Another year and another Gullstravaganza in the books.  This year we had a first in that we actually canceled the initial event due to weather.  In the past we've gone full tilt regardless of conditions, but this year heavy snow put the kibosh on the initial offering.  We weren't
 too worried as we had offered the trip a little earlier than normal this year, giving us plenty of time for a make up date.  The only problem was our actual lack of availability through the end of the winter gulling season.  With only  few options, we settled on February 11, 2017--unfortunately the same day as Utah Bald Eagle Day, but it was out best option.

The Utah State Bird--the California Gull...

In the week leading up to the event we had high hopes with at least 8 species of gull reported so far in the month of February.  But the weather, int he opposite end of the spectrum had different ideas.  A major warm front passed and dropped 5-6 days of 50-60 degree weather on the valleys across northern Utah.  What this meant was all that frozen water that helped concentrate the gulls in a handful of places was now open.  There was no frozen water around the southeast edge of the Great Salt Lake.

The morning of the trip Kenny Frisch and I set out to do a quick scouting run.  First stop Decker Lake... No gulls.  Next was the Lake Park Facility... No gulls.  Okay then Lee Kay Ponds... No gulls.  This pattern wasn't very welcoming...  We drove 7200 West along the west end of the landfill where luckily the overflowing playas had a small flock of gulls with 4 species--the regular 3 (California, Ring-billed, and Herring), and a Thayer's Gull to give us at least some variety.

Ring-billed Gull in the shallows

So with this in mind, we headed to meet the group.  Although 37 people signed up a handful didn't show up.  There seemed to be some confusion because apparently the Utah County Birders had a gull field trip on Saturday as well.  But they cancelled theirs, and we got several emails from people asking if the trip was still on since they received an email saying it wasn't.  It would have been cool if they would have sent their members an email saying their trip was off, but we were still offering one.

Part of the group looking at our main flock at 7200 West

We set out with a line of cars in tow and found ourselves at Lee Kay Ponds, where there were still no gulls.  But a NEOTROPIC CORMORANT, provided nice looks perched and in flight with a Double-crested Cormorant.  On to 7200 West where had we known our fortunes for the rest of the day, we would've remained for the entirety of the field trip.  The flock here grew to around 500 gulls, still with the majority of the 3 species mentioned above.  Eventually we relocated the THAYER'S GULL for the group, and added an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL to make it 5 species on the year, at least besting our worst count by one!

Lesser Black-backed Gull in front of a Herring Gull

WE did find one bird that initially caused a stir.  It was a large dark-backed gull with a thick bill.  It had an essence of a darker Western x Glaucous-winged hybrid, but seemed too dark, with a  bill that wasn't quite bulbous enough, and wings that were perhaps too long.  After some discussion amongst others we settled on HERRING x LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL which is a new hybrid for the trip.  Truthfully it may very well even be a Herring X Great Black-backed Gull, but with our distant looks, and lack of experience with those mixes it really is impossible to say with certainty.

The big, nasty, dark-backed, big-billed presumed hybrid, Lesser Black-backed X Herring Gull

There actually were lots of gulls in the area, but they were on the landfill, almost a mile away and showed no signs of leaving the trash pile in favor of the water. I shot a little video through my spotting scope to show the mass in the air...

This... #gullgasm #utahbirders #mwbirdco #gullstravaganza

A video posted by Tim Avery (@piranga) on Feb 11, 2017 at 6:55pm PST

After an hour we headed up to Farmington Bay where there were hundreds of gulls scattered on the open water.  Mostly Ring-billed with a few California and Herring mixed in, we didn't find anything else of note.  Aside from the gulls there were a handful of WHITE-FACED IBIS around, as well as a huge flock of AMERICAN AVOCET that had arrived in the last week.

Flock of White-faced Ibis passing at Farmington Bay

We called the trip a day a little early since there weren't anymore gulls to be seen.  Although we would have like some frozen water, and concentrations of gulls it's always a fun trip.  Next year we may shoot for an even earlier date to make sure we can get it in before all the ice opens.  That in combination with the fact DNR no longer does a carp kill will probably keep us doing an earlier trip in the future to make sure we see lots of gulls, and a great variety of species!  Thanks to everyone who joined us this year and made for a great time!

Part of the group wrapping up the afternoon at Farmington Bay

Another winter and another Utah Birders Gullstravaganza in the books.  It comes and goes so quickly every year, to the point that I am already thinking about 2017 and our next event.  Every year we seem to learn something new--some years it contradicts with things we've learned in the past, and makes this even ever changing to fit the year.  This year we learned that when you have an early thaw, it can really throw things into turmoil if you keep a late February date for the event.  Last year on the same weekend there was ice, wind, and snow.  This year it was sun, mud and water.  Anyways let's talk shop and get to it.

