Tweeters,

A brief summary of BC records of Black-headed and Little Gulls
(mostly based on the account in "The Birds of BC", Vol. 2,
by Campbell et al.) may be of interest in this discussion.

Black-headed Gull was first recorded in BC at Victoria in 1974,
and nearly all the BC records have come from the Victoria area.
As of 1988, there were 11 records for BC, and it looked like the
species was becoming almost annual in occurrence. (As of 1985,
there were 10 records for BC, at a time when there was still only one
record for Washington.) However, as in Washington, sightings have
become much less frequent in recent years.

Little Gull was also seen first in BC at Victoria in 1972, and there
were 26 reports through 1988 (cutoff date for Volume 2 of The Birds
of BC). Most sightings were from the Vancouver and Victoria areas,
but in this case with a much higher percentage of sightings (about
40%) from the Vancouver area. As for Black-headed Gull, sightings
of Little Gull have become much less frequent in the last 10 years.

I'm not sure that there has been a vast change in the numbers or
migration patterns of Bonaparte's Gulls in SW B.C. (Here is in WA,
nearly all sightings of Black-headed and Little Gulls are among
flocks of Bonys.) It does seem to me that migrant flocks of
Bonaparte's move through more quickly in spring and fall than
they used to, although still in large numbers. Very few Bonaparte's
spend the winter in BC, unlike the Puget Sound area.

Concentrations of 2000 up to occasionally 6000 or more
Bonaparte's Gulls (with a couple of reports of 10,000 or more
in one flock) continue to be regular in both spring and fall in
favored places such as off Clover Point in Victoria, Active Pass
in the Gulf Islands, and Iona Island near Vancouver.

Another point worth noting is the dramatic decrease in fall sightings of
immature Franklin's Gulls in SW B.C. This species used to be
"uncommon" in fall at Vancouver, with frequent sightings of 2-6 birds
(and one sighting of 18 at once) at a time in places like the Iona I.
and Ladner sewage ponds. It is now a very rare migrant, seen only
singly a few times a year, at best.

There have definitely been some changes in the numbers and migration
patterns of small gulls in the Puget Sound/Georgia Strait Region,
although the reasons for this seem obscure.


Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net



----- Original Message -----
From: <sgmlod at aol.com>
To: <Tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 12:40 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] BHGU in Washington


Greetings All

Yes, it has been a LONG time since BHGU has been seen in WA.
There are a couple possible explanations.

Bill Tweit had previously theorized (a number of years ago) that a fair
percentage of our records of Black-headed Gull from early to mid 1990s were
of a returning adult. If that were true, and that bird passed on (so to
speak), then sightings would decline precipitously.

Additionally, the huge congregations of Bonys at the Everett STP no longer
gather there; I don't know if there are fewer Bonys in the Puget Trough as a
whole, or if they are now more dispersed. Either way, the loss of that Bony
flock (so large and easy to sort through) would make the finding of a BHGU
much more difficult.

Interestingly, there has been a decline in Little Gull reports at the same
time. The loss of the Everett STP as a place to find these birds has
definitely contributed to the decrease in sightings, but the decline seems
more widespread, both in WA and across the west. Reasons for this are
unclear.

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow
Everett WA
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