CALIFORNIA GULLS
Binomial name (Larus californicus)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Larus
Species: L. californicus
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Description: California Gulls are a medium size. With a slate grey back/wings, black wingtips with white spots, and a white head/body. They have greenish-yellow legs and dark eyes. Their medium sized beak is yellow with marks of black and red. Juveniles colors vary greatly. These gulls mature after four years.
Livelihood
Behaviors: They use strategies to forage such as feeding while swimming, wading, walking and even flying. They can be seen following behind plows and picking up insects uncovered by the machinery, on farms and in fields. They have also been known to wait for rodents to be flooded out of their burrows by irrigation.
Habitat: The California Gull breeds inland but is found in marine habitats throughout all of the seasons. Inhabiting lakes, farms, and marshes during the breeding season. Nesting is typically in large rivers and lakes on gravel islands. They can be found anywhere along the pacific coast during the winter. They are commonly found far from land during the late summer and fall.
Diet: In Washington state, California gulls feed near their nesting areas in cities, wetlands, and agricultural lands. Their diet in agricultural areas mainly consists of small rodents. These gulls are also opportunistic eaters so they will also feed on insects, garbage, eggs, and fish.
Nesting: When they reach maturity at the age of four, that is when they start breading. Their nests are usually located closely and are on the ground. The California Gulls nest in colonies, even mixed ones with Herring Gulls or Ring-billed, though they do not usually mate with either of the other species. They pair up and are monogamous during the breeding season and might even re-pair in the next seasons. Most of the time they do pair with different birds even if their previous partner is still alive. The pair will both build the nest, a shallow spot in the ground filled/lined with weeds feathers, bones, and other random debris. They usually have clutches of 2 to 3 eggs, and nests that house more than three eggs is because of multiple females. Both will incubate the eggs for about three and a half weeks, then their offspring will leave the nest in a matter of a few days. The young stay close by and are fed regurgitated food until they can successfully take flight at around six and a half weeks of age.
Standing
Conservation: They're seen as a beneficial species but crop damage has been attributed to them. An increase in nesting habitat and a significant population increase in the last fifty years can be settled down to creations of dams in Eastern, Washington. In 1966 there was found to be 2,000 pairs of California Gulls nesting in Benton County, 4,000 in Walla Walla, and 1,000 in Klickitat. Also in the winter, garbage dumps can be a source of food, which helps sustain the population through the year.
Migration: Regular migration to and from the Pacific Coast. In the late summer, majority leave breading grounds and fly to the Pacific Coast. Only few stay in the breading range when it is not the breeding season which contrasts larger white-headed gulls.
Meanings
Irrigation - The supply of water to land or crops to help growth, typically by means of channels.
Monogamous - Having only one mate at a time
Clutch - The group of eggs produced by birds, amphibians, or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest
Bibliography
*P.S. I am fully aware that the photos may not be of California gulls. I am not a professional and cannot completely identify my photos.
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