Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) Greg Norwood
Holland, Ottawa Co., MI. 3/20/2008 © Judi Manning (Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II)
Michigan has a diversity of offshore islands, of coastal blocks in the UP may explain some of the increase in distribution. The atlas map and it is here where the fascinating breeding suggests coastal areas in Delta County, the displays of Herring Gulls give way to Beaver Archipelago (Charlevoix County), and established breeding colonies inextricably the Les Cheneaux Islands (Mackinac County) linked to the Great Lakes food web. Significant continue to be important nesting areas. A clear breeding colonies are patchily distributed along increase in blocks along the St. Marys River is the Great Lakes at suitable island habitats found in MBBA II. However, Cuthbert et al. characterized by open, barren, rocky substrate, (2003) noted a 63% decline in the number of short vegetation and sometimes near trees along sites used (30 sites) with a 39-100% breeding the shoreline. Often these larger colonies of pair decline in five of the largest colonies Herring Gulls support co-nesting Ring-Billed between the late 1980s and late 1990s, possibly Gulls, terns and Double-crested Cormorants. caused by contaminants. Data is not yet Herring Gulls are found throughout the breeding compiled for the St. Marys River from the season at many inland sites; these could fourth decadal survey at the time of this writing. represent small colonies at large lakes, sewage The Isle Royale Islands (Keweenaw County) lagoons, and artificial impoundments. Great continue to provide nesting habitat for numerous Lakes Herring Gulls spend the winter along small colonies. Although Sulphur Island in Lakes Erie, Michigan and Ontario, with many Thunder Bay (Alpena County) no longer sub-adults descending to the Gulf Coast (Moore supports gull colonies, Scarecrow Island has 1976, Gabrey 1996). nearly doubled its Herring Gull breeding
population in the last ten years to reach over 700 Distribution pairs (Cuthbert and Wires 2008). Herring Gull distribution has remained relatively stable since MBBA I and shows Efforts to control Double-crested Cormorants similarity to other colonial waterbirds in the may also impact the distribution of the Herring state that require similar habitat. The UP Gull in Michigan, but data is lacking. Where the showed the greatest change in the number of two species co-nest, inter-specific aggression townships with an increase from 43 to 60. The may occur during human disturbance events that NLP and SLP changed very little. The addition
© 2011. Kalamazoo Nature Center Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) Greg Norwood negatively affects productivity of both species Herring Gull populations may also be limited by (F. Cuthbert and L. Wires, pers. comm.). food in the Great Lakes; however, many Somers et al. (2007) suggest that Herring Gulls declines seen in some large colonies may be have diminished productivity when nesting explained by inter-colony movements (Morris et among Double-crested Cormorants. al. 2003).
Breeding Biology Abundance and Population Trends Herring Gull diet in the Great Lakes is fish- The region with the largest numbers of nesting based, historically being alewife and smelt (Fox Herring Gulls in Michigan continues to be et al. 1990, Belant et al. 1993, Chudzik et al. northern Lake Michigan, centered in the Beaver 1994). However, these two fish species have Islands (Charlevoix County) at Gull and Hat declined in the Great Lakes (Madenjian et al. Island (> 2,000 nests total). Some of the largest 2005, Gunderson 2008). Breton et al. (2008) colonies in the state are at Bellows Island in linked alewife abundance as a strong Leelanau County (> 1,400 nests), Snake Island explanatory variable in their model of adult in Big Bay de Noc (> 900 nests), and Big Gull survival of Herring Gulls in a Lake Ontario and Little Gull Islands off the Garden Peninsula colony. They suggest that PCB-associated (Delta County), which recently contained over sublethal effects documented in the gulls may 1,200 nests combined (Cuthbert and Wires have exacerbated lower fish abundance. With 2008). The colony at the Saginaw Bay Confined the passage of over 25 years since MBBA I, the Disposal Facility (Bay County) was estimated at effect of organochlorine compounds 909 nests in 2008 (F. Cuthbert unpubl. data). In bioaccumulating in the eggs of Herring Gulls addition, Crow Island and St. Martin Shoal in continues to be an important environmental northern Lake Huron (Mackinac County) indicator (Grasman et al. 2000). contain over 800 nests. These continue to be the strongholds of the Michigan Herring Gull Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Herring breeding population (Cuthbert et al. 2003). Gull eggs from the Detroit River and western Lake Erie have declined by 83% and 75%, It is most relevant to report the trends of the respectively (Weseloh 2007). The breakdown Great Lakes, since there is significant inter- product of DDT, DDE, in Herring