BIRD-BANDING

A JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION

VOL. XVI APRIL 1945 No. 2

THE LAUGHING GULL ON THE COAST OF MAINE

BY ALFRED O. Gaoss •

IN recentyears many of the sea birds nestingon the islandsalong the coastof Maine have greatly increasedin numbers,Gross (1944a, 1944b, 1945) but the LaughingGull (Larus atticilia) is an exception. This bird has never been representedby large numbersbut colonies comprisingas many as 300 nestingpairs, as for example,Little Green Island in 1940, wouldseem to indicatethat they had establisheda firm foothold. However, this bird, as far as can be ascertained, has been exterminatedas a nestingspecies on this coast. The Laughing Gull seemsto be very sensitiveto environmentalchanges and on certain islandshas beenunable to withstandthe invasionsof the larger and more aggressiveHerring and Black-backedGulls. The LaughingGulls have made attemptsto nest and establishthem- selves on at least seven Maine islands. Most of these islands are small outerrocky islands very different in characterfrom the low-lyingsandy islandsand saltmarshes usually selected by thesegulls in the southern sectionsof their breedingrange. The interior of the islandsselected in Mainehave all beenwell turfed and with a luxuriantgrowth of grass andweeds in whichthe nestsand later the youngcan be well concealed. If this cover is removed,for exampleby grazing sheep,the island is no longeracceptable as a nestingplace for thesegulls. It is not knownwhen the LaughingGulls first extendedtheir range to the coastof Mainebut there are nestingrecords extending back for a period of more than seventy-fiveyears. In this time Matinicus SealIsland, Metinic Green Island, Western Egg Rock, Eastern Egg Rock, •ContributionNo. 14, BowdoinScientific Station, Kent Island, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada.

53 54] CROSS,Laughing Gull on Maine Coast Bird-BandingApril Shark Island, Pond Island and Little Green Island are known to have beenused, at onetime or another,as nestingplaces by the Laughing Gulls. Matinicus Seal Island. 43 ø 53.4' N., 68 ø 44.5' W. The LaughingGulls bred on MatinicusSeal Island prior to 1894 but none have appearedthere sincethat time.

Metinic Green Island. 43 ø 51.8t N., 69 ø 8' W. Metinic Green Island was a breedingplace of the LaughingGull during the 19th century but none were there from 1880 to 1895. In June, 1896, accordingto A. H. Norton (1924), a few of the gulls made their appearanceat that island. They nestedthere in 1902 and 1903. The birds appearedat the island in 1904 but did not nest and have not been known to have done so since that date. At the time the Laughing Gulls were on Metinic Green Island it was also the site of oneof the largesttern colonieson the Maine coast. Of the thousands of ternsthe larger portion were Arctic but the CommonTerns were also well represented.At presentthere are no terns but insteadthere is a colonyof 1,500Herring Gulls, 56 Black-backedGulls and 1,014pairs of Double-crestedCormorants nesting on the island. WesternEgg Rock. 43 ø 52.7' N., 69 ø 25' W. Eastern Egg Rock. 43 ø 51.8' N., 69ø 23' W. Shark Island. 43 ø 50.8' N., 69 ø 21.5' W. In MuscongusBay the LaughingGulls have nestedat varioustimes on Easternand WesternEgg Rocks, Shark Island and Pond Island. The first three islandsare consideredtogether because the birds which inhabitedthem were considered as belongingto onegroup, the members of which shifted from one island to another. In 1885 thesegulls were nestingon Western Egg Rock and Shark Island. In 1895 the LaughingGulls which were representedby only 14 birds were all on WesternEgg Rock. In 1907 there were 50 birds, W. H. Brownson(1907). In 1914 Western Egg Rock was abandoned and the gulls then occupiedEastern Egg Rock. They returned to Western Egg Rock later and through specialprotection increased to severalhundred individuals by 1920. By 1931 the islandwas taken over by the Herring Gulls, and the Laughing Gulls desertedthe island entirely. In 1944 there were 2,500 Herring Gulls, 130 Black-backed Gullsand 750 pairs of Double-crestedCormorants nesting on Western Egg Rock,again emphasizing the radicalchanges that are takingplace in the sea bird inhabitants of our Maine islands. It also illustrates howa bird like theLaughing Gull has been forced out by moreadaptable species. Vol.1945xvI GRoss,Laughing Gull on Maine Coast [55 Marsh Island. 43 ø 55.28' N., 69 ø 25.6' W. This islandis approximatelya mile from the mainlandin Muscongus Bay. It is coveredwith a growth of tall grassesand other plants and from this standpoint,is a&nirably suitedfor the nestingof the LaughingGull. In 1937, meanhersof the AudubonNature Ca•npfound about forty nestsof the Laughing Gull, but most of the eggs were broken and the contentsconstuned. An investigationrevealed that the islandwas inhabitedby many rats which were responsiblefor the egg destruction. No attempt was made by the gulls to nest there on subsequentyears following this abortiveattempt at nesting.

