A new gull in town: small, dark, and handsome

April 27, 2016

Thanks to the keen eyes and excellent photographic skills of intern Kiah Walker, I saw my ever first Kelp Gull today on the helopad.  This is only the second island record of this South American species, with has only a handful of California records. One was also seen on the island last spring. While it looks like our tropical Brown Boobies have pretty much departed as the local ocean got cooler this month, at least one southern bird species is still around, perhaps an indicator of the warm water conditions we have observed over the last year.

Russ Bradley
Point Blue Farallon Program Leader
Photos by Kiah Walker