Gull eggs colony movement (Gabrey 1996, Morris et al. from the Detroit River and western Lake Erie 2003). The best record of the population trend continued to decrease from the late 1970s to the for the Herring Gull is obtained through the early 2000s, although PCBs have leveled off decadal surveys (1976–1977, 1989–1990, 1997– since the early 1990s, while dioxin has generally 1999) (Scharf 1978, Scharf and Shugart 1998, decreased in the late 1990s and early 2000s Cuthbert et al. 2003). Herring Gulls increased (Weseloh 2007). Few growth abnormalities are between the first and second decadal surveys being seen, although birds in this region show from 68,159 breeding pairs to 87,140, with a high levels of these compounds compared to modest decline through the 1990s to 74,281 other monitoring locations in the Great Lakes. (Cuthbert et al. 2003). In Michigan waters, the The Herring Gull Biosentinel Sampling species increased from 19,966 to 25,471 Program has developed a contaminant between the first and third surveys (Cuthbert et monitoring protocol utilizing eggs from al. 2003). approximately twelve sites within Michigan’s Great Lakes waters. Conservation Needs The Herring Gull is a key biological resource in the Great Lakes; a year-round resident of the
© 2011. Kalamazoo Nature Center Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) Greg Norwood lakes as an adult and heavily dependent on fish, Great Lakes: 1997-1999. Report to US Fish it is a tremendous indicator of environmental and Wildlife Service, Ft. Snelling, MN. contaminants. Polychlorinated biphenyls may be Cuthbert, F.J., and L. Wires. 2008. Long-term causing negative physiological impacts, but monitoring of colonial waterbird other contaminants, microcystins, and infectious populations in the U.S. Great Lakes: diseases may be contributing to the reproductive improving the scientific basis for impairment of the Herring Gull in the western conservation and management year 1 and 2 basin of Lake Erie (Grasman et al. 2000). Its (2007-08) Progress Report. Dept. of population is also affected by food availability, Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology, making it a good candidate for ecological University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Nov. studies of the Great Lakes ecosystem, especially 2008. its response to changing populations of species Fox, G.A., L.J. Allan, D.V.C. Weseloh, and P. such as alewife and smelt. Many of the islands Mineau. 1990. The diet of Herring Gulls where the species nests in Michigan are during the nesting period in Canadian waters protected as part of the Michigan Islands of the Great Lakes. Canadian Journal of National Wildlife Refuge and Huron National Zoology 68:1075–1085. Wildlife Refuge administered by the U.S. Fish Gabrey, S. W. 1996. Migration and Dispersal in and Wildlife Service. The distribution of this Great Lakes Ring-billed and Herring Gulls. species and other colonial waterbirds that are Journal of Field Ornithology 67(2): 327– associated with Double-crested Cormorant 339. colonies may be impacted into the future. Gunderson, J. 2008. The mystery of the missing Continual monitoring of these populations is smelt. Minnesota Sea Grant. Online access critical in evaluating the stability of these 23 August 2009 ecosystems and determining how colonial
© 2011. Kalamazoo Nature Center Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) Greg Norwood
Morris, R.D., D.V. Weseloh and J.L. Shutt. 2003. Distribution and abundance of nesting pairs of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) on the North American Great Lakes, 1976 to 2000. Journal of Great Lakes Research 29: 400–426. Scharf, W.C. 1978. Colonial birds nesting on man-made and natural sites in the U.S. Great Lakes. Technical report D-78-10, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station. Vicksburg, Mississippi. Scharf, W.C. and G.W. Shugart. 1998. Distribution and abundance of gull, tern, and cormorant nesting colonies of the U.S.Great Lakes, 1989 and 1990. W. W. Bowerman and A. S. Roe (eds.). Publication No. 1, Gale Gleason Environmental Institute, Lake Superior State University Press, Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Somers, C.M., M.N. Lozer, and J.S. Quinn. 2007. Interactions between double-crested cormorants and herring gulls at a shared breeding site. Waterbirds 30(2): 241–250. Weseloh, D.V.C. 2007. Contaminants in herring gulls eggs. In State of the Strait: Status and Trends of Key Indicators. Hartig, J.H., M.A. Zarull, J.J.H. Ciborowski, J.E. Gannon, E. Wilke, G. Norwood, and A. Vincent (eds.). Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, Occasional Publication No. 5, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Suggested Citation
Norwood, G. 2011. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus). In Chartier, A.T., J.J. Baldy, and J.M. Brenneman (eds.). 2010-2011. The Second Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas. Kalamazoo Nature Center. Kalamazoo, MI. Accessed online at:
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