March 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Glaucous-winged Gull (adult). Kenosha County, Wisconsin. 01 March 2026.
• 2nd County Record. Same individual from Lake County, IL in February.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 03 March 2026.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (adult type). Tompkins County, New Yortk. 07 March 2026.
• Continuing from last month.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Palm Beach County, Florida. 10 March 2026.
• Continuing form winter 2025-2026.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. 13 March 2026.
• California Gull (Adult). Lake County, Illinois. 17 March 2026.
• Thayer's Gull (1st cycle). Marion County, Indiana. 17 March 2026.
• 1st County Record.
• Little Gull (adult). Grayson County, Texas. 18 March 2026.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Fairfield County, Connecticut. 22 March 2026.
• Black-tailed Gull (adult type). Harrison County, Mississippi. 24 March 2026. 
• 1ST STATE RECORD

February 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Galveston County, Texas. 02 February 2026.
  
• 1st County Record.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (3rd cycle type). Middlesex County, New Jersey. 04 February 2026. 
• 1ST STATE RECORD.
• Vega Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 06 February 2026.
• Returning adult - "Maybeline". 
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Fairfield County, Connecticut. 06 February 2026.
• Continuing; returning bird.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Palm Beach County, Florida. 07 February 2026.
• Continuing.
• Kelp Gull (3rd cycle). Willacy County, Texas. 08 February 2026.
• Believed to be the returning coastal TX bird, first found as a 1st cycle in Dec 2024.
• Short-billed Gull (1st cycle). Dallas County, Texas. 09 February 2026.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Lake County, Illinois. 10 February 2026.
• Ivory Gull (2 ad; 1 ad). Labrador-Happy Valley-Goose Bay County, NL. 10-23 February 2026.
• Offshore survey.
• Vega Gull (3rd cycle). San Diego County, California. 10 February 2026.
• Believed to be the same individual from LA County in Dec 2025; presumably a returning bird from last winter in San Diego County.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (2nd cycle). Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. 10 February 2026.
• Vega Gull (adult). Alameda County, California. 12 February 2026.
• Common Gull (adult). Lake County, Illinois. 14 February 2026.
• 1ST STATE RECORD*.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. 16 February 2026.
• 4th Provincial Record.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Richmond County, New York. 16 February 2026.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Crawford County, Arkansas. 17 February 2026.
• Continuing. 
• Vega Gull (adult). San Mateo County, California. 17 February 2026.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Franklin County, Washington. 17 February 2026.
• Continuing; returning adult.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (adult). Lake County, Illinois. 17 February 2026.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Nunatsiavut-Nain County, NL. 19 February 2026. 
• Offshore.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (3rd cycle type). Tompkins County, New York. 25 February 2026.

Notes:

• Much like the last couple of months, a gentle incursion of Short-billed Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls continued in the East. Whether the latter come from the North American continent or Asia -- or both -- is impossible to know. 
• The adult Common Gull found in Lake County, Illinois on 14 February 2026, showed multiple characteristics consistent with the Russian taxon, Larus canus heinei. Experts who are firmly familiar with heinei agree it conforms to that race, which would prove to be the first verifiable record of Russian Common Gull in the Western Hemisphere. 

January 2026 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Black-legged Kittiwake (1st cycle). Hughes County, South Dakota. 01 January 2026.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Palm Beach County, Florida. 03 January 2026.
• Little Gull (adult). New Hanover County, North Carolina. 03 January 2026.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Crawford County, Arkansas. 04 January 2026.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (1st cycle). Niagara County, New York. 05 January 2026.
• Continuing from December 2025.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Dubuque County, Iowa. 08 January 2026.
• Continuing
• Franklin's Gull (adult type). Snohomish County, Washington. 09 January 2026.
• Vega Gull (adult). Cameron County, Texas. 09 January 2026.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Frontenac County, Ontario. 11 January 2026.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult type). Wayne County, Michigan. 13 January 2026.
• Vega Gull (adult). Alameda County, California. 15 January 2026.
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). York County, Maine. 17 January 2026.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (adult type). Jefferson County, Texas. 18 January 2026.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Kings County, New York. 21 January 2026.
• Black-legged Kittiwake (adult). Power County, Idaho. 21 January 2026.
• Yellow-footed Gull (adult). Merced County, California. 22 January 2026.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (2nd cycle). Jefferson County, Wisconsin. 24 January 2026.
• Black-headed Gull (1st cycle). Brevard County, Florida. 25 January 2026.
• California Gull (1st cycle). Brevard County, Florida. 26 January 2026.
• Kelp Gull (3rd cycle). Willacy County, Texas. 25 January 2026.
• Probable returning bird to this region, now in 3rd basic plumage.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Jo Daviess County, Illinois. 26 January 2026.
• Same individual from Dubuque County, IA.
• Little Gull (adult). Galveston County, Texas. 26 January 2026.
• Little Gull (1st cycle). Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 26 January 2026.
• Rescue bird.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Franklin County, Washington. 29 January 2026.
• Returning adult since at least winter of 2016.
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Fairfield County, Connecticut. 30 January 2026.
• Presumably returning bird, since at least 2019.

Very likely, but unconfirmed adult Vega Gulls this month:

• Vega Gull (adult). Niagara County, Ontario. 02 January 2026.
• Vega Gull (adult). St. John's County, Florida. 11 January 2026.

