Bird's-Eye View: But where's the beach? Many gulls visit Triad

Have you noticed recently that you don't have to visit the seashore to see seagulls? Winter weather brings many gulls to Winston-Salem and the Triad. Just look on the light poles at your favorite shopping center, or take a short drive to Salem Lake between December and March. The landfill is a good place, too. But it isn't the most pleasant place to visit.

Most of our winter gulls are ring-billed gulls. These medium-sized gulls are easily recognized by the black ring around the front third of their bills. Adults also have a white head and neck, reddish eye ring, gray back, black wing tips and yellow legs. Identifying young birds is more problematic, but more on that later.

The ring-billed is as much a fresh-water gull as a "seagull." It breeds primarily around the Great Lakes and in parts of Canada. In winter, it resides from our beaches to the mountain lakes. Nearly all return north in the spring. Most summer gulls at the beach are other species.

These winter visitors have adapted well to humans. They are equally at home foraging for worms and grubs in freshly plowed fields or scavenging food scraps at parking lots and landfills as they are eating fish or mollusks. Birders often refer to the ring-billed gull as the Wal-Mart bird.

Herring gulls are regular, but less common winter visitors. Ring-billed and herring gulls share affinities for lakes and landfills, but you likely have to look through hundreds of birds to find one herring gull. The easiest way to identify the latter is by size. It is one-third larger than the ring-billed. Also, an adult herring gull has pink legs and shows a red spot rather than a black ring on its bill.

March is a good time to watch for Bonaparte's gulls at Salem Lake. These birds stop at lakes and sewage ponds on their way through. Look for a small gull with an all-black bill and a black spot behind the eye. They show black on the rear edge of narrow wings and much white on the tips during flight. In breeding season most of the head is black. But we usually don't see that plumage here. Most gulls nest on the ground or cliffs, but the Bonaparte's nests in trees. It is named after a distant cousin to Napoleon.

Gulls are notoriously difficult to identify, even for experienced birders. As adults, most gulls share plumages of white, gray and black. Compounding the problem is the fact that it may be several years before they attain their adult appearance. Before then, they may go through several color patterns during each of their first, second and third years. Some adult gulls also change plumage between breeding and non-breeding months, and there are hybrid species.

To identify gulls, use a Sibley guide or other book that shows the different plumages. Observe the color patterns on the head and wings. If the bird is in flight, note the pattern and shape of the wings. But this may still leave you unsure, especially for immature or non-breeding birds.

What is the relative size of the gull -- small, medium or large? For example, young ring-billed and herring gulls both are a mottled gray or brown, but herring gulls are larger. Also, what are the colors of the bills, eyes and legs?

Consider the time of year -- breeding or non-breeding? Finally, habitat may provide a clue. Some gulls stay near the coast, others venture inland, and some scavenge at landfills and shopping centers while others rarely do.

Don't assume all seagulls are the same, even in Forsyth County. You may go to Salem Lake and see 400 gulls. Maybe they all are ring-billed, maybe not. Close examination may reveal a herring, a Bonaparte's, or even that rare black-headed, Sabine's or Iceland gull that you would never expect.

■ This month's Audubon birdwalk is at Miller Park on Saturday, March 14 at 9 a.m. Meet at the park's Queen Street parking lot. The group will keep eyes peeled for a barred owl. For more information, contact Susan Jones at sljones@triad.rr.com or call 336-768-9151.

■ Bird's-Eye View is a joint column by Ron Morris and Phil Dickinson. Today's column was written by Dickinson. If you have a birding question or story idea, write to Bird's-Eye View in care of Features, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101-3159, or send an e-mail to birding@wsjournal.com. Please type "birds" in the subject line.