Gulls at the Waterfront
Gulls on the Newburgh Waterfront - 11/14/25
“Ask any bird watcher to name the bird group that is most intimidating, and to a man, woman, and tour leader they often shout, ‘GULLS!’ So claims noted birder Pete Dunne in the introduction to the reference book Gulls Simplified by Dunne and Kevin Karlson. The problem lies in the fact that most birds have a limited variety of plumages. Some are actually “precocial” and come out looking pretty much like the typical adult in the first day or two. The Killdeer is the perfect example of this phenomenon.
Archival shot of Killdeer and chick from Kenridge Farm 2012
As seen in this shot that I took of a Killdeer and its newly hatched chick back in 2012, if you have learned the plumage pattern of one Killdeer, you’ve got that species mastered. Simply put, they all look alike….Male, Female, chick…..whatever! Looking a bit more closely, there is a way to quickly tell adults from chicks. The very young chicks will only have one breast band as seen here on the bird on the right. Adults are the only plovers with two. But still…they look alike.
With gulls, however. it’s a different story. You may be walking along the beach and spot a group of gulls near the water. Some are very white with gray backs, others are all blotchy brown, some are white headed, others are streaky brown headed….so how many species are we looking at? Surprisingly, it may be just one! Today, looking at the birds along the Newburgh waterfront, there were a group of birds perched upon the roof of an old barge and on the ground below. Several of the group were predominantly brown.
Juvenile Ring-billed gull - Newburgh Waterfront - 11/14/25
This brownish gull is a Juvenile Ring-billed gull. Many of his siblings have more than likely already started to lose this plumage as most retain the brown coloration only during the summer months. A few, like this youngster however, will hang on to this plumage until late fall or even early winter. As the seasons progress and the Ring-bill “grows up”. it will become whiter with a gray back and a larger yellow, black-tipped bill. But in the meantime……
The bird above is “playing by the rules” and has followed the normal progression of plumage change in Ring-bills. The back of the bird is pale gray, similar to the adult’s plumage. The bill on this bird is more pinkish than yellow, but it has acquired the strong black tip (still not quite a “ring”). First year birds will also retain some of the brown streaking on the head and breast that we saw on the juvenile bird in image 1.
Sub-adult Ring-billed gull - Newburgh Waterfront - 11/14/25
We’re getting closer! The third “different” bird in the group is indeed still a Ring-bill, but it is looking very similar to its final adult. The 2nd winter gull seen above is distinguished from the adult by the fact that the legs and bill have a greenish hue rather than a strong yellow of the adult. The tip of the bill has gone yellow as in the adult birds…subtle differences but can be seen under close scrutiny. See why Dunne says these are the most intimidating birds to accurately identify?
Adult Ring-billed gull - Newburgh Waterfront
And finally, we have our adult Ring-billed gull….Gray back, Yellow legs, and the Yellow bill with the black ring. So four different plumage variations for the same bird. Keep in mind that this is typical for gulls and that there are 28 species of gulls that are native to the continental United States many of which look quite similar to one another. However, should you wish to take on the challenge, gulls are one of the most common groups to be found, so you’ll have plenty of birds to practice on. Recent sightings at the Newburgh Waterfront include these Ring-bills, Herring gulls, Great black-back gull, and a rare Iceland gull. It helps to know what birds to expect in an area, so I generally check on a site such as eBird or “BirdsEye” to tell me what birds have been spotted there. Helps to get ahead of the game. If you go out looking, enjoy and good luck!
