gulls.

Learn more about the Mew Gull.

Glaucous-winged Gull

Larus glaucescens

Appearance:
Adult:
Large gull
White head and underparts
Light gray back
Gray wing-tips with white spots near tips
Thick, yellow bill with red spot near tip
Dark eyes with pink eye-ring
Pink legs

Listen to its call.


Flocks of gulls are a common sight, so common in fact that we frequently ignore them altogether. However, if you do take the time to study them, you will notice that although most of the ones around Victoria look very similar to this one, there are a number distinguishing features. These include their size, the colour of their legs, the colour and size of their bills and the colour of their wing-tips and backs. One of the main problems with identifying these gulls is the large number of hybrids around, crosses between Glaucous-winged Gulls and Western Gulls or Herring Gulls. I believe this bird is a pure Glaucous-winged Gull as its wingtips and back are a close match in colour. Hybrids usually have darker wingtips, which makes it difficult to differentiate them from Thayer's Gulls. It seems odd to have the different species of gulls cross-breeding. Perhaps they have as much trouble telling each other apart as we do!

Learn more about the Glaucous-winged Gull.

Additional pictures:



Nest with two baby gulls



Herring Gull

Larus argentatus

Appearance:

Large gull

Adult:

White head and underparts
Light gray back
White spots in black wingtips
Pale eyes (yellow iris)
Pink legs
Heavy, yellow bill with red spot near tip
Winter plumage:  Blurry grayish-brown streaking on head and neck
Immature:
All brown at first with black bill
Reaches adult plumage in fourth winter

Listen to its call.

I've never really given much thought to these birds before. A gull is a gull, right? Actually, no, it's not. In fact, I've discovered that it is one of the more difficult birds to identify. There are a number of different types of gulls found in Victoria, many of them varying only slightly. Without viewing them side-by-side, it is hard to tell whether one gull is smaller than the next or has a narrower bill. And don't even get me started on the immature gulls. They go through so many metamorphoses it is impossible to tell whether two gulls are the same kind even when they are standing next to each other.  So, I've tried to avoid tackling gulls until now. I started with this bird because, with its black wing-tips, light gray back and pale eye, it seemed like one of the easier ones to identify. I hope I'm not being too optimistic. If, however, I have made an error, please let me know. After all, "mistakes are the portal of discovery" (James Joyce).

Learn more about the Herring Gull.