Most of Salish Sea gulls are only one species, the glaucous-winged gull, a big gray to brown bird. Glaucous means dull gray. There are many other types of gulls, and in late summer and fall, we commonly see Heermann’s gulls – and they’re worth watching with dramatic white or gray clothes. It’s unlikely to be confused with any other gull species as it’s the only white-headed gray-bodied gull on the West Coast. Like most other gulls, the Heermann’s take several years to grow their final dark and white plumage. They go from dark sooty brown the first year, then to a lighter shade the second, and finally full-on white and dark the third year when they’re ready to breed. This is a medium-sized gull, about the size of a crow. Still, it’s big enough that they can steal food from brown pelicans which they often associate with.

 

This bird pretty much nests on ONE island off Baja – Isla Rasa, with a couple of smaller colonies nearby. So, of the 150,000 or so pairs, 90% of this species are born on one very vulnerable island in the Sea of Cortez that is basically a rock and a couple of lagoons southeast of Bahia de los Ángeles. It’s not much of a place for an entire species to call home, but it somehow works. Because all birds are in one place, the Heermann’s gull is listed as possibly threatened. After nesting and when it gets so hot even the cruisers leave, these birds head west over the mountains to the cooler and foggier west coast. Eventually, a few work their way north to see us. Some go as far as British Columbia, and then when winter closes in they begin the return journey to Isla Rasa. You might pause and compare these birds with another species that lives on ONE small rock. Us!

 

Larry Eifert paints and writes about the Pacific Northwest from Port Townsend. His large-scale murals can be seen in many national parks across America, and at larryeifert.com.

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