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:
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| Little Gull (1st cycle ) with Bonaparte's. Manitowoc, WI. 31 May 2015. |
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| Laughing Gulls (adult types). Appeared to be paired up. Courtship gestures observed. Manitowoc, WI. 31 May 2015. |
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| Thayer's Gull (1st cycle). Manitowoc, WI. 31 May 2015. Photo 1 of 3. |
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| Photo 2 of 3. |
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| Thayer's Gull, lower left. Photo 3 of 3. |
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| Adult Thayer's Gull (left of center in flight) and 1st cycle Thayer's Gull type (in water). Photo 1 of 2. |
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| Interestingly, this adult Thayer's is still holding on to all 10 primaries in late May. Photo 2 of 2. |
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| Iceland Gull (1st cycle). Photo 1 of 3. |
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| Iceland Gull on far left with a Thayer's/Kumlien's type on right - both first summers. Photo 2 of 3. |
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| Iceland Gull in flight. Photo 3 of 3. |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull (1st summer). Sheboygan, WI. 31 May 2015. Photo 1 of 2. |
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| Photo 2 of 2. |
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| Great Black-backed Gull (1st summer). Manitowoc, WI. 31 May 2015. Photo 1 of 2. |
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| 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.
