Bird of the Week – Mew Gull

By far the most common gull in Interior Alaska is the Mew Gull. And if you’ve been to Potter Marsh on the southeastern edge of Anchorage recently, you’ve seen flocks of them there, too.

Mew Gull, Prospect Creek, Dalton Highway

The Mew Gull is a three year gull, meaning there are 6-7 plumages to the mature, breeding adult you see here. In Interior Alaska, we only get adults and hatch years birds; first and second year birds wait to maturity before venturing this far north.

The small, delicate bill, yellow legs and black primaries make this a pretty easy bird to identify. The yellow legs are exactly the color of the paint the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities uses.

Mew Gulls are omnivores, and tend to drive away other birds – and people – that get too close to their nests of their unfledged young. Rock Pigeons with attitude, as it were.

For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.

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