Little Gree•z Isla•td. 43 ø 54.8' N., 69 ø 2" W. Little Green Island is a low-lying island located well out to sea from the •nouthof West PenobscotBay. This treelessisland bordered by rocky shores and sea walls has a well-turfed area which until recentlywas grown up with tall grassand luxuriant herbaceousplants which providedthe conditionsfor the nestingsites required by the LaughingGulls. The gullsnested on Little GreenIsland for •nanyyears and it was the last placeto be inhabitedby thesebirds. The Indians are said to have visited this island in the early days for the eggsof the LaughingGull, which they prized highly as food. About 1870, a fishermanbuilt a cottageon the island and lived there severalyears with his family. This intrusioncaused •nost of the birds to desert,a few bred there during the early eightiesbut the last nest reportedin the nineteenthcentury was found June 15, 1884, by Charles Achorn (1884). At that time Little GreenIsland was alsothe nesting place of thousandsof Terns, and •nany Leach's Petrels and Black Guillemots.After 1884 the islandwas not usedby the LaughingGulls for a period of forty-sevenyears. On July 5, 1931, Arthur H. Norton and RobertP. Allen [1931• found the LaughingGull again inhabiting the old haunts. They saw a nmnber of eggs and a family of three young,but statedthe grassand weedswere so tall and densethat it was difficultto find other nestsand young. Judging from the nmnbers of adultsseen they assumed the colonywas well establishedat that time. Membersof the National AudubonSociety Nature Camp visited the island in 1936 and found an estimatednumber of 150 pairs, 300 individuals,indicating a thriving,well-established colony. Also nesting at that tithe were an esti•nated100 pairs of Leach'sPetrels, 100 Arctic Terns, 50 Co•nmon Terns and 15 Black Guille•nots. The following year (1937) the Laughing Gulls had increasedto 250 pairs and continuedin these nmnbersuntil 1940, reaching a maximumthat year of 300 pairsor 600 individuals. Duringthe summer of 1940 ten sheepwere pasturedon the island. The followingyear •noresheep were added,and accordingto Mr. Carl Bucheister,Director 56] ½aoss,Laughing Gull on Maine Coast Bird-BandingApril of the AudubonNature Camp, they had consumedmuch of the lush vegetativecover of the colonyarea with the resultthat the colonywas reducedto 50 pairs of birds. This great reductionin numberscan be attributeddirectly to the destructionof the essentialnesting cover by the sheep. I have no reportsfor the years 1942 and 1943, but on June 15, 1944, I made a special trip to Little Green Island with members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We found that there were then 75 sheepwhich have closelygrazed the entire turfed area of the island and so completelychanged the environmentthat not a singleLaughing Gull remained. During the past four years (1941-1944) while servingin connec- tion with the Herring Gull Control Project of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,I have had the opportunityof visiting the sea bird coloniesalong the entire coastof Maine during each nestingseason. Thus far we have not discovereda singlenesting Laughing Gull and extensiveinquiries of personsalong the coasthave revealednone since Little Green Island was desertedby thesebirds. We have seennumbers of LaughingGulls feeding along the coast, especiallyup the various estuariesbetween Muscongus and Penobscot Bays, but during the past two years the number seen did not exceed 25 birds for the entire season. Whetheror not the LaughingGull will again attemptto neston the Maine coastonly time can determine. In this connectionit is of interestto note that L. L. Snyder (1940) reportedthat H. C. White found LaughingGulls breedingon Bird Islands and at Harbour Rock off the Moser River, both localities in Halifax County, Nova Scotia. While the larger gulls, the Herring and Black-backas well as the Double-crested Cormorant, are so abundant that control measures havehad to be takento reducetheir numbers,the LaughingGull, on the other hand, needsall of the protectionand help we can give it in the event it again attemptsto nest along our coastin the future. It may becomenecessary to controlthe Herring Gulls on the Massa- chusettscoast in order to save the great colony of LaughingGulls nestingon MuskegetIsland. G.K. Noble and M. Wurm (1943) are of the opinionthat competitionbetween Laughing Gulls and Herring Gulls on MuskegetIsland is at a minimum becauseeach occupies a differentecological niche. They think it is highly improbablethat theHerring Gull will eventuallyreplace the LaughingGull on that island. In 1940, accordingto the authors,there were 20,000 pairs (?) of LaughingGulls, 3,000 pairs of Ternsand 1,500 pairs of Herring Gulls nestingthere. (The Herring Gullsfirst appearedat Muskegetin 1921.) At the 1940 MuskegetIsland ratio of one Herring Gull to thirteen LaughingGulls, the former which prefers open situationsmay not seriouslyinterfere with the latter occupyingthe densecover. If the HerringGulls increase to numbersequal to thoseof the LaughingGulls, Vol.1945 x'vx GROSS,Laughing Gull on Maine Coast •57 whichis probablewithin the next 15 or 20 years,it will be an entirely differentstory. We have a great many examplesamong the crowded colonieson the Maine coast,where the Herring Gulls nest in large numbersin very dense,tall grassand shrubbery,and on someislands they have invaded dense growths of coniferousand hardwood trees. In a few casesthe nestshave even been built in spruceand other trees severalfeet abovethe ground. The Herring Gull is an adaptablespecies and when its numbersincrease, a matter such as vegetationwill not serveas a barrier to the extensionof its nestingarea on Muskeget. Dozensof former prosperousTern colonieson the Maine coastas well as Laughing Gull coloniesmentioned in this paper have been crowded out by the larger Herring and Black-backedGulls. From this we may take a warning, and if we are interestedin conservingthe fine colony of Laughing Gulls on MuskegetIsland, Massachusetts,some control of the Herring Gullsthere shouldbe undertakenat an early date.

