Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)

Lesser Black-backed Gulls [advanced third-cycle (left) and second-cycle (right)]. Photograph Credit: David L. Roemer; Barren River Lake State Resort Park, Barren County, Kentucky.

Abundance: Rare; about 10 records in 2 Kentucky counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population visiting the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Visitor during fall, winter, and spring; photographs (see above and links below).

Information on Records (incomplete): 

8 October 2008 (1—second-cycle) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo).

16–24 October 2009 (1—first-cycle) Austin Boat Ramp and Barren River Lake State Resort Park, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo).

3–5 November 2013 (1) Corbin Bend, Green River Lake, Adair County, Kentucky (B. Lemon Palmer-Ball, E. Huber, Roseanna M. Denton photo; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2014a).

Habitat: The big lakes of the Region should all prove to be attractive to this large larid, but from Fall 2008 until Fall 2013 all records derived from just one of those lakes (Barren Reservoir in Barren and Allen counties, Kentucky); during November 2013 a record was made at Green River Lake in Adair County, Kentucky. Other large Regional lakes should produce additional records in the future.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: no registrations.

Remarks: Based on its frequency of occurrence to the west of the Region in Kentucky, this species was predicted to be a likely visitor to the Regional big lakes for many years before finally being first observed in 2008.

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.

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