 |
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Above: A Herring Gull poses with its prize feast - easy living on Assateague Island, Maryland (10/14/2007).
Below two: A Herring Gull strolls the beach on Assateague Island, Maryland, 10/14/2007.
Below: A non-breeding adult Herring Gull at the Salisbury Landfill (2/24/2007).
Below: A third-winter Herring Gull at the Ocean City Inlet (12/17/2006).
Below: A first-winter Herring Gull at the Ocean City Inlet (12/17/2006).
Below: An adult Herring Gull disassembles a huge starfish in Ocean City, Maryland (11/4/2007).
Below: The famous Herring Gull technique of cracking open clams by dropping them on hard surfaces (Assateague Island, Maryland, 8/24/2008).
Below: A second-winter Herring Gull at the Ocean City Inlet, Maryland (12/26/2008).
Below two: Non-breeding adult and juvenile plumage, respectively.
We drove up just as this Herring Gull pulled a feast of American Eel (~24"; female based on location and size)
from waters at Point Lookout SP, Maryland. It isn't going to try to eat that eel, is it? At least, not whole?
No way... that's a big eel.
No...
We couldn't believe it! But then it started having problems - namely, the size of its stomach.
We drove away just as it struggled to finish, amazed.
But an hour later, we returned to find it still working on it. I still can't stop laughing when I look at this one.
Herring Gull covered with oil: a sad sight that might be linked to the Delaware River spill.
(Assateague Island ORV zone, Maryland on December 12, 2004)
Below: An adult Herring Gull poses for a joke snapshot. He would love to see more littering at the park.
Below: A juvenile Herring Gull plays in the surf of Lake Michigan - Marquette Park, Indiana (9/2/2009).
Below: A Herring Gull at sunrise on Assateague Island, Maryland (11/7/2009).
Below: A Herring Gull loafing at the Ocean City Inlet, Maryland (11/11/2010).
Below: A variety of Herring Gulls far offshore in Maryland waters (2/5/2011).
Note the limited black in the primaries below, perhaps suggesting origins in northeastern North America.
Below: An interesting first-cycle gull at the Charles Co. Landfill, Maryland (1/29/2011). It is most likely just an unusual Herring Gull, but some features had us originally considering Lesser Black-backed x Herring hybrid.
The plumage of North America's most widespread and familiar gull can be quite variable. It is a "four-year" gull, which means for the first four years of the gull's life, it bears a very different plumage. This can make identification of younger birds difficult, but is certainly an aspect that draws many to study gulls. Winter adult birds have a white head and neck, a breast streaked with pale brown, a heavy yellow bill with a red spot on the lower mandible. Its upperwings and back are back are light gray, but the wingtips are black with white spots. Tail is white, and legs and feet are a pinkish color.
The Herring Gull knows all of the best gull tricks for grabbing a quick meal. Aside from eating everything from fish to carrion to the young of other birds, they will follow ships for the garbage thrown overboard, steal food from other birds, and of course visit the local garbage dumps. My personal favorite innovation is its carrying of hard-shelled mollusks to a height and dropping them on hard surfaces to gain access to the tasty meal inside! And if they first don't succeed, they will fly to a higher altitude and try again. If you are ever walking along a broken clamshell covered pier or seaside road, the Herring Gull and fellow masters of the trade have most likely preceded you. Photos of Herring Gull swallowing American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) taken at Point Lookout SP, St. Mary's County, Maryland (3/19/2005).