#larus smithsonianus

#639, the average gull experience.

North Pacific humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae kuzira

With American herring gull Larus smithsonianus

American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus), taken July 15, 2026, in New Hampshire, US

Larus Smithsonianus

Adult American Herring Gull foraging along the shoreline. (Whiffin Spit BC, October 9 2025.)

With the winter season upon us, I thought it was time I re-familiarized myself with the American Herring Gull's range, especially on the Pacific Coast, where Cook Inlet Gull hybrids migrate to southern BC from their Alaskan breeding grounds.

American Herring Gull is one of the most abundant gull species in North America, found in greater numbers around the Great Lakes and along the Atlantic Coast (Howell and Dunn 2007; "Birds of the World" 2024).

Breeding

On the Atlantic Coast, breeds from Baffin Island south to North Carolina and historically South Carolina ("Birds of the World" 2024; Jodice et al. 2007).

Moving Inland across the northeastern United States, the Great Lakes play host to some of the largest colonies outside of the Atlantic, although populations at several locations have decreased (Hebert 2020), which reflects general trends across northeastern North America towards the end of the Twentieth Century (Nisbet et al. 2013). Moving east, The southern extent of its breeding range steeply rises north from Minnesota, generally following the boreal forest of interior Canada ("Birds of the World" 2024). American Herring Gull populations across interior North America, especially Canada, may by underestimated, symptomatic of a broader paucity of research for gull species across this region (Anderson et al. 2016).

Extent of range in the Arctic Archipelago uncertain, but sporadic sightings hint at a northern presence, including an adult seen in Bylot Island and an immature in Cambridge Bay during the breeding season (Léandri-Breton 2013; Bertrands 2024).

In the west, southern extent of range dips into central interior BC. In Alaska, American Herring breeds throughout the interior, and south central to south eastern Alaska (Cook Inlet to Glacier Bay Basin), where they hybridize extensively with Glaucous-winged Gulls (Weiser and Pohlen 2022).

Nonbreeding

Winters along the Pacific Coast from southwestern Alaska to northwestern Mexico, but in fewer numbers than eastern North America (Howell and Dunn 2007). This gull's preference for bodies of freshwater means that large numbers are rarely seen alongside more coastal Glaucous-winged and Western Gulls. In California, American Herring have been recorded far offshore during the winter months (Sanger 1973); also have been observed in large numbers on Californian shorelines during storms, presumably after being blown ashore by westerly winds (Ayyash 2024).

Range extends in pockets across the interior of the continental United States, usually associated with freshwater lakes and rivers ("Birds of the World" 2024). Many adult birds in the continental United States are short-distance migrants, moving only short distances from their breeding grounds, unless colder temperatures force them further south (Ayyash 2024; Howell and Dunn 2007).

Large numbers winter along the Atlantic Coast, from Newfoundland to Florida, Gulf of Mexico and occasionally the West Indies (Howell and Dunn 2007). Rarely ventures into the southern Caribbean and northern South America ("Birds of the World" 2024).

Citations

Weseloh, D. V., et al. "American Herring Gull (Larus Smithsonianus)." Version 1.0, Birds of the World, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA, 22 Oct. 2024, birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/amhgul1/cur/systematics. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Howell, Steve N. G., Jon Dunn. "Peterson Reference Guide to Gulls of the Americas." The Peterson Reference Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007, pp. 403.

Jodice, Patrick G. R., et al. "Longterm Trends in Nest Counts of Colonial Seabirds in South Carolina, USA." Waterbirds, vol. 30, no. 1, 1 March 2007, pp. 49. https://doi.org/10.1675/1524-4695(2007)030[0040:LTINCO]2.0.CO;2

Hebert, Craig E., et al. "Trends in herring gull egg quality over four decades reflect ecosystem state." Journal of Great Lakes Research, vol. 46, no. 3, 2020, pp. 538-548. Science Direct, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2020.03.004.

Nisbet, I. C. T., et al. "Marine birds of the eastern United States and the Bay of Fundy. Distribution, numbers, trends, threats, and management." Nuttall Ornithological Club, no. 29, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2013, pp. 65.

Anderson, John G. T., et al. "Introduction: A Historical Perspective on Trends in Some Gulls in Eastern North America, with Reference to Other Regions." Waterbirds vol. 39, no. 1, 1 April 2016, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1675/063.039.sp106

Léandri-Breton, Don-Jean. "American Herring Gull." Macaulay Library, 22 Jun. 2013, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/251980321. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.

Bertrands, Joachim. "American Herring Gull." Macaulay Library, 5 Jul. 2024, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/635145038. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.

Weiser, Emily, Zak Pohlen. "Cook Inlet Gull (American Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull hybrid) Identification in Alaska." Alaska eBird, 25 Apr 2022, https://ebird.org/region/US-AK-220/post/cook-inlet-gull-herring-x-glaucous-winged-gull-hybrid-identification-in-alaska. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Sanger, Gerald A. "Pelagic Records of Glaucous-Winged and Herring Gulls in the North Pacific Ocean." The Auk, vol. 90, no. 2, 1973, pp. 384–93. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4084306. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Oh Gosh, a second.

I definitely didn't forget how to draw in my own style or anything. :|

They pick up the shells, and drop em from a height to crack em for the tasty bits. American Herring Gull. Southold NY