October 2025 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Little Gull (adult). Lyman County, South Dakota. 03 October 2025.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult type). North Slope Borough, Alaska. 07 October 2025.
• California Gull (adult). Berrien County, Michigan. 10 October 2025.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Grant County, Washington. 12 October 2025.
• Continuing.
• Great Black-backed Gull (adult type). Keith County, Nebraska. 13 October 2025.
• Continuing.
• Little Gull (1st cycle). Stafford County, Kansas. 13 October 2025.
• Largely juvenile.
• Common Gull (adult). Knox County, Maine. 14 October 2025.
• California Gull (4th cycle type). Cape May County, New Jersey. 14 October 2025.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult type). King County, Washington. 15 October 2025.
• Present since June 2024.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Sitka City & Borough, Alaska. 16 October 2025.
• California Gull (adult). St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. 17 October 2025.
• A long overdue 1ST PROVINCE RECORD.
• Gray Gull (adult type). Walton County, Florida. 27 October 2025.
• Positive reports all month.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Clay County, Missouri. 29 October 2025.
• 4th State Record.

Featured Highlights November 2025

Welcome to Featured Highlights, November 2025. This video series aims to highlight ideas found in The Gull Guide - North America. I'll be expanding on and detailing concepts you're reading about in the book, beginning with establishing a foundation for molt and plumage, and hopefully apply some of these ideas to identification. 

An obvious element of gull ID rests in how we perceive and describe the varied patterns found in their plumages, particularly their upperparts. This is not unique to gulls, but it seems to weigh on beginners as they familiarize themselves with the creative words used in the literature. Video 11 discusses some of the patterns that we find on the scapulars, wing coverts and tertials of young, large-whited gulls in 1st cycle.

Click on thumbnail above and watch in HD

Requests and Suggestions to thegullguide@gmail.com

Featured Highlights October 2025

Welcome to Featured Highlights, October 2025. This video series aims to highlight ideas found in The Gull Guide - North America. I'll be expanding on and detailing concepts you're reading about in the book, beginning with establishing a foundation for molt and plumage, and hopefully apply some of these ideas to identification. 

Vega Gull is now treated as a full species by most taxonomies around the world, and this has resulted in increased interest in their identification. Video 10 discusses some of the caveats and pitfalls in identifying 1st cycles, comparing them largely to our more expected American Herring Gull 

Click on thumbnail above and watch in HD.

                                                 

Requests and suggestions can be forwarded to thegullguide@gmail.com

September 2025 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Laughing Gull (adult type). Humboldt County, California 01 September 2025.
• Continuing from last month.
• Little Gull (1st cycle). El Paso County, Texas. 06 September 2025.
• Black-tailed Gull (adult type). La Nouvelle-Beauce County, Quebec.13 September 2025.
• 2nd Province Record. 
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Metro Vancouver District, British Columbia. 20 September 2025.
• Black-headed Gull (adult type). Potter County, Texas. 20 September 2024.
• Kelp Gull (adult). Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. 20 September 2025.
• Moving about various locations in Milwaukee this month.
• Yellow-footed Gull (1st cycle). Sierra County, New Mexico. 22 September 2025.
• Continuing from last month.
• Little Gull (2-1st cycles). Nobles County, Minnesota. 24 September 2025.
• Great Black-backed Gull (adult type). Keith County, Nebraska. 25 September 2025.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Grant/Benton/Franklin Counties, Washington. 25 September 2025.
• Returning adult, first detected in the winter of 2015-2016.
• Gray Gull (adult type). Walton County, Florida. 30 September 2025.
• Returning individual from summer of 2023, continuing all month.

August 2025 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Franklin's Gull (adult type). Dare County, North Carolina. 01 August 2025.
• Short-billed Gull (2nd cycle). Door County, Wisconsin. 05 August 2025.
• Same individual found inland near Green Bay in July.
• Glaucous Gull (2nd cycle type). Barnstable County, Massachusetts. 05 August 2025.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult type). Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. 07 August 2025.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Fairfield County, Connecticut. 07 August 2025. 
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (4th cycle type). Jefferson County, Washington. 09 August 2025.
• Yellow-footed Gull (1st cycle). Sierra County, New Mexico. 09 August 2025.
• California Gull (juvenile). Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. 10 August 2025.
• Kelp Gull (adult). Racine County, Wisconsin. 10 August 2025.
• 1st County Record. Milwaukee bird repositioning throughout a period of heavy thunderstorms.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Juneau City & Borough, Alaska.13 August 2025.
• Common Gull (adult type). Halifax County, Nova Scotia. 16 August 2025.
• Laughing Gull (adult type). Humboldt County, California. 18 August 2025.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (3rd cycle). Sitka City & Borough, Alaska. 18 August 2025.
• Lesser Black-backed Gull (3rd cycle). King County, Washington. 20 August 2025.
• Continuing.
• Gray Gull (adult/5th cycle). Walton County, Florida. 25 August 2025.
• Presumably the 1st ABA individual found here in the summer of 2023.
• Little Gull (juvenile). St. Joseph County, Michigan. 27 August 2025.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Atlantic County, New Jersey. 31 August 2025.
• Continuing.
• Kelp Gull (adult). Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. 31 August 2025.

Featured Highlights - September 2025

Welcome to Featured Highlights, September 2025. This video series aims to highlight ideas found in The Gull Guide - North America. I'll be expanding on and detailing concepts you're reading about in the book, beginning with establishing a foundation for molt and plumage, and hopefully apply some of these ideas to identification. 

Lesser Black-backed Gull's expansion throughout North America is truly an enigma with zero nesting records found in the US and Canada. Fortunately, their identification is less of a mystery, with the exception of juveniles (1st cycles) which can sometimes present some confusion with the more common American Herring Gull. Video 9 highlights some of the key features used to separate the two. 

Click on thumbnail above and watch in HD.

                                                 

Requests and suggestions can be forwarded to thegullguide@gmail.com

Featured Highlights - August 2025

Welcome to Featured Highlights, August 2025. This video series aims to highlight ideas found in The Gull Guide - North America. I'll be expanding on and detailing concepts you're reading about in the book, beginning with establishing a foundation for molt and plumage, and hopefully apply some of these ideas to identification. 

This 8th video compares the key features found in juvenile Ring-billed, California and American Herring Gulls. Note that a juvenile is a "1st cycle", but the term juvenile is reserved for those individuals that show no systematic molt. This is the perfect time of year to reacquaint ourselves with these recently fledged Larus species.

Click on thumbnail above and watch in HD.

                                                 

Requests and suggestions can be forwarded to thegullguide@gmail.com