How to tell your gulls apart

BRISTOL BAY — Sea gulls are everywhere this time of year. Actually, one should term the avian family Laridae, or "gulls." The Alaska contingent of this family covers 20-odd species, with only about a half-dozen common enough for the lay birder to spot and identify.

City residents are most familiar with the refuse-seeking birds of urban locales. Gulls are usually one of the first of the city-dwelling birds to arrive in spring. They remain a conspicuous resident all summer.

The big gulls that frequent dumpsters and parking lots are typically unattached males or juveniles, rarely nesting birds.

There are a few colonies of nesting pairs along the tidal flats near Anchorage and along the Tanana River near Fairbanks.

Herring gulls big and mean

Herring gulls are a common resident of the Anchorage Bowl. These big gulls are identifiable by their cold, reptilian yellow eye, a light gray back and black-tipped wings. They are bigger and meaner than other gulls. When present, herring gulls control prime scavenging areas. And they're not averse to eating the eggs of other birds — or even their young ones.

Glaucous and glaucous-winged gulls are the other gull species routinely seen in the Anchorage and Kenai areas. These two species are difficult to distinguish from each other. Glaucous gulls have a bright yellow eye. The glaucous-winged gull has dark eyes — though a few of these scavengers have light eyes, too. Because the two species hybridize, the young may be impossible to differentiate.

Unless one is a hard-core ornithologist, it likely matters little. Suffice to know that most of the screaming gulls around fish processors here in Bristol Bay are glaucous.

The Interior sees mostly glaucous-winged gulls. You may spot them nesting singly, far from others of their kind, along Interior glacial streams. Interestingly, they seem to prefer the company of arctic terns. In many locations, I have found gull nests within a few feet of tern nests. Although the gulls could easily eat the eggs of the much-smaller terns, they don't. In fact, the young are often raised on the same sandbar.

Mew gulls are the another common gull of our coast and the Interior. Mew gulls, about half the size of a glaucous or herring gull, will also scavenge, but not to the degree of the big gulls. They may sit around the edges of a dumpster or parking lot, but rarely do they fight for waste.

Small mew gulls look like a miniature herring gull with a dark eye. Yellow legs, instead of pink, also easily distinguish this respectful little gull from its raucous relatives.

The mew gull is relatively common throughout Alaska, though not in numbers, except along tidal flats. Interior rivers and lakes will frequently have a resident pair. Waterbugs are a favored fare. Scud, a sort of freshwater shrimp, are also heavily utilized. I have seen them chasing grasshoppers in sedge meadows, too.

The other widespread Alaska gull, of wilder environments, is the Bonaparte gull. Easily distinguishable by a black head, they are the only gull that commonly nest in trees. Bonapartes prefer stunted black spruce when such trees are available.

Sleek like arctic terns

One other gull with a black head frequents our state — Sabine's gull also has a forked tail and sleek appearance, making it more likely to be confused with an arctic tern than a gull. Sabine's gulls are not as common as Bonaparte gulls, especially in the Interior.

There are several kittiwake, jaeger (pronounced "yager") and terns from the same family as gulls that are common here. All three jaeger species are predatory, chasing gulls until they disgorge food. Parasitic, pomarine jaegers tend to be coastal birds, while long-tailed jaegers mainly nest inland. They are common on the Denali Highway.

All of the jaegers have black heads but when identifying jaegers, the tail tells the tale. All jaegers have two protruding tail feathers — the pomarine jaegers' are twisted, the parasitic jaegers' are short and straight. Long-tailed jaegers sport two extremely long tail feathers and a slim body style similar to that of an Arctic tern.

Arctic terns frequent the Interior, too. Terns are the fast-flying, dive-bombing birds that scream "kee, kee, kee" while they are taking your hat off for being too close to their nest or young.

With these easy descriptions, the occasional birder should be able to identify most gulls they encounter.

John Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives with his family near Paxson.  He is a Bristol Bay commercial fisherman and two-time winner of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.