Little Gulls in Southport Might Indicate an Expansion of Their Range

Little Gull at Southport Beach. Photo courtesy of Keith Mueller

The recent sighting of several Little Gulls at Southport Beach is an exciting glimpse of biodiversity and range expansion in action. Rarely do species appear to “naturally” cross the ocean and colonize the Western Hemisphere. The Cattle Egret did it in the 1940s, and a number of Siberian species do so annually in Alaska. But the Little Gull appears to have done it once, perhaps failed, and would now appear to be trying again.

A common breeder in northern Europe and Asia, this small gull nests along freshwater lakes and ponds, prefers insects, and is reminiscent of our Black Tern. First reported in the Canadian Arctic in the 1820s, the first record of breeding Little Gulls was not until 1962 when several nests were found near Lake Ontario, just east of Toronto. They apparently expanded westward across the Great Lakes, and bred in small pockets as far west as Wisconsin, Michigan and Manitoba. Then they seem to have ceased breeding in North America after 1989*.

Reports indicate their Eurasian population has recently increased, and as a result sightings in North America have also gone up. Indeed, an immature Little Gull found in Pennsylvania in 1996 had been banded in Sweden**. This winter there were even more reports than usual, with bands of Little Gulls down along the coast from Cape Hatteras to the Chesapeake and as of April, they shifted to Long Island, Connecticut and on up to Lake Ontario.

Little Gull photo courtesy of Keith Mueller.

Clearly these beautiful gulls visit regularly from across the ocean, and no doubt when their numbers rise in Eurasia, we will inevitably see more of them here. However, there also seems to be point in their population growth where a sufficient number overwinter, and thence due to navigational error, or the proximity of mates, or a knowledge of nest site competition, attempt to colonize.

We pray for their success, and hope that every birder up around Lake Ontario will keep their eye out for potential new colonists this spring and summer. We think they are back!    
— Alexander Brash, President, Connecticut Audubon Society