California gull

Adult, winter plumage, photographed in Kelowna, BC.

How's that song go?  ♫"California gull, California gull, ..."♫  

My guess is that I have seen these guys before but this is the first time I have ever actually identified one.  The main key was the beak; it has both red and black blotches near its end.  Once that was done I noticed that the rest of the plumage fit right in.  Gray wings and back with mottled gray feathering on the head confirmed it.  The photograph below shows these aspects better than the above one.

California gull viewed from the side.  Notice the red and black tip of the bill.

The state bird of Utah is the California gull.  It has to do with an event that took place in 1848 in the yet-to-be state.  Mormon pioneers had settled in an area and were growing crops.  The plants came under attack by hordes of insects, crickets to be exact.  It could be called a plague of biblical proportions.  With the crops nearing ruin, what should appear out of the sky was a very large flock of very hungry California gulls.  In the rock-paper-scissors type game of gull-cricket-Mormon, it appears that the gulls win out over the crickets every time.  If you want to read more about the event, go to this website.

Guess what the preferred food of California gulls are?  During the breeding season for inland inhabitants, if you guessed insects, you'd be right.  Like other gulls, they will also take fish and a host of invertebrates, and are known to frequent garbage dumps looking for a free meal.  However, they are voracious insect eaters and their feeding habits have made a considerable impact on a certain group of early western pioneers.  

Finding this is one of the reasons I enjoy doing blogs.  There is so much interesting stuff out there and researching information on photos I have taken gives me a singular direction.  I also appreciate people who take the time to read what I put down; hopefully you get something out of it too.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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