Identifying adult California Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls in flight

In much of the inland western United States and Canada, there are two common breeding white-headed gull species, the California Gull and the Ring-billed Gull.  If you live in this region, the first step in learning your gulls will be to learn to tell adults of these two common species apart.  When they are perched on the ground, it is not difficult: California Gulls have dark eyes, red and black on the bill, are slightly larger, and have a slightly darker mantle (back).  In contrast, adult Ring-billed Gulls have light eyes, a black ring around the bill without red, are slightly smaller, and have a paler mantle.

A pair of adult California Gulls in breeding plumage, showing their dark eyes, red and black on the bill, and relatively dark mantle.  Photographed 13 Apr 2009 at Logan, Utah.

An adult Ring-billed Gull in breeding plumage, showing its pale eye, black ring around the bill without red, and relatively pale mantle.  Photographed 2 May 2011 at Blackfoot, Idaho.

Even with these relatively distinctive gulls, identifying them in flight can often be difficult.  Sometimes, it is possible to make out the same features in flight, especially with close looks in good light.  Look especially for the eye color and the bill markings, because size and mantle color are particularly difficult to judge on a bird in flight.

Adult California Gull in breeding plumage.  Even in flight, the pattern of black and red on the bill and the dark eye can be obvious.  Photographed 17 Mar 2013 in Mendon, Utah.

Adult Ring-billed Gull in breeding plumage.  Even in flight, the black ring on the bill (without red) and the pale eye can be obvious.  Photographed 17 Mar 2013 in Mendon, Utah.

The real challenge, however, is in identifying these species when they are high overhead or lit in such a way that the eye color and bill pattern are impossible to distinguish.  In this case, it is helpful to pay close attention to the pattern and colors under the wing.  Both species have mostly whitish wings with extensive black near the tips and white spots at the very ends of the outer flight feathers.  But, California Gulls have duskier inner primaries contrasting more with the rest of the wing, and Ring-billed Gulls have paler inner primaries that are about the same color as the rest of the wing. California Gulls also tend to have more black in the wingtip than Ring-billed Gulls, but there is some overlap in this trait. 

Note the darker gray band that stretches from the black wingtips into the outer secondaries on this adult California Gull.  With practice and good light, this contrast could be visible from great distance on overhead birds.  California Gulls also tend to have more black in the wingtips, but there is some overlap in this trait.  Photographed 17 Mar 2013 in Mendon, Utah.

In contrast to the California Gull above, this Ring-billed Gull has much paler inner primaries and outer secondaries, which contrast less than on the California Gull.  Some slight contrast is still evident, so it might take some practice in the field to get a feel for this field mark.  Ring-billed Gulls also tend to have less black in the primaries, but there is some overlap in this trait so it should be used only as a supporting character.  Photographed 17 Mar 2013 in Mendon, Utah.

California Gull in flight.  Note again the relatively grayish inner primaries and outer secondaries, contrasting with the paler underwing coverts.  Photographed 9 Feb 2008 in Logan, Utah. 

Ring-billed Gull in flight.  The relatively pale inner primaries and outer secondaries almost lack contrast with the underwing coverts.  Note that the extent of black visible in the primaries varies to some degree with the position of the wing and the individual, so this bird appears to have about the same amount of black as the California Gull above.  Photographed 9 Feb 2008 in Logan, Utah.

The differences in underwing pattern between these two species are subtle, and take field experience to get a good understanding of them.  Of course, not every gull will be identifiable in every situation.  But with practice, you can learn to identify a higher percentage of gulls, even when they are seen only in flight high above you.

"My" Mew Gull

One of the most challenging groups of birds to identify are the gulls, which is why I like them so much. I admit it, I'm a lariphile. Getting excited about gulls makes winter birding much more fun, because winter is a great time to find rare gulls. Here in Utah, Ring-billed and California Gulls are by far the most common two species, although either one may greatly outnumber the other depending on your location in the state and the time of year. In winter, Herring Gulls are also pretty easy to find. I would consider any other species of gulls in the winter to be a rarity, although some are more rare than others.

This week I was able to find a rare gull in Logan, in a field north of the landfill and near the Logan Fisheries Experiment Station. Scanning through a flock of about 300 gulls, I saw mostly Ring-billed Gulls, about one California Gull for every ten or twenty Ring-billeds, a couple of Herring Gulls, and one that didn't match any of the other three species. It was slightly smaller than a Ring-billed Gull (our smallest common gull). It had a dark eye, more smudging on the nape than a Ring-billed Gull, a slightly darker mantle, and a short, small yellow bill with only a faint smudge of black. It was a Mew Gull (photo above, bird with wings raised). The white dots at the end of the primaries (black wing feathers) and the lack of black markings on the "wrist" of the wing told me it was an adult, which in this species means it was at least in its fourth winter.