An impressive line of Gullers at the bay!

We had an absolutely great turnout for the event with 36 intrepid larus enthusiasts congregating at Farmington Bay for our annual gull trip.  The group was a great mix of old and new faces and names, and ranged in age from little kids, to well seasoned birders.  The weather was truly beautiful--sunny, and right around 50 degrees--something that isn't normal for this date.  After the group was mostly there, we carpooled up and headed down west dike to see what we could find...

And what we found were RING-BILLED GULLS.  Lots and lots of Ring-billed Gulls.  In fact, at 1,200 individuals this was the most common species we encountered of the day.  To be fair there were an estimated 2,500 gulls too far away to identify.  Large rafts of gulls sat in distant corners of the bay, obscured by heat waves and distance.  Notably there was no ice on the water, and the gulls were spread far and thin.  Like a evenly buttered piece of toast, it seemed like the birds had been laid out evenly across the bay, making it difficult to scan and compare shapes and sizes, as often there weren't birds "nearby" to compare to.

Utah's State Bird...The errr, California Gull

But this did not matter--we came for gulls so we looked for gulls!  We started to pick out our second species, the Utah state bird, the CALIFORNIA GULL in small numbers mixed in with the Ring-billed.  Eventually we came across a distant HERRING GULL, and finally a stop turned up 4 more Herrings close enough for everyone to get good looks.  We might just be able to pull out enough gull species to make the day a "stravaganza".

Adult Herring Gull on what little ice remained...

Eventually we made it to the 4-way at the end of the road and scanned for gulls here.  Notably present--much of the same from the drive in--except more California Gulls entered the fray.  To the southeast there was a nice mix of the 3 species and the movement of gulls in and out out was promising.  Eventually we turned up a 1st winter LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.  Then a second, and before the day was over Mike Hearell and Taylor Abbot picked out an adult that joined the raucous.

A small part of the group got looks at a THAYER'S GULL, but this usually common enough species was quite difficult to track down.  After most of the party had left for the day we were able to find an adult in the area.  5 species of gulls for the day.  Surprisingly this isn't the least amount of species we've had on this trip, and its only 1 less that what I would call "average".  Still comparing this to last year where we had 7 species as well as hybrids, it seems tame.  The three main reasons this years event didn't have the species count I always dream of, was due to the open water (lack of ice congregating birds), the fact DNR didn't do a carp kill here (still shaking my head on that one), and luck.  In the previous couple days both Mew and Glaucous-winged Gull had been see here.  Luck goes a long ways...

As the group parted, Mike, Taylor, and I made our way up west dike, and spotted an interesting Herring/Thayer's Type bird.  The smallish (for a Herring) bird had a rounded head, smallish bill, large window on P10 underside--but had a yellow eye, and apparently quite a bit of black on the underside of the primaries.  So is this a tiny Herring, or an abberant Thayer's Gull?  Gotta love gulls!

Herring or Thayer's? You be the Judge!

I love this field trip though.  Getting a large group of birders together to hang out for a couple hours, and just talk birds--gulls none-the-less!  We did see a few other birds as well--I tallied 43 species on the afternoon.  A small flock of WESTERN GREBES had arrived on the bay, while small flocks of WHITE-FACED IBIS and SANDHILL CRANE were present too.  The TUNDRA SWANS were present in small numbers and at a distance as well.  Near the entrance a flock of a dozen or so HOODED MERGANSERS were lounging on the water,  And on Glovers Lane a CACKLING GOOSE was hanging with a flock of Canada Geese as I took off for the day.

Tundra Swans against the Wasatch

In all we raised $150 for Great Salt Lake Audubon with this event this year--and we learned some things to help plan next years event.  The truth is you never know what you're going to get till the trip happens. Weather, food, and so many other things have to fall into place just right.  At the end of the day though, it was a great day spent looking at gulls with a fun group of Utah Birders!

eBird Checklist

It seems like just yesterday we were wrapping up the 2014 Gullstravaganza. The crazy thing is that was 13 months ago.  2014 was one of our best gulling events--the best up till that point in variety of gulls and number of participants.  This year we decided to put all our eggs in one basket and finally just move the event to Farmington Bay WMA for its entirety instead of moving form location to location,  This likely had some advantages and disadvantages, but it made for a more relaxed event and much easier planning.

As has become the norm, we had a good number of sign ups with 33 people signing up for the event, despite a competing field trip led by Jerry Liguori and Hawkwatch International... Queue a little Seinfeld humor... "Hello Jerry!!!"



