Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)

Bonaraprte's Gull [basic-plumaged adult flying]. Photograph Credit: David L. Roemer; near Barren River Reservoir dam, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky; 24 January 2012.

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Abundance: Fairly Common during late fall, winter, and early spring; recorded in 19 counties, 8 in Kentucky and 11 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from Regional bird-monitoring projects are limited, so the trend for the wintering population is somewhat uncertain but probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Winter Resident; photograph [juvenile flying] (David L. Roemer; near dam on Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky; 23 January 2012); photograph [lateral view of first-cycle individual swimming] (David L. Roemer; Peter's Creek, Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky; 3 December 2010).

Regional High Count: 2000 (26 December 2011; Mason's Island [gull roost], Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky; David L. Roemer); CBC/CBB High Count: 435 (29 December 2006; Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky [Glasgow CBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 1 (8 May 2004; Pulaski County, Kentucky [SBC]; fide Roseanna M. Denton); FBC/FBB High Count: no data.

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: x (

    Late Spring: x (

Note: Fall arrival usually widespread by 1 November; spring departure usually largely complete by 15 April; Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure during winters from 2002–2003 to 2011–2012 follow:

Habitat: Open water of various sizes.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Remarks: This gull uses some parts of the large lakes of the Region as spring migration staging areas during early to mid-April, when hundreds congregate in a few chosen areas, including the Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee, and the embayment of Illwill Creek, Dale Hollow Lake, Clinton County, Kentucky. These staging areas may be involved in mate selection and/or pair bonding during the northward migration.

    This gull is a component of most gull roosts that develop during the winter months in the Region and is the second-most abundant gull species in most such roosts; see the species account for Ring-billed Gull for a fuller discussion of gull roosts.

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