Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

(last update: July 12, 2015)

Great Black-backed Gull adult October

On this page you'll find the data on Larus marinus as reproduced from the Canadian Atlas of Bird Banding.

Canadian Atlas of Bird Banding

Volume 2: Seabirds, 1921–1995. (Gaston et al., 2008)

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 47.0 / Date Modified: 2012-04-02

Great Black-backed Gulls breed along the Atlantic coast from northern Labrador south to New York and uncommonly on the Great Lakes. They winter mainly on the east coast from the Strait of Belle Isle southward and in small numbers on the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes (Good 1998).

Banding effort has been concentrated at colonies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; almost all the gulls banded have been chicks. Most encounters reported involved dead birds (95%); of these, 74 were shot. Some recovery information on birds banded at Manawagonish Island, New Brunswick, was given by Astle and McAlpine (1985).

Movements were generally along the eastern seaboard, from Newfoundland south to the Carolinas (records 1–6, see table below). There have been nine encounters of Quebec-banded birds in Ontario (records 7 and 8) and one from New Brunswick (record 9). In addition, there have been 28 encounters in Canada of birds banded in Maine (New Brunswick 6, Nova Scotia 14, Quebec 4, Newfoundland and Labrador 2, and Ontario 2 [record 10]) and 7 from Massachusetts (Newfoundland and Labrador 1 [record 11], Nova Scotia 4, Prince Edward Island 1, and Quebec 1). Patterns of encounters did not differ greatly between the first and subsequent years after banding, although the sample of older birds was small. Mean encounter distances were greatest in winter (January–March, approximately 750 km) and least in summer (July–September, 198 km). The most distant encounter of a Canadian-banded bird (2411 km) was of a bird banded on Newfoundland and found in North Carolina (record 2).

The distribution of encounters suggests that movements follow the coastline, although a gull banded as a local near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was recovered at the western end of Lake Ontario less than 1 month later, suggesting an overland route (record 10). The recovery of one bird inland in northern Mississippi (record 12) would constitute an interesting record if authentic. The species has not been recorded away from the coast in Mississippi, although there are a number of records in Tennessee (T. Schiefer and G.D. Jackson, pers. commun.). Unfortunately, the circumstances of this recovery do not preclude the possibility of a misread band number. The same applies to the apparent trapping of a bird banded in Massachusetts in 1970 and retrapped at Churchill, Manitoba, in 1977: the species is only an accidental vagrant at Churchill, where many geese, carrying a band of the same size, are trapped.

Great Black-backed Gulls appear to be among the longest-lived of North American birds. Twenty-six encounters were of birds more than 10 years old at death. The longevity record for this species in North America was 23 years (record 8, Clapp et al. 1982), but has since been surpassed by a Quebec bird, encountered only 133 km from where it was banded, at 27 years and 4 months (record 13).

Summary of banding statistics: Great Black-backed Gull

Banding effort: Great Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) JD28 7cy: October 2004 & 2010, Westkapelle, the Netherlands (51.33 N - 03.25 E). Primary p7 fully grown.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 8cy JD34 October 14 2006, Boulogne sur Mer, France (50.44 N - 01.35 E). Picture Jean-Michel Sauvage.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) JR88 October 05 2002, Le Portel - Boulogne sur Mer, France (50.42 N - 01.34 E). P6 is fully grown P10 is still old.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) 10+cy JGV2 October 21 2006, Boulogne sur Mer, France (50.44 N - 01.35 E). Picture Jean-Michel Sauvage.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) JH3C 4cy & 10cy, September 2007 & October 2013, Boulogne sur Mer, France (50.44 N - 01.35 E). Picture Jean-Michel Sauvage.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) JM06 1CY-6CY, September 2006 - October 2011, Boulogne sur Mer, France (50.44 N - 01.35 E). Picture Jean-Michel Sauvage.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) A - 216331 October 05 2002, Boulogne sur Mer, France (50.42 N - 01.34 E).
P7 is fully grown. All outer primaries have been shed.

Great Black-backed Gull (marinus) NOS 354859 25-28CY, September-November 2012-2015, Boulogne-sur-Mer, NW France. Picture: Jean-Michel Sauvage.

Great Black-backed Gull (L. marinus) NOS 367624 October 02 2004, IJmuiden, the Netherlands. Picture: Ruud Altenburg.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) ad NOO OA03218 October 22 2004 Westkapelle, the Netherlands.