Okay, so that was ridiculous... :) In the past we have tried to plan this even when nothing else is going on, but this year we knew there were conflicts ahead of time--luckily the one we expected to cut in to ours--Snow Goose Festival--was actually a week later than expected (good for us and likely very bad for them as the geese have already started moving on...eek.).

So anyways, to the event.  After a slow start with gullers arriving we quickly realized Jerry was trying to poach our trip attendees by having his trip block the road to look at some boring BALD EAGLES.  He even went so far as to "accidentally take" one of our gullers in his car until the chap realized he'd been duped into the wrong group.  We straightened things out and eventually 23 birders were rallied to head out for the gulls! 4 more joined us shortly after for a total of 27 attendees this year.  Down from what we expected but the weather report likely caused some last minute dropouts--and those who Jerry promised photo-ops with ;)  None-the-less we were here to gull and gull we did.

Heading into the marsh we stopped briefly to look at an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL that was hanging out at the air boat launch on Dike Road at the carp pile.  Due the the unseasonably warm weather we've had the eagles have mostly moved out, leaving the piles of fish for the gulls to take advantage of without any competition.

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull taking flight

We scanned the water to the east as well where around 1250 TUNDRA SWANS were on the water, and hundreds of ducks including a few CANVASBACK were present.  Most of the winter divers were all together gone with just a few BUFFLEHEAD and COMMON GOLDENENEYE in the mix. To the end of the road we wandered setting up shop to scan a flock sitting on the mud a couple hundred yards out.  The prize in this group was a gorgeously white GLAUCOUS GULL that stood right out amongst the other gulls.

Glaucous Gull

As we watched and tallied more LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, a couple THAYER'S GULLS, and numerous HERRING GULLS things were looking good.  Along with just a couple CALIFORNIA GULLS and plenty of RING-BILLED GULLS we had 6 species of gulls in 30 minutes.  That's how to start a Gullstravaganza!  As we were about to pack up and head to another spot to set up for a bit, a very pale gull flew i and landed. I caught it running across the flats before it sat down and immediately ran for my scope.  This had to be an ICELAND GULL!

"Kumlien's" Iceland Gull

After a few minutes trying to get a good look at the wing tips I was 99% certain it was a Kumlien's Gull.  The bird had sat down and quickly tucked its head but it was sitting next to several Herring Gulls with a Thayer's nearby for comparison.  I assumed this had been the same bird Kenny Frisch and I found a month ago and it gave everyone long looks as it sat there until we moved on.  Everyone's scopes were trained on the bird--gull species #7 for the day in less than an hour.  The bird was a lifer for a handful of attendees--as was the Glaucous Gull.

Entrepid Gullers!

About this time a squall was making its way across the lake and had ht Farmington.  The wind picked up out of the north and headed towards us, bring wind, rain, and finally snow. We convened the vehicles in the parking lot on the west side of the 4-way where I told the group it was up to them whether they stayed or left.  I didn't know what the weather was going to do, but it didn't look pretty.  What I did know is we were here to look at gulls and not going to leave quite yet.  About 10-15 birders stayed or birded around Farmington for the next hour.  We set up about 60' from the carp  pile where HERRING GULLS were starting to filter in.

Herring Gull in Flight

The light was fantastic as the sun kept mostly out even though it was bitterly cold.  The snow passed quickly and the birds didn't seem to mind our presence as they fed.  More birds joined the fray and eventually a couple 1st winter THAYER'S GULLS made an appearance allowing for some great up close study.

Thayer's Gull

One of the biggest surprises for the day was actually the lack of gull abundance.  In fact on the day I counted just 23 CALIFORNIA GULLS.  That is an astonishingly low count for the event, and even for Farmington Bay this time of year.  The few that were present did provide some great opportunities to study next to the massive Herring's.

California Gull

The other surprise was that by my count the Herring Gulls actually outnumbered all other gulls combined--that includes RING-BILLED GULL which typically follows California in numbers.  Herring Gulls outnumbered the others 280 to 259.  Those numbers are also a low count for the event in terms of total gulls.  Now there were several hundred (maybe even 1,000) over the dump a couple miles east that you could see swirling with binoculars.  But I didn't count them for the list since they were unidentifiable, and outside Farmington's boundary.

Ring-billed Gull

As the day wore on the group dwindled to about 10 die hard gull watchers, braving the cold, snapping photos, and talking gulls, cameras, and other things bird and birding related. This was a Utah Birders event to a tee!

