{"id":136849,"date":"2024-11-15T02:44:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T08:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=136849"},"modified":"2024-11-14T16:09:59","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T22:09:59","slug":"my-arkansas-american-herring-gull-sighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/11\/15\/my-arkansas-american-herring-gull-sighting\/","title":{"rendered":"My Arkansas American Herring Gull Sighting"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past week, I had my first ever Arkansas American Herring Gull sighting. I was outdoors when several of these gulls were high overhead, too high for photos.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Herring Gull in nonbreeding plumage flying by – Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah – January 2020
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only were the 6\u20137 gulls too high, but they were also in extremely bright light, making them hard to see. I was able to see enough key features to identify them as American Herring Gulls.<\/p>\n

Like the gull in the photo above, taken in Utah in 2020, the small flock of American Herring Gulls I saw here were in nonbreeding plumage.<\/p>\n

Now, about the name changes for this gull species.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2024, ornithologists reclassified the Herring Gull, a bird widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, into four distinct species: American Herring Gull, European Herring Gull, Mongolian Gull, and Vega Gull.<\/p>\n

American Herring Gulls<\/span><\/a> breed in Canada and the U.S., migrating south to Central America during the nonbreeding season.<\/p>\n

The scientific name for this North American species also changed from Larus argentatus<\/i> to Larus smithsonianus<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I’ll need to change the common and scientific names on my posts and in my galleries for this species, and I will when I have time.<\/p>\n

I’m aware that some people wouldn’t be as excited as I was to see gulls flying overhead on an autumn afternoon in Arkansas, but I was. I’m not some people. I simply can’t help myself; I really like gulls.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Herring Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past week, I had my first ever Arkansas American Herring Gull sighting. I was outdoors when several of these gulls were high overhead, too high for photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1299,13950,124,27,1148,13951,26],"tags":[4004,1589,4052,4122,3983,3539,521,4064,4317,4094,4246,4095,373,5480],"class_list":["post-136849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-herring-gulls","category-arkansas","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-sebastian-county","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-herring-gull","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-frost","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-ice","tag-larus-smithsonianus","tag-marsh","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-wetlands","tag-winter","tag-winter-plumage"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/herring-gull-flight-over-ice-mia-mcpherson-0716.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-zBf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":107838,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/08\/winter-california-and-herring-gull-comparison-in-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":136849,"position":0},"title":"Winter California And American Herring Gull Comparison In Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I frequently get asked which is which I thought this would be a good time to do a winter California and American Herring Gull comparison and ID feature post.","rel":"","context":"In "American Herring Gulls"","block_context":{"text":"American Herring Gulls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gulls\/herring-gulls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Herring Gull - California Gull Comparison and ID Features, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119542,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/06\/herring-gull-in-flight-close-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":136849,"position":1},"title":"American Herring Gull In Flight Close Up","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Three years ago today, I drove the auto tour loop at Bear River MBR alone. One of the birds I photographed that winter morning was this close-up adult Herring Gull in flight.","rel":"","context":"In "American Herring Gulls"","block_context":{"text":"American Herring Gulls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gulls\/herring-gulls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winter American Herring Gull in flight close up, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/herring-gull-winter-flight-close-up-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/herring-gull-winter-flight-close-up-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/herring-gull-winter-flight-close-up-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/herring-gull-winter-flight-close-up-mia-mcpherson-4464.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":77626,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/11\/first-winter-herring-gulls\/","url_meta":{"origin":136849,"position":2},"title":"First Winter American Herring Gulls","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently wrote about my excitement that American Herring Gulls have started showing up in northern Utah. Last week I was able to photograph some of them.","rel":"","context":"In "American Herring Gulls"","block_context":{"text":"American Herring Gulls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gulls\/herring-gulls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First winter American Herring Gull on ice, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/herring-gull-first-winter-mia-mcpherson-4475.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/herring-gull-first-winter-mia-mcpherson-4475.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/herring-gull-first-winter-mia-mcpherson-4475.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/herring-gull-flight-utah-mia-mcpherson-8261.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/herring-gull-flight-utah-mia-mcpherson-8261.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/herring-gull-flight-utah-mia-mcpherson-8261.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/herring-gull-flight-utah-mia-mcpherson-8261.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":78537,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/29\/winter-adult-herring-gull-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":136849,"position":4},"title":"Winter Adult American Herring Gull Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 29, 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