Mew Gulls primarily breed throughout much of Alaska and northwestern Canada, but in the winter they are almost strictly coastal, being found within a few miles of the coast from British Columbia to Baja California. (The photo below was taken in Washington.) They are always a surprise when they turn up in Utah, and perhaps especially so in Cache County, where we tend to have fewer gulls than in the Great Salt Lake area. As of 2007, there was only one other record of a Mew in Cache County, a first-winter bird found by Ron Ryel in 1991. But in the winter of 2007-2008, I found the second county record, another first-winter bird. The next winter, 2008-2009, in almost the same spot, I found a second-winter Mew Gull. I didn't see any Mew Gulls here in the winter of 2009-2010. And now, in the 2010-2011 winter, I found an adult Mew Gull. It seems quite likely to me that this is the same bird, one who got lost in his first winter, was lucky enough to find a patch of warm water and a nearby buffet at the landfill, and has decided to find his (or her) way back to the same spot each winter. So while it's always a surprise to find a Mew Gull in Utah, it might be a little less of a surprise if I find an adult, "my" Mew Gull, at this same place again next winter.

California Specialties

I just returned a week ago from a trip to California. The main purpose of the trip was for scuba diving, but I took some time to hunt down a few birds that are specialties to California.

The first lifer of my trip was a true California specialty, the Allen's Hummingbird. It ranges from southern Oregon to southern California during the summer. This species looks very similar to the Rufous Hummingbird, and an immature like this one couldn't be told apart based on a shot like this. You'd have to look at the shape of the spread tail feathers to be sure. However, during the breeding season range is a reliable indicator, and being found in central California this is certainly an Allen's.

Another species I went in search of was the Oak Titmouse. This is very closely related to the Juniper Titmouse, which is found in Utah, and used to be considered the same species and called the Plain Titmouse. This is the best shot I could manage of this active forager, and obscures the crest that helps distinguish this species from the similar Bushtit.

The California Towhee is found from Oregon to Baja California. It is often found in coastal chaparral and can be common there. This male was singing on his territory in a small city park in the town of Pacific Grove.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees are found from Alaska to California and from the coast to Montana, but they look different here at the southern end of their range, where their flanks tend toward gray instead of the dark rufous they have further north. For example, compare it to the chickadee in this post, from Seattle.

Several other species are widespread along the coast, but rarely or never make it to Utah. The Black Oystercatcher is a unique shorebird that specializes on mollusks in the intertidal from Alaska to Baja. The thick red bill is used to pry open oysters, mussels, and other goodies on the rocks.

Heerman's Gulls are also strictly coastal. They breed mostly around both coasts of Baja California, but wander north when they are not breeding, sometimes as far north as British Columbia. I think they are the most beautiful gull in North America.

Western Gulls also breed in Baja California but their breeding range continues north through California to Washington. In Washington, they hybridize regularly with Glaucous-winged Gulls, forming a hybrid known as an "Olympic Gull." It was neat to see them in an area where most individuals are probably "pure" Westerns, with little introgression of Glaucous-winged genes.

Coming soon: more from California, including herps and pelagic birds.

What a Day for Gulls!

Our weather has take a turn for the worse, but that often makes the birding take a turn for the better. Yesterday afternoon Jason Pietrzak found a pale-winged gull at Sue's Ponds, and sent me some photos. I couldn't tell for sure from the photos what it was, so we rushed out there yesterday afternoon to look for it, but couldn't find it. This morning Craig and I tried again, and found just what we were hoping for: an Iceland Gull (Kumlien's subspecies, above, in foreground). This is another species that can be very tough to tell from similar species, so although several records have been submitted to the Bird Records Committee, none have been accepted. This species is usually found from Baffin Island, Canada to Iceland, and winters in the Northeastern United States. We got some good photos this morning, and Jason went back later in the morning and got some even better ones, so it looks possible that we'll have another state record on our hands here!

Almost as amazingly, Jason found another rare gull while he was trying to relocate the Iceland Gull. He posted a photo, and I could tell it was not something from around here, although neither of us could tell what it was for sure from the photo (again). So I went back this afternoon, and so did he, and we were also able to relocate this bird: a Lesser Black-backed Gull! (Photo below by Jason.) If accepted (again, with great photo documentation I expect it will be), this will be only the sixth record of this species in the state! This species is usually found in northwest Europe, and usually winters south into Africa, although they wander to the east coast of North America in some numbers every winter. This made a total of six species of gulls in one day, perhaps more than anyone's seen in the county, with California Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and Bonaparte's Gulls all present today.

Yesterday I went snowshoeing at Beaver Mountain. Some friends had thought they saw a flock of Pine Grosbeaks up there a couple of weeks ago, so we were hoping to relocate them. Unfortunately, we didn't see anything too remarkable. Perhaps all the snowmobilers had chased off the good birds. The biggest surprise was a flock of California Gulls flying over, far from any open water or trash, and probably headed to Bear Lake. We did see three subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco (mostly Pink-sided with at least one Slate-colored and one Oregon), including one partial leucistic bird with white patches throughout its plumage. There were also one Ruby-crowned Kinglet flashing its crest and many Red-breasted Nuthatches (photo above) singing to each other.