We did have a bit of excitement i the afternoon watching the carp pile as a very pale gull came flying in from the east.  Initially I thought it was the Iceland Gull and was stoked I would be getting killer flight shots.  And killer shots I did get--only the bird wasn't the Iceland Gull!

So what is it?

After it landed it was apparent the primaries were too dark and the bird seemed odd.  I thought about Thayer's Gull, but it was very pale, and was a hefty looking bird with a bulkier than normal bill.  Hybrids came to mind with the obvious choice for a bird this pale with a bi-colored bill being a Glaucous x Herring Gull hybrid--also known as a Nelson's Gull.

Certainly has a Herring-ish face...

I stuck to that as the name until I got home when I started to wonder if I was looking at this thing all wrong.  One of the major issues with late season gulling is that birds get bleached losing some of their color making them appear "whiter" than usual.  The bird was on the small size for the hybrid in question, but not too small. Looking at it I could see some Herring features which is why I clung to the idea of a hybrid.  I have had several others look at it and the opinions are varied.  From very bleached out Thayer's Gull, to Something with some "Herring in it", to Glaucous-winged x Herring.  Glaucous x Herring has been ruled out but the jury is out on what this bird is.  I could certainly be swayed to Thayer's Gull, albeit the lightest I've ever seen--but I feel reservatons based off seeing it next to Thayer's and Herring in the field. Regardless, it was a very cool bird.

A gorgeous gull regardless the species!

Mid-way through the afternoon we wrapped things up and called it a day!  The 5th annual Gullstravaganza was in the books with 7 species of Gull!  As always this is my favorite trip of the year, as many birders still overlook gulls, and they continually provide us with unique individuals that can make for a difficult time ID'ing.  And as usual I was stoked with the excellent turn out.  As with years in the past my mind is already turning with ideas for making next years event even better.

A big thanks to Kenny Frisch for co-leading the trip this year.  And of course a big thanks to everyone who attended, from Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Summit, and other surrounding counties.  There were attendees from Millard County as well as Wyoming; and even one guest from Scotland (although he currently lives here).

eBird Checklist for this years event:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22009728

Two months ago we started looking at dates for this years Gullstravaganza.  Needless to say it was a busy winter and there were a limited number of dates open or that seemed like they would work best for our now annual outing--in it’s 4th official year.  We wanted to shoot for the latter half of February, after the carp-kill at Farmington Bay--it makes gulling easy and brings the birds in close.  But with other commitments and a lack of available dates we settled to have it in early January this year, not knowing how well we would do, we just hoped for the best.

A week before the trip 7 species of gull were reported at the usual Salt Lake County gulling hotspots--a good sign for us.  The bad part was only about a ⅓ as many people had signed up as the previous year--the early January date might have been a crowd killer.  But as the week went on the list grew and by 1:00am Saturday morning there were 36 names on the sign up--and we officially had “the crowd” we were hoping for.  And with such a group we decided to break out a special edition sticker for the trip as well as a new, 2014 Utah Birders Sticker!

The 1st Utah Birders Stickers of 2014

Early on the the 11th, I met up with fellow trip leaders Jeff Bilsky, and Kenny Frisch to do our usual day-of pre-scouting.  We changed the format of the trip in 2014 following the lead of Colorado and their “Gullapalooza” trip, which happens in the afternoon.  Gulls after all are pretty lethargic, and don’t tend to move around too much, especially when feeding--so afternoons would be ideal.  Plus asking folks to stomp around in the snow and ice in the middle of January on a cold morning for gulls often seemed a stretch in my mind--if its even a few degrees warmer and people can get their day going the afternoon might work out a little better.

In any event we started our day with a stop at Decker Lake where there were few gulls and nothing noteworthy--we found a dead 1st winter Thayer’s Gull on the shore, not the best signs for a trip that looks for birds like this.  At Decker Lake we were shocked to find less than 100 gulls, making us wonder, “where were the birds?”.  As expected Lee Kay Ponds was frozen solid, and the although there was a HERRING GULL guarding a dead carp on the ice, the only other gulls were about 1,000 birds out over the dump.  A pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS were hunting the starlings over the dump as well, providing quite a show.

We made one last stop at Saltair, where again there was an obvious lack of gulls and anything noteworthy.  A NORTHERN SHRIKE near the entrance to the park was a nice consolation, but we were gearing up for Gullstravaganza--and there were NO GULLS!

Northern Shrike at Saltair

We decided to drive to the International Center to see if there were birds there, but there weren’t--so we looped back to Decker Lake for one last pass.  Luckily some gulls had showed up here and a live THAYER’S GULL was present.  At Lake Park it looked like gulls were starting to filter into the main pond so things appeared on the up-and-up.  And Stephanie Greenwood was a big help, stopping by Farmington Bay to let us know that if all else failed there were a “few” gulls there, including some first year birds, which always make for a good time.

