ID features

Winter California And Herring Gull Comparison In Utah

By Mia McPherson|2023-03-27T03:47:22-05:00November 8th, 2022|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, California Gulls, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Herring Gulls, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: adult, beach, Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, breeding plumage, California Gull, coastal, comparison, composite, Definitive Alternate Plumage, Definitive Basic Plumage, floating, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, Herring Gull, ice, ID features, identification, Larus argentatus, Larus californicus, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, river, sand, side by side, water, wetlands, winter, winter plumage|

Since I frequently get asked which is which I thought this would be a good time to do a winter California and Herring Gull comparison and ID feature post.

Mountain Plovers – Comparing two similar looking species

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-19T03:48:59-05:00April 23rd, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-bellied Plovers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Killdeer, Mountain Plovers, Pinellas County, Rarities, Utah|Tags: bird ID, Black-bellied Plover, Charadrius montanus, Charadrius vociferus, comparing species, ID features, identification, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, plover, plovers, Pluvialis squatarola, rare, rarity|

There are a few similar species that occur in Utah and surrounding states that could be confused with Mountain Plovers.