A Glaucous Gull and More Signs of Spring

Things seem to be changing in the valley. Some of the water that was frozen over a week or two ago is now open. There seem to be many more gulls and Canada Geese around (no Cackling Geese that I could find, and I've been looking). In the past two months I've been seeing mostly Ring-billed Gulls with a few California Gulls mixed in and maybe a Herring Gull if I'm lucky. Today the Ring-billed Gulls and California Gulls were in about even numbers, but I'd estimate I saw about five times as many total gulls today than any other day in the last two months. Herring Gulls also seem to have increased not just in numbers but also in proportion to the rest. I saw at least ten, maybe twenty today. The biggest find of the day was an immature Glaucous Gull in Cutler Marsh, a first for the year and a find almost as rare as the Mew Gull I found a few weeks ago. The Glaucous Gull was seen at the landfill earlier this week by Keith Archibald, according to rumor, but was not reported online; I don't know why. You can see the Glaucous Gull on the right in the photo above, next to a Ring-billed Gull (left) and a Herring Gull (middle) for comparison. Other highlights in the last two days included a Short-eared Owl at Cutler Marsh last night, a Barn Owl at the Logan Airport, and a flock of about five American Tree Sparrows in Benson today. I also saw courtship displays by Common Goldeneyes and Ring-necked Ducks today. Spring must be on the way! Right?

A Bird in the Hand

To celebrate my 30th birthday, Stephanie Cobbold and I took off from school around noon to go birding. We started with a loop around the Benson Marina area which produced only about a dozen or two Horned Larks with nothing else mixed in. Perhaps partly explaining the shortage was a single Peregrine Falcon which was perched on the ground, feeding on something until we scared it off.

The Bear River as it goes under Highway 30 was finally open (it was frozen over as recently as Sunday), and had attracted a smattering of gulls (all Ring-billed Gulls and California Gulls as far as we could tell) along with some Gadwall. While checking the other side of the road for more birds, I found a Barn Owl in the reeds. We soon realized that it had a broken wing; presumably the bird had been hit by a car. I captured it and we took it to a vet that rehabilitates wildlife.

From there, we went to the Logan Landfill where we could also only find California and Ring-billed Gulls (we have seen a Mew Gull and at least one Herring Gull in the area in the last week). Then we drove up to Spring Hollow Campground above Third Dam in Logan Canyon and took about a 2 mile round-trip hike. The hike wasn't too productive: our total list here included about 15 Cedar Waxwings, one Townsend's Solitaire, one Belted Kingfisher, one Green-winged Teal, one adult Golden Eagle, and about six Common Goldeneye. Although our total list of species for the day probably wouldn't be too impressive (if I were to actually write it out), the day will be memorable not only for adding two new species to my year list, Peregrine Falcon and Barn Owl, but especially because one of the new species was in the hand! After the birds had been entertaining me for the last month and a half, it was nice to be able to do something to help a bird.

Biggest Find So Far

Last night I was going through some of the photos from the weekend, trying to practice my gull identification skills on birds that were frozen in pixels so that I could be better at identifying the live birds. Most of the birds I had photographed at the Logan Landfill and Logan Fish Hatchery on Saturday with Stephanie were clearly identifiable as California Gulls or, more often, Ring-billed Gulls. I was even able to identify at least one second-winter Herring Gull in the photographs, a bird that Stephanie and I had both noticed was clearly not one of the other two more common species but that we weren't sure about identifying in the field. One other gull in the photos was giving me trouble, though. It had a wing pattern that was clearly not a Ring-billed Gull but seemed too small and otherwise not quite right for a California Gull. It was an immature bird, making identification even harder. Eventually I sent photos to two birding friends of mine, Craig Fosdick and Tim Avery. Tim quickly responded to tell me that I had photographed a Mew Gull! I hadn't even considered this species, since it was so rare in the area, but when I went back through my photos, it was a perfect fit. This was quite a find for the area - I believe this is only the second record ever of the species in Cache County, and the first since 1991!

Is Spring Coming Already?

Yesterday Stephanie Cobbold and I birded around Cache Valley, mostly by car. We stopped by the Logan Landfill, Benson Marina, 20-20 Ponds, Logan River Golf Course, the Fish Hatchery, and several other areas between Logan and Wellsville. We saw a hundred or so gulls at the landfill that were about 95% Ring-billed Gulls and 5% California Gulls plus a couple that we couldn't confidently identify. (We later identified two additional species from photographs.) I also saw my first Mourning Dove of the year, in Nibley.

Today we took a walk around Logan. We started up the Canal Trail, continued up to First Dam, then up the hill to the golf course and back down to the start of the Canal Trail. Spring was in the air, with relatively warm temperatures (around 40 degrees F) and sunshine inducing "Fee-bee" songs from the Black-capped Chickadees along the canal and courtship displays by the Barrow's Goldeneyes at First Dam. There was one Yellow-rumped Warbler along the Canal Trail, which will be common in the summer but for now are pretty rare here. We watched an ambitous Sharp-shinned Hawk take a shot at a flock of American Robins, but it missed. On the hillside above First Dam, near the canal and the golf course, we saw a flock of about six Chukars, my only first of the year for today.