To the trip…

The group started rolling into the meeting location at Lake Park just before noon.  By 12:20pm we had 35 people and decided we had to move out so we headed to the main pond at Lake Park to see what gulls were there.  I guess the “pouring in” we saw a little earlier ended at about 200 birds, and by the time we got there, they were far out on the ice. We had to trek it to the west side of the pond and in the process lost 3 of our group to the cold and wind--I’ll be honest it was pretty miserable right off the bat.  Once in a great spot to scan from we quickly found a 1st winter THAYER’S GULL in the small flock.  Mike Hearell spotted a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, and I picked out a 3rd winter WESTERN GULL, unfortunately the birds were sitting mostly and hard to pick out.  Every once in a while the birds would pick up and resettle further out, losing a few birds that flew off.  The Thayer’s flew right over, giving everyone a great look.

1st winter Thayer's Gull photo by Jonathan Wilkinson

Checklist for Lake Park
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16338032

Aside from Gulls Jeff found 3 CACKLING GEESE here for an added bonus.  Back at the cars the three that left had their spots filled by 6 that showed up a few minutes late.  We packed back into the cars and headed towards Decker Lake where it looked like we might be spending most of our trip at this point.  Once there we scuttled everyone to the hill overlooking the east leg--on the north shore there was a guy with a pickup truck and the bed was full of loaves of bread.  He was feeding the ducks and gulls and the flurry of birds made for tough scanning.  That combined with a pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS that showed up and were putting on a show!

Pair of Peregrine's photo by Tim Avery

Peregrine Falcon photo by Jonathon Wilkinson

Eventually things calmed down a little and Kenny found an adult MEW GULL sitting relatively close to shore and we set up scopes for everyone in the group to see.  It was a lifer for a quite a few so that was exciting.  A couple times it flew and gave everyone great views in the air as well.

Mew Gull in flight taken by Tim Avery

Mew Gull taken by Jeff Cooper

After a while our group who added one more with Jeff Cooper had exhausted the gulls here--despite around 1,000 gulls, there just wasn’t much mixed in.

Utah Birders scanning for Gulls at Decker Lake

We decided to offer to go up to Farmington Bay for those who wanted, as that gave us our best chance for more gulls.  Some of the group split off here and headed home--while about 25 continued on to Farmington to see what we could find there.

Checklist for Decker Lake
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16338059

At the 4-way parking area at the end of the road we could see gulls to the south and east--but the “heat waves” coming off the water were distorting everything pretty bad.  What we could see is an adult THAYER’S GULL pretty close in, and to the east what looked to be an adult WESTERN GULL and perhaps an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL--but maybe it was just the lighting…

We started hiking to the east and pretty soon it was apparent that the bird in the distance was an adult WESTERN GULL and it was super cooperative.

Western Gull digiscope at Farmington Bay

We also verified the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, but it wasn’t quite as close in.

Lesser Black-backed Gull digiscope at Farmington Bay

Another adult THAYER’S GULL sat very close and allowed for great viewing as well.

Thayer's Gull taken by Jeff Cooper

Further east we could see there were hundreds of gulls on a canal/stream where there was some open water.  We had to hoof it a ways but eventually got within 300~ yards and could scan fairly easily.  Some in the group had spotted another LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL in the water which I found after a minute of scanning.  AS I kept going, I spotted another, and then another, and then another!!! There were 4 adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS on the stream!  Incredible.  But we weren’t done yet--on the other side of the road where the stream flowed to the other side there were more gulls.  Kendall Watkins spotted our second adult MEW GULL of the day, lounging with a few HERRING GULLS.  And just a hundred or so feet from it was yet another Lesser Black-backed Gull--6 at Farmington Bay at once, and 7 on the day!

Utah Birders ending the day at Farmington Bay, photo by Janice Gardner

We spent a couple hours scanning birds until the cold started to get the most of us so we headed back in.  It was getting close to dark and the group had whittled to about a dozen of the craziest and die hard birders out there.  I applaud the entire group that came today--all 42 folks for putting up with the cold, the wind, and this big dude from Salt Lake who for some reason just can’t get enough of these gulls.

