For the last two years or so I've been toying with the idea of doing a "Gull Big Day" in the off season, and the Wisconsin, Lake Michigan, lakefront is exactly the place I'd been planning to attempt this. Gull-watching here can be very productive in Spring where a combination of late winter species and hooded species can be seen together.
Last year, I and a few others recorded 8 species in Manitowoc and Sheboygan, Wisconsin without much effort (although I only saw 7 of the 8 species reported by our party). Today, 31 May 2015, I tried to beat 7, making the 3.5 hour trek from Frankfort, IL and starting in Two Rivers, Wisconsin at around 5:00 a.m. I called it quits at 6:15 p.m. in Port Washington after having recorded 9 species:
- Ring-billed Gull
- Herring Gull
- Thayer's Gull (3 - 2 adults, 1 first summer)
- Iceland Gull (2 - both first summers)
- Great Black-backed Gull (2 - both first summers)
- Lesser Black-backed Gull (3 - all first summers)
- Bonaparte's Gull
- Little Gull (1 - first summer)
- Laughing Gull (2 - both adult types)
Not many "glamour" shots below - most are simply doc-photos to help put the day in perspective:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzW_d6Qkfq7ZnXqZTXbh27Ik26J8pzlVKdGqpWhM4YM2joiVpkleFsxLc9FcbFOL6YZ2UMkUVoet3X5cn8k08KXXXqtmPPuO6zcRp83iIbgVa4HexQdDfBOGEt1oHI8f-i8BQ8-S6hkVlm/s640/DSC_9368.JPG) |
Little Gull (1st cycle ) with Bonaparte's. Manitowoc, WI. 31 May 2015. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbLo_vhnQe6M-13zZQND_wI1QJ5_wjBSZgtAQO93PEZ_meYiraVSSniIKagcwUcQim3jCkmQAuTZ_8Ib8cgpHzX-P7Re_PD3JhRmVRb-NLspfF2ii31dy-i4n3R8pF9d4So8cUD__LpzW/s640/DSC_9734.JPG) |
Laughing Gulls (adult types). Appeared to be paired up. Courtship gestures observed. Manitowoc, WI. 31 May 2015. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJEdRGP5oo1DnIMakxcsUh_DR3V0kgj5oSm5xyILy32aXKu5vYWwJ6xxVWnbP9cr0jBGPhW4LOweoldpJHDg7LOyvGQQ5E3uVL1y9wU6CDYtUNOi_GK0rGHLy38aB0AR2ldHbdWJ5haRaW/s640/DSC_0184.JPG) |
Thayer's Gull (1st cycle). Manitowoc, WI. 31 May 2015. Photo 1 of 3. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUunxZsHrXZ6dIwDBXthQnpxBypuDgmq4-K3wssNh8c0xbjQ5XRJbzETs8uRMlYdxudt5P-pGXKsxiXGgTbK0tHR-DJss7xmqI7hwXJ-lUchieuwrO7tjHUnDhbzQWN5ND2uGyDILmx6Q/s640/DSC_0199.JPG) |
Photo 2 of 3. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjjFvYVFnRxDS-duqFUt-uv8YR4qqgPrV_Yy-ufhNA_eY32rt49YuF7HDvfYOATVlo6Pj01ACwCcuIB12MTBv61jNj7WckwZCQMDRN0re0Hl5_F0Ii5FT8sblNUtiQTOmeL9wxorhr3yV/s640/DSC_0168.JPG) |
Thayer's Gull, lower left. Photo 3 of 3. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbX3WUWN6daEqwvzIUvdfBvW1wiKroaTMBy69s5lHA7d_wuUvFu5s6ksxcB2cia3u77pOgZ65EymAjSARn_navWvYASICosaLsSdHPWJ0eOzTBRpsGbkWEc9H3_dl9S6cOgtz79LsbvHc_/s640/DSC_0297.JPG) |
Adult Thayer's Gull (left of center in flight) and 1st cycle Thayer's Gull type (in water). Photo 1 of 2. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwMGI1T_GgrJEDeFFkosZYGQkh-ppN1Ew86pId3pNZEx1YH29e-tIOqPdMqsGhi9PXJ8PPQIK-lxx2xIuKQLTyQy-_WEwdCdtA2My9NlDfa5miTWVOgcaSmamuw2Ja_5qUm_-eNcFTFJP/s640/DSC_0222.JPG) |
Interestingly, this adult Thayer's is still holding on to all 10 primaries in late May. Photo 2 of 2. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-YG46WykaHjJctyi_W8jq7n53cUX5Wcbn2UmxQc_q7sHkGw0ReqPgBgfOzMcUcifhh8NURoLae4JZYG297B83Id0sx9D0q5Pakqxm9zvNy72I5W7d47SwIE8czQ8i9roDlXluMzencz5z/s640/DSC_0579.JPG) |
Iceland Gull (1st cycle). Photo 1 of 3. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh201ADqgZR15b-NUucWda88ZnVVKDgBeStNuDaltsqr77c2VqAwr8lMogciRmAfjg2hNTLKhQNjt8H_3PHAwJ8oZLZKYrBaO2Pge__W-JE99u-M7LMZ_jJRTdH1WcxqO5iLtj_GI-zC4o5/s640/DSC_0558.JPG) |
Iceland Gull on far left with a Thayer's/Kumlien's type on right - both first summers. Photo 2 of 3. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kWIqJt_h0EmhxSkl2uiwktp8UXED9Ac6Wefp0KspRvHQonk-G1eM82cj441uxk03K8Fwf9V4RNCjAsZJ1NV9oFWtiJKzc5wdA8VmbqEgBVKIljQNZ0Pc1d-gzFy9_xAgc2oBTedOYsaF/s640/DSC_0598.JPG) |
Iceland Gull in flight. Photo 3 of 3. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUvcumsSi-3DNAimaBN1wdiCYLLBsoAUwJrjiuIt-6CyNBbl0TPVkvqCxBR38hpOKRvisj4bKtwWC5ToUDjSNP5MHcYgSbvWqxkEbwTVlHoigVI5VESoY-KIMo2QaQ7REQJ1uNajIT4Br/s640/DSC_0876.JPG) |
Lesser Black-backed Gull (1st summer). Sheboygan, WI. 31 May 2015. Photo 1 of 2. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTb82JpowobUOovDwRSF2yRFCWaYUNu4XBNA-MK2Krv37IFGo3kvO54h0zegPrwMMk7pQOVyNvMNw05LQDhUVIX4VlUxS7l8H1s8B0fA0HDmW6OzhUgsiQ-aB-FfW2QockxJqh8r0YBXJ9/s640/DSC_0854.JPG) |
Photo 2 of 2. |
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Great Black-backed Gull (1st summer). Manitowoc, WI. 31 May 2015. Photo 1 of 2. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLv9ZxUxM3HUDLyeptVQkwx6G31Qc9deUh41O8JmqAJFj5YDS6uxYTE1JtLz8xgOQDO8EHm4NczcopTTjOkhh-UNwcBEKl34v-y9sGFSwQR4xeH9GnNg2G0TkAfk80qpsLFMu-eWWwh_N9/s640/DSC_0321.JPG) |
Photo 2 of 2. |
Two species I was hoping to encounter today were Franklin's and/or Glaucous. I positively do think that 11 species can be achieved on the Wisconsin lakefront on the perfect day. A bonus 12th species is always possible too - Black-headed, Black-legged Kittiwake, and California Gull all come to mind.