Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
– —
Abundance: Uncommon to sometimes Very Uncommon during late fall, winter, and early spring; recorded in 11 Regional counties, 5 in Kentucky and 6 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to generate a reliable trend in the small Regional wintering population (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).
Status: Winter Resident; sight records.
Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 131 (1 January 1985; Barren/Allen counties [Glasgow CBC], Kentucky; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: no data; SBC/SBB High Count: no data.
Regional Extreme Dates:
Early Fall: x (
Late Spring: x (
Note: Fall arrival generally evident by 1 November; spring data are too few to offer a date of general departure. Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure during winters from 2001–2002 to 2010–2011 follow:
| Winter of... | Early Fall Arrival Date | Late Spring Departure Date |
| 2002–2003 | 24 October | -- |
| 2003–2004 | 10 November | -- |
| 2004–2005 | 26 October | 29 March |
| 2005–2006 | 24 September | 19 April |
| 2006–2007 | 25 October | -- |
| 2007–2008 | 5 October | -- |
| 2008–2009 | 8 October | 15 April |
| 2009–2010 | 12 October | 26 April |
| 2010–2011 | 19 October | -- |
| 2011–2012 | 5 October |
Habitat: Extensive open water, but may appear on medium-sized ponds.
YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.
Remarks: Usually a very small component of gull roosts that develop during winter in the Region.
Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.
| Barren | Metcalfe | Adair | Russell | Pulaski |
| Monroe | Cumberland | Clinton | Wayne | McCreary |
| Macon | Clay | Pickett | Fentress | Scott |
| Smith | Jackson | Overton | Putnam | Morgan |
| DeKalb | White | Cumberland | ||
| Warren | Van Buren | Bledsoe |
Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR
Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.
Literature Cited
