Gulls or Terns in a "V" formation? I have never seen it before. (1 Viewer)

[crazyfingers]

I guess that both are known to do it though I have never seen it before. Any way to tell if these are gulls or terns? They are flying Northeast in the direction of the ocean 20 miles away.

I only got one shot. One is a crop of the other.

 

[Sangahyando]

They're gulls, probably Larus sp.. In my experience, they fly in V formation when returning from their feeding grounds (e.g. a field) to roost in the evening.

 

[crazyfingers]

Is that Herring Gull? I don't know that I've seen any near my house but there are lots of ring bill gulls about. Tons in the shopping center down the street.

 

[fugl]

Is that Herring Gull? I don't know that I've seen any near my house but there are lots of ring bill gulls about. Tons in the shopping center down the street.

I've also seen Larus gulls--Ring-billed, California--in V-formation when moving between feeding areas & roosts.

"Larus" BTW is the genus name for a number of gull species. "Larus sp" is simply shorthand for "one of the Larus species".

 

[TLeukering]

Ring-billed Gulls

 

[crazyfingers]

I believe you are right that they are ring billed gulls because there are hundreds within 2 miles of me and no other kind but is there something in the photo that suggests ring billed gulls?

 

[nartreb]

there are hundreds within 2 miles of me and no other kind

According to your profile, you're a couple towns over from me. I can assure you, anywhere near you that you see more than a few Ring-Billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis), you're going to find other species too, notably American Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), which are very difficult to tell apart from RBGs without a good look at the beak (and even that gets tricky in younger birds).

Some folks on here are *really* good at IDing a bird by overall shape, but personally I couldn't confirm genus, much less species, from those two photos.

 

[Tiraya]

I used to see gulls in the hundreds in V formations when I lived in Canada. They did it every morning and evening when they "commuted" between feeding and roosting lakes.

I also saw cormorants doing it earlier this week, 11 of them in total.

 

[crazyfingers]

I used to see gulls in the hundreds in V formations when I lived in Canada. They did it every morning and evening when they "commuted" between feeding and roosting lakes.

It the case in my photo I expect commuting from the shopping center with the various Restaurants to the middle of a frozen pond that they seem to like.