The Herring Gull
I love the water!
Description
The Herring Gull is a large gull measuring 23 to 26 inches in length. Its head, body, and tail are white, but its wings and back are gray. The tips of their outermost flight feathers are black with white spots. It has a yellow bill with a red spot on its lower mandible, and pinkish colored legs and feet. Its eyes are yellow but during breeding season, they have a narrow, fleshy red ring. During the winter the feathers on the Herring Gull's head are streaked with brown. It takes four years for the juvenile to shed its mottled brown plumage and take on that of an adult. 
Garbage Patrol
Herring Gulls keep our beaches clear of litter and debris, and will readily claim any dead fish washed ashore.
Range and Habitat
The Herring Gull is the most abundant and best known of all gulls along the shores of Western Europe, Asia, and North America. Residents of colder climates will migrate in the winter, but others are permanent residents in their breeding domain. They are a common sight along the coast lands, but in recent years their range has extended inland where food is plentiful at garbage dumps and along lakeshores.They settle in a wide variety of habitats as long as there is a body of water is nearby. They are a common sight along beaches, in marshes, commercial fishing areas, mudflats, and garbage dumps. Their primary requirement in the winter is the availability of open water.
What a beautiful day!
Shorebirds of North America, Europe, and Asia
Shorebirds of North America, Europe, and Asia: A Guide to Field Identification (Princeton Field Guides)
Amazon Price: $26.60 (as of 11/28/2009)
Shorebirds of North America, Europe, and Asia is divided into two sections for easy use. The first section shows the shorebirds in standard poses and the second shows them in flight. I prefer this field guide to the others because shorebirds rarely stay still long enough to identify them. With flight illustrations I have a better chance at identifying them.
Elbow Room
The Herring Gull understands the meaning of personal space. Outside of male/female and parent/chick relationships, they maintain a respectful distance from each other. When one bird crowds into another's personal space, a fight is inevitable.
Diet
The Herring Gull feed mostly on natural prey such as fish and invertebrates, but their diet varies depending on the season and location. They are scavengers readily eating berries and nuts, other birds, eggs, garbage, and carrion. When eating shellfish, they will repeatedly drop it on exposed rocks or pavement to break the shell. Once the shell is broken, they feast on the soft interior. 
I thought they were serving lunch?
Mating and Nesting
Herring Gulls nest in colonies on offshore islands, often with other gull species. Both the male and female help build the nest, which is typically located on the ground. It is a shallow scrape lined with grass and feathers. The clutch usually consists of 3 eggs and is incubated by both parents for 4 weeks. The newly hatched chicks are covered with down and have a distinct spot on the back of its head. The spot is unique and used to identify one chick from another.The newly hatched chicks leave the nest within days but are unable to fly until they are close to six weeks of age. It is at this time that they are the most vulnerable. They wander around the nest and occasionally wander into another pair's territory. Herring Gulls will readily eat their neighbor's young.
Step aside. I'm in charge!
Flocks of Herring Gulls have a loose pecking order. It's based on size, aggressiveness and strength.
Voice
The Herring Gull has a complex and highly developed communication system. It is a combination of different calls as well as body language. The same call can mean two different things depending on the position of the head, body and wings. It has a trumpeting call that can be long, or short and sharp.Listen to the call of the Herring Gull: Sound Byte: Herring Gull, National Park Service
Interesting Trivia
The Herring Gull is a long lived bird. It rarely starts breeding before it reaches four to five years of age.The chicks rely on their parents to provide their meal of regurgitated food. It will peck at the parent's beak until they spit up the meal.
Herring Gulls defend their feeding grounds, driving away other adult gulls. The young lessen the adult's territorial aggressiveness by hunching their shoulders and bobbing their head while voicing a shrill cry. Allowing the young access to food reduces the species mortality rate.
The Herring Gull is currently the most widespread of the large gulls. There was a sharp decline in the 19th century but the species has since recovered and flourished.
Selecting a Pair of Binoculars
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Selecting a Pair of Bird Watching Binoculars
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When I look out my window and watch the birds flutter around the birdfeeder, I really don't need a pair of binoculars or a scope to enjoy the sight. I frequently stop by the window and watch the birds for a minute or two between household tasks. (Occ...
America's 100 Most Wanted Birds
America's 100 Most Wanted Birds
Amazon Price: $18.21 (as of 11/28/2009)
If you want to see a gyrfalcon or a fork-tailed flycatcher, this resource might be your best help in spotting them. Mostly for serious birders intent on adding species to their life lists, America's 100 Most Wanted Birds provides detailed strategies for locating 100 of the most uncommon-to-rare bird species in the United States.
DucksNorthern Pintail
Wood Duck
Mallard
Geese
Canada Goose
Swans
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
Trumpeter Swan
101 Ways to Help Birds
101 Ways to Help Birds
Amazon Price: $15.56 (as of 11/28/2009)
101 Ways to Help Birds offers 101 ways for individuals to help birds and bird populations as a whole, and it explains how these actions make a difference. Any bird lover knows that birds and animals alike need our help. Without it, we will lose more and we've lost enough as it is.
Have you seen any interesting birds lately?
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- AndyPo AndyPo May 4, 2009 @ 1:29 pm
- Another excellent, interesting lens.
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- naturegirl7 naturegirl7 Jan 20, 2009 @ 12:36 pm
- Welcome to the Naturally Native Squids group. Don't forget to add your lens link to the appropriate plexo and vote for it.
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- OhMe OhMe Jan 20, 2009 @ 12:34 pm
- Beautiful photos and beautiful lens. Welcome to the South Carolina Group.
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- tdove tdove Jan 19, 2009 @ 6:26 pm
- Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!
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- JaguarJulie JaguarJulie Oct 30, 2008 @ 3:10 pm
- Wow, what can I say but another beautiful and amazing lens. I simply can't tell one seagull from another -- I'm always asking science teacher -- former-- hubby, what bird is that. He wants a bird guide though.
About the Author
Lensmaster ElizabethJeanAllen has been a member since March 16 2008, has rated 3,952 lenses, favorited 444, and has created 198 lenses from scratch. Lizzy Jean donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "The Mallard Duck". See all my lenses
Why Birds Do That
Why Birds Do That: 40 Distinctive Bird Behaviors Explained & Photographed
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 11/28/2009)
Birds are fascinating. Their behavior is complex, often comical. Some sing while others do not. Why Birds Do That explains forty distinctive bird behaviors and is enhanced with numerous photographs. It is a must have book for both the backyard bird watcher as well as the avid birder.
Resources used to construct this page.
Peterson, T.P. & Peterson, V.M. 2002. Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, N.Y.
Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology
Seattle Audubon Society
Herring Gull
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by ElizabethJeanAllen
I tell my students to Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, and Plan for the Future. With Squidoo I can do all three.
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