Susan Kirby

There are three gulls that frequent the waters of New York City year-round: ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis), herring gulls and great black-backed gulls. (In the summer, the beaches are also filled with laughing gulls.) The ring-billed gulls are the ones I recognize most easily, given the very helpful ring on the bill! Someone once said that identifying gulls in their different plumages and ages is the path to madness. So far I’m taking very small steps on that path! I hope to add video soon to this and other gull pages.

These very numerous gulls are omnivores, and frequently hang around public parks and beaches where they hope for a snack from some willing or even not-so-willing human. But they are most fun to watch when they grab a shell, hover in the air, drop it, and enjoy the fruits of their labors. According to the Cornell site, “Many, if not most, Ring-billed Gulls return to breed at the colony where they hatched. Once they have bred, they are likely to return to the same breeding spot each year.”