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. 

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

juvenile

Appearance:
Medium-sized gull
Black legs
White head and underparts
Slate-gray back and wings
Black wingtips
Small, yellow bill (adult)
Juvenile:
    Gray patches on nape and crown
    Dark spot at the ear
    Black spot above rear half of eye
    Black collar and terminal band on tail
    Black "W" bar across wings
    Black bill

Listen to its call.

The Black-legged Kittiwake is usually far out at sea. However, a number of them have been seen around the Victoria shoreline lately, probably as a result of the storm we had a few weeks back.  I photographed this bird off the Ogden Point Breakwater this morning. Apparently, there had been two immature birds and an adult around a bit earlier, but I only saw the one.

Learn more about the Black-legged Kittiwake.

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.

Bonaparte's Gull

Larus philadelphia

Appearance:

Small gull
Thin, short, black bill
Pinkish-orange legs
Light slate-gray back
Black wing-tips
Non-breeding adult:
     White head
     Dark ear-spot
Breeding adult: (not photographed)
     Black head
     Incomplete white eye-ring

Listen to its call.

It was rather blustery at Cattle Point this afternoon but that didn't stop these little gulls from enjoying themselves. A large number of them were flying just off the shore, floating gracefully in the wind.  They were  smaller and more delicate than any of the other gulls I've seen so far.  

Incidentally, this gull was not named after Napoleon but after his nephew, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who was a leading ornithologist in the 1800s. I guess its diminutive stature is just a coincidence.

Learn more about the Bonaparte's Gull.

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Appearance:
Small gull
Yellow bill with black ring at tip
Pale eye
White head and underparts
Light gray back
White spots on black wingtips
Yellow legs

Listen to its call.

Size difference  between California Gull (on left) and Ring-billed Gull (on right)

 It was just by accident that I captured this bird on film.  In fact, I didn't even realized I had until today when I was looking through some photos I took on Sidney Spit in late August.  There were lots of shorebirds that day, as well as herons and what seemed like hundreds of gulls.  This one stood out because of its small size. It was only on closer inspection that I noticed the pale eye and black ring near the tip of its short, yellow bill.  It wonder how many other little gems I might have hidden in my computer files.

Learn more about the Ring-billed Gull.

Additional photos:

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.

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.