Farmington Bay photo by Brenton Reyner

Checklist for Farmington Bay
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16338113

Just like that another Gullstravaganza is in the books.  This year beat our previous best of 36 birders by 6--something we still have a hard time contemplating, given its the middle of winter and we’re looking at gulls!  But it’s awesome and I thank those who came out to support this much underrated family of birds!  We had people from all over the state here this year.  The Allan’s joined us form Millard County while Kevin (I believe) from Torrey came a short 200 miles to take part in the trip.  There were birders from Cache, Weber, Box Elder, Summit, Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah Counties as well.  And there may have been other places represented as well.

In 2013 our 36 participants tallied just 4 species during the trip, and 4,500 individual gulls--and impressive number of birds, but depressing showing of species. After that trip, other birders added 2 more species at Farmington Bay where we didn’t go--so an unofficial 6 for the day of.
http://utahbirders.blogspot.com/2013/02/gullstravaganza-2013-recap.html

In 2012 weather put a damper on our trip, and only 11 people (of 27 expected) braved the miserable icy and rainy conditions, for 6 species of gull--the highlight being a Glaucous-winged and Lesser Black-backed.
http://utahbirders.blogspot.com/2012/01/gullstravaganza-2012-recap.html

In 2011 during our first official Gullstravaganza we ticked off 6 species of gull, when 24 birders joined us--the highlight was a 1st winter Iceland Gull which the entire group got to see.
http://utahbirders.blogspot.com/2011/01/call-is-gullstravaganza.html

Prior to when we called it Gullstravaganza, I led a trip in December 2009 where we had 7 species + 1 hybrid.  Before that we did 2 more gull trips, but I can’t find the lists for them or any reports.  What I can say is that since 2008 between 6 or 7 gulling trips in the winter we have tallied an impressive 10 species of gull in Utah.  The list would be stellar anywhere in the United States, but in landlocked Utah it’s even more impressive.  In all we also raised $150 in donations for Great Salt Lake Audubon.

For next years event we are going to revamp thinks a little more--as we do each year, and hopefully then we can finally have an 8 gull species event!

Here is a complete list of this years gulls:

2 Mew Gull
2 Western Gull
7 Lesser Black-backed Gull
6 Thayer’s Gull
28 Herring Gull
220 Ring-billed Gulls
1,450 Californa Gulls
1 Hybrid Western X Glaucous-winged Gull

Utah Birders and Great Salt Lake Audubon at 2013 Gullstravaganza (photo by Oliver Hansen)

In 2011 we had lots of participants and lots of species.  In 2012 the weather cut participation, but we still had more than the usual gull species.  And in 2013 we had more than 30 participants, 4500 individual gulls, but only managed the 4 common species--the rarities just weren't to be found.  None-the-less it was an incredible day of birding with the Utah Birders and Great Salt Lake Audubon.

The week before the event we changed the location of the event to the Lake Park Facility in West Valley City because in the past month the common 4 plus Lesser Black-backed, Western, Mew, Glaucous, and Glaucous-winged Gull had all been reported from here.  9 species of gull and easy viewing made it an ideal meeting place.  The fact that Farmington had been 100% frozen the past 2 weeks also led to our trepidation of hosting the event there.  Another major change this year was the start time of 12:00 noon, instead of 8:00am.  We followed the lead of Colorado and their Gullapalooza, finding that the number of participants upped when they changed their start time to noon last year.

To yesterday.  Jeff Bilsky, Kenny Frisch, and I met up early to go and check the gull situation at Decker Lake, Lake Park, Lee Kay Ponds, and the International Center.  Although we knew Lake Park had the most potential, the good gulls end up showing up at all of these places.  Decker Lake had a fair number of California and Ring-billed Gulls, but no larger winter gulls.  Heading towards Lake Park we got excellent looks at a MERLIN just east of Bangerter Highway.

First Merlin of the day

At Lake Park there were about ~1000 gulls on the Stonebridge Golf Course pond, so we figured that would be a good stop later in the day.  At the west pond at Lake Park we arrived to fog and about 500 gulls roosting next to the target Parking Lot.  When we set up scopes to try and look through them, everything took flight and circled the pond.

Gulls circling in the fog

Perhaps one of the most interesting gulls of the day was seen at this time, when an adult California Gull with NO TAIL passed over us.  It looked almost comical yet sad without that tail.

The "tail-less" California Gull

We couldn't see the water because the fog was thick so we set out to the other locations mentioned.  Besides more fog and bad light, the only bird of note was a MERLIN on 7200 west by the landfill.

Second Merlin of the day

We headed back to Lake Park to wait for the trip to begin.  While we waited a BALD EAGLE made a pass and most of the gulls left.