Since the above paper was submittedmore recent information has beenreceived which tends to substantiate,in part, the predictionof the fate of the LaughingGulls on MuskegetIsland. Mr. C. RussellMason visited Muskegetduring the seasonof 1944 and reportsthe Herring Gulls have increasedtheir numbersto 2,000 or 2,500, whereasthe LaughingGulls have been reduced to a population about equal to that of the Herring Gulls. In a letter receivedfrom Mr. Ludlow Griscom he writes: "It is my impressionthat on the Massachusettsand Long Island coasts,the variousbirds have a definite hierarchicorder. The famousTern coloniesof Muskeget,of decades ago, graduallydeclined to nothingas the great LaughingGull colonies built up in the 20's and 30's. By the late 30's there were 30,000 LaughingGulls on Muskeget,and the Ternshad disappeared.At about the sametime the Herring Gull began to nest on Muskeget,and now the Herring Gull is dominantand the LaughingGulls are fading out."

LITERATURE CITED ACHORN,CHARLES. 1884. A Day among the Sea Birds of Maine. The Young Oologist, 1: 84-85. ALLEN,ROBERT P., and NORTON,ARTHUR H. 1931. An Inspectionof the Colonies of Sea Birds on the Coast of Maine by the National Association of Audubon Societies, June 23 to July 14, 1931, and a Comparison of the Present Con- ditions with Those Existing in 1900 and SubsequentYears of the Association's Protection. An unpublishedmanuscript in the files of the present National Audubon Society, New York. BROWNSON,W. H. 1907. A Visit to a Colony of Laughing Gulls. Jour. Maine Ornith. Soc., 9: 57-66. DUTCHER,WILLIAM. 1904. Report of the A. O. U. Committee on the Protection of North American Birds for the year 1903. Auk, 21: 97-208. 58] COOKE.Kittiwake asa Transat[anticBird Bird-BandingApril

GRoss, ALFREd)O. 1944 (a). The Present Status of the American Eider on the Maine Coast. Wilson Bulletin, 56(1): 15-26. 1944 (b). The Present Status of the Double-crested Cormorant on the Coast of Maine. •4uk, 61(4): 513-537. 1945. The Present Status of the Great Black-backed Gull on the Coast of Maine. •4uk, 62(2): (in press). NOB•.E,G. K., and WuRst, M. 1943. The Social Behavior of the Laughing Gull. ,4nnals N.Y. •4cad. o] Sciences, 45 (Art. 5): 179-220. NORTO_%ARThUg H. 1924. Notes on the Birds of the Knox County Region. The Maine Naturalist, 4(3): 65-67. Sr•',:•)ER,L.L. 1940. Laughing Gull Breeding in Nova Scotia. 2/uk, 57: 568-569. SPINNEY,HERBERT L. 1902. Trip to Muscongus Bay, Maine, July 4 and 5, 1901. Jour. Maine Ornith. Soc., 4(2): 20-29. BowdoinCollege, Brunswick, Maine.

THE KITTIWAKE AS A TRANSATLANTIC BIRD

BY MAY THACHER COOKE

FIFTEEN Kittiwakes are known to have carried bands across the Atlantic, more than a third of all the available records of transoceanic flightsof bandedbirds. This naturallyarouses some curiosity as to the migratory habits of the species. A commonbreeding bird on both coastsof the North Atlantic,the specieswinters at sea,and the evidence points to the probability that there is more or less of an exchange of individualsacross the ocean. If fifteen birds are provedby bands to have crossed,it is a fair assumptionthat more, without bands,have done the same. The Kittiwake is strictly a salt-waterspecies, and its occurrence far inland is entirely accidental. This bird is said to drink sea water in preferenceto fresh, indicatingthat, like other pelagic species,it is physiologicallyadapted to assimilatingsea water, which is as nauseating to many birds as it is to humans. The inability to utilize sea water is the reasonthat severalspecies of gulls,including the Herring, seldom wanderbeyond coastal waters. Exceptduring the breedingseason the Kittiwake is found far at sea. From mid-Juneto mid-August,however, even the year-old birds in "tarrock" plumagewhich are non-breeders,disappear from the pelagic zone. At this seasonthe speciesis almostwholly confined to the coastal waters. Late in Augustthe birds begin to move out to sea, and from November to April they are dispersedover all the unfrozen coastal and pelagic waters from about 60ø North to the Tropic of Cancer. Half of the transatlanticrecords occur within this period. All writers on observations of birds at sea comment on the wide distribution of the Kittiwake. T. H. McKittrick, Jr. (Ibis, 1931, pp. 654-661) records