Notes:

• An interesting 2nd cycle type Laughing Gull was found at the Brownsville Landfill in Cameron County, Texas this month. Photos from 08 January 2026 can be found here.
  
  There are two options for this bird: melanistic Laughing Gull, and less likely, a hybrid Laughing x Gray Gull.
  
  A pure Gray Gull can be dismissed for a number of reasons, first and foremost by the dark secondary tips which should be white-tipped in 2nd basic and beyond.
  
  Melanistic gulls, including melanistic Laughing Gulls, are very rare, and when they are found there is usually some white pigments on the underwing and the body.
  
  Hybrids are also rare, and to my knowledge, this pairing has not been recorded. However, given that the Florida Gray Gull now seems to be locked into North America, we have to give serious consideration to the possibility of a few Laughing x Gray Gull hybrids roaming the Gulf Coast. The timing is perfect, seeing that the Florida Gray Gull has been in our midst since at least June 2023. The two, Laughing Gull and Gray Gull, are in the same genus and it's not a long shot to imagine this pairing (Laughing Gull has hybridized with much more unexpected species, including Ring-billed Gull, Black-headed Gull and Gray-hooded Gull). This image in particular of the Texas bird, with chocolate-brown aspect -- not sooty-gray -- is very reminiscent of Gray Gull.
  
  At any rate, it seems likely that the 1st cycle found here last year and accepted as a Texas first state record Gray Gull is the same individual (although impossible to know for certain). That record, of course, will need to be reevaluated. 

Featured Highlights January 2026

Welcome to Featured Highlights, January 2026. 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. 

Video 12 tackles the subject of aging individuals that appear adult-like, overall, but with some imperfections. For such birds, we use the terms "adult type" or "subadult" to qualify what we're seeing. There are other terms in circulation that can be found in the literature, which are also discussed in this video. Enjoy!

Click on thumbnail above and watch in HD

Requests and Suggestions to thegullguide@gmail.com

December 2025 Monthly Notables

Sightings:

• Short-billed Gull (adult). Grant County, Wisconsin. 01 December 2025.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Dubuque County, Iowa. 03 December 2025.
• Same individual from Grant County, WI.
• Black-headed Gull (adult). Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 06 December 2025.
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Elkhart County, Indiana. 07 December 2025.
• Gray Gull (adult type). Sarasota County, Florida. 07 December 2025.
• Apparently, the same individual from Walton County.
• Vega Gull (1st cycle). Midway Islands, US. 10 December 2025.
• Midway Atoll NWR - Eastern Island
• Taimyr Gull (adult). Sonoma County, California. 10 December 2025.
• Returning adult.
• Little Gull (1st cycle). Alachua County, Florida. 10 December 2025.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Rock Island County, Illinois. 10 December 2025.
• Short-billed Gull (adult). Scott County, Iowa. 10 December 2025.
• Same individual from Rock Island County, IL.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Benton County, Washington. 10 December 2025.
• Continuing.
• California Gull (adult). St. John's County, NL.12 December 2025.
• Continuing
• Franklin's Gull (adult). Lincoln County, Oregon. 12 December 2025.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (1st cycle). Niagara County, New York. 15 December 2025.
• 3rd State Record. 1st Niagara River Record.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (1st cycle). Niagara County, Ontario. 15 December 2025.
• Same individual from NY.
• Black-headed Gull (1st cycle). Lincoln County, Oregon. 16 December 2025. 
  
• Short-billed Gull (adult). New York County, New York. 19 December 2025.
• Presumably a returning individual.
• Vega Gull (adult). Cameron County, Texas. 20 December 2025.
• Presumably a returning adult.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (adult). Franklin County, Illinois. 20 December 2025.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Will County, Illinois. 21 December 2025. 
• Short-billed Gull (2nd cycle). Middlesex County, New Jersey. 21 December 2025.
• 1ST STATE RECORD.
• Glaucous-winged Gull (adult). Clinton County, Illinois. 22 December 2025.
• Likely same bird from Franklin County, IL.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult type). Macomb County, Michigan. 22 December 2025.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Dubuque County, Iowa. 26 December 2025.
• Very likely the same individual from Will County, IL.
• Slaty-backed Gull (adult). Grant County, Wisconsin. 27 December 2025.
• Same individual from Dubuque County, IA
• Kamchatka Gull (adult). Nantucket County, Massachusetts. 28 December 2025.
• Returning adult.
• Short-billed Gull (adult & 2nd cycle). Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. 30 December 2025.
• Vega Gull (3rd cycle). Los Angeles County, California. 31 December 2025.
• Apparently, last year's then 2nd cycle has returned.

Notes:

1. An adult three-cycle gull, apparently from the Common Gull complex, was recorded in St. Charles County, Missouri on 07 December 2025. Originally suspected of being a Short-billed Gull, this individual showed unusually dark upperparts and a wingtip pattern that suggests an Old World taxon situated between Larus canus kamtschatschensis and Larus canus heinei. No identification has been made as the images are difficult to interpret. In any event, it is an extraordinary bird that should likely constitute a 1st State Record "Common Gull". See plates 17A.27-17A.28 in The Gull Guide for comparison.