Perfect lighting and being in the right place got this Bald Eagle photo

The gulls started to trickle back in as the birders did as well.  We waited till about 12:15 to start looking at gulls, because more and more people showed up.  All in all, including guides there were a total of 36 participants during the day--by far the biggest field trip we've organized.  The amazing thing is its a trip for gulls, and its in February!  Needless to say we were very happy with the turnout.

We took the group and crossed the field from the Target where we met and headed to the west pond at Lake Park.  As we walked over hundred of gulls came pouring into the basin from the north.  It was a perfect start to the trip and gave everyone the opportunity to be immersed in the gulls.  We set up and started scanning the 400 gulls on the water.  The majority were the common 2, but there were a number of HERRING GULLS mixed in, and one 1st winter, and one 2nd winter THAYER'S GULL.  Both Thayer's took flight shortly after we started looking at them.  After exhausting the gulls here, we walked around the pond and ogled the gulls in the field next to the Target.  Nothing new mixed in but we set up some great scope comparisons of Herring and California Gulls and giving us a chance to show everyone a 1st winter California Gull.

1st winter California Gull with adult California Gulls

Figuring their would be some mixing up, we headed everyone to Lee Kay Ponds to give Lake Park a bit of a rest.  At Lee Kay there were about 800 gulls on the ice.  The lighting wasn't great, but even with what we had, there was nothing out of the ordinary mixed in.  The highlight for many was a FALCON (probably Peregrine) that was dive bombing a flock of starlings far out over the dump, and a Bald Eagle perched along the power poles.

We checked out the International Center where about 250 Ring-billed Gulls and a handful of California were roosting on the ice.   Again, nothing unusual mixed in.  A Red-tailed Hawk flew over flushing all the gulls which left, and headed south towards Lake Park.

At this point we headed everyone back to Lake Park and headed to the main pond at Stonebridge Golf Course.  We found decent lighting on the northwest side of the pond and spent considerable time scanning the large flock on the ice.  Again, nothing unusual was mixed in.  It was almost unbelievable to have looked through so many gulls and not being able to find a single odd ball.  It was also a little frustrating because we knew there had been some really good birds here within the last couple days.

To end the day we headed back over to the west pond and made our way to the west side of the field south of Target where we had great lighting to view the gulls there.  Again, the common 3 gave great looks, and in the light provided ample photo ops.

Adult California Gull flying by

Ring-billed Gull coming in for a landing

Then it was really an odd moment when a domestic Mallard x wild Mallard hybrid flew over and all of the gulls took flight.  It made for awesome photos.

The whole mess of gulls taking flight

David Allan and his daughter (I'm sorry it slipped my mind) met up with the group at this last stop.  They drove all the way from Millard County up to Salt Lake and she had really hoped to see a Thayer's Gull for a life bird.  It was was great to see someone so young really excited about gulls.  And luck must have been on her side a few moments after the explosion of gulls Jeff yelled out that a Glacuous Gull was flying over-- I looke dup and yelled it again loud enough for everyone.  To the bare eye it looked like a great white ghost form beneath, but when I got my viewfinder of my camera on it, it became obvious that it had darker wing tips--THAYER'S GULL!  

3rd winter Thayer's Gull flying past at the end of the day

At first I thought it was the same 2nd winter bird from this morning, but after looking at the pictures I would say this is a 3rd winter bird, but think it was still the same bird from the morning because of the unique mess of a bill it had.  In any event it was a great lifer moment for the young birder from Millard, and made the trip really worthwhile there at the end.

Shortly after we called it a day and thanked everyone who had come.  Despite the lack of species, it was still  one hell of a great trip.  We raised $130 for Great Salt Lake Audubon, and got some great feedback from those who came.  It may be 12 months till the next Gullstravaganza but we are already thinking of ways to make it even better in 2014!

Thanks to everyone who came and made the event so great.  As a side note we learned that others headed back north made stops at Farmington Bay WMA where both WESTERN GULL and LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL were present!  I guess we still should have hit 6 species for the day, but still no complaints from our end!

Every winter as California Gulls congregate on the edges of the Great Salt Lake to search for food at nearby land- fills, parks, wildlife management areas, and anywhere that may have open fresh water--other gulls that stray from their normal winter ranges end up mixed in.

This creates one of most unique inland gulling hot spots in the nation. Along with the thousands of California Gulls are smaller numbers of Ring-billed Gulls, and decent numbers of Herring Gulls. Mixed in with those you are likely to find a few Thayer's Gulls with enough searching. Aside from those 4 species a handful of others show up every year including: Glaucous, Glaucous-winged, Mew, Lesser Black-backed, Western, Iceland and even a possible Slaty- backed Gull once.

This February, join Great Salt Lake Audubon and the Utah Birders for our 3rd annual Gullstravaganza. We are changing things up this year and going to hold the event from 12 noon until dark, instead of all day. The event will take place at LAKE PARK FACILITY in West Valley City. WE WILL BE MEETING AT 12 NOON in the southeast corner of THE TARGET ON 5600 WEST AND LAKE PARK BLVD (about 2600 south)

Please bring $5 per person as a donation as part of the Utah Birders continued fundraising activities. The money will be donated to Great Salt Lake Audubon as part of our continued effort to support this great organization.

It will likely be cold so bundle up and if you have scopes bring them as it will be an asset for scanning the large flocks of gulls.You can sign up by filling out a for through the link below:

Sign up for the Trip Here

Or call Tim (801-440-3035) for more information.

Today was the 2nd annual Utah Birders Gullstravaganza and what a day it was.  The weather was terrible--I mean horrible--sleet, rain, and wind made it for a freezing 4 hours of birding.  6 species of gull put this on par with last years event, even though the viewing conditions were far form optimal--had the weather been better 2 more species probably would have been doable.  11 people braved the inclement weather--although initially 25 people signed up for the trip.  We started the morning at the ShopKo Parking lot in Sugarhouse with a flyover AMERICAN CROW.  From there we went to Decker Lake where the conditions were abysmal and there were few gulls.  We did of course get the token California and Ring-billed that are expected.  2 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER remained (the 3rd possibly some raptors dinner) as well as plenty of waterfowl.  Geese were also noticeably absent here, as well as everywhere else we went today.

After getting out of the freezing rain we headed towards Lake Park after stopping so a few people could stock up on coffee to warm up.  There were a couple small flocks of Canada Geese here, the highlight being a flock along the road that had 10 CACKLING GEESE mixed in. There were 8 Richardson's and 2 Taverner's--everyone got excellent and extended look without even having to leave the vehicles.  At the pond on the west edge of the facility there was a Common Goldeneye and 3 Common Merganser.

 5 Cackling Geese (on left) at Lake Park

We booked it over to Lee Kay Ponds where finally the gulls had arrived out on the ice with the back half of the main pond open.  There were maybe 800-1000 gulls present, including a handful of Herring Gulls.  On the first couple passes nothing else stood out and with the freezing rain still pelting us we were about to take off when several hundred more gulls came in from the dump and landed.  Scanning through the flock again we were rewarded with an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL in the midst of the flock.  After a little more looking a large pale brown and white gull popped up.  It took a while for the large beast to make its way out in the open where we could get good looks at the 1st winter GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL.  A PEREGRINE FALCON and a flock of CANVASBACK were also nice additions for the day.

1st Winter Glaucous-winged Gull at Lee Kay Ponds

We drove the frontage road out to Saltair and didn't really see anything.  After hopping on I-80 and heading back east we took the 7200 West exit to take the Frontage Road to the International Center.  Just as we turned onto the frontage road a NORTHERN SHRIKE popped up and flew across the road perching for everyone to look at.

 Northern Shrike near the International Center

The International Center didn't add anything for the day--no gulls on the south pond either.  We moved on to Farmington Bay WMA where a GREAT EGRET was just pass the entrance kiosk on the east side of the road.  Along west dike the birds were scarce--but when we got to the 4 way at the end of the road we could see plenty of gulls out in the southeast unit.

Great Egret at Farmington Bay

It looked promising but after spending almost 45 minutes scanning back and forth through the birds we only managed to pick out 2 THAYER'S GULLS. There were lots of gulls too far out to ID, so who knows what else was out there.  Of interest were the incredible concentration of the Herring Gulls here--I counted 146 (or 7) all on one small stretch of open water.  I figured with all the big gulls we would have picked up some other stuff here--but such is it with gulling.  We saw plenty of Bald Eagles on the ice, but had a major miss for the day in no Rough-legged Hawks.  And as usual saw plenty of Kestrels, including this cooperative guy inside the gate at Farmington...

American Kestrel at Farmington Bay

Just before 1 we called it a day.  Everyone was soaked and cold and the weather wasn't getting any better so it seemed like a good time to call it quits.  We saw California, Ring-billed, Herring, Thayer's, Lesser Black-backed, and Glaucous-winged Gulls on the day. I want to thank Norm and Gail Jenson, Oliver Hansen, Duane Smith, Amy Haran, Jim Brown, Stephanie Greenwood, Jeff Bilsky, Carl Ingwell, and Kenny Frisch for taking part in the day even though the weather sucked.  We will probably have another gull trip in the next month on short notice when we get some better weather.  For those who didn't make it today, you missed some great birding--and we hope to see you next time!