Birds of North Carolina
their Distribution and Abundance
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
Laridae Members: Heermann's Gull 12261
General Comments
The thought of a strictly West Coast gull species like Heermann's Gull showing up along the Atlantic Coast would seem absurd. However, in the last decade a few "lost" individuals, both immatures and adults, have appeared in many if not most Atlantic Coast states; and seemingly North Carolina was among the last states to document this species. In Feb 2022, while many people were visiting the southern coast looking at a long-staying Mountain Bluebird, some folks birded the coast just a few miles east at Wrightsville Beach and, at long last, encountered an an adult Heermann's Gull. Since then, the species --or should we say the same adult individual -- has been encountered a number of times, essentially annually now.
Breeding Status
Nonbreeder
NC BRC List
Definitive
State Status
none
U.S. Status
Definitive
State Rank
SA
Global Rank
G4
Coastal Plain
Rare stray/visitor along the coast at all times of the year, since 2022 only. No records away from the immediate coast. The first record was on 12 February 2022*, an adult seen and photographed at Mason Inlet (New Hanover)-- both from the Wrightsville Beach (south) and Figure Eight Island (north) sides of the inlet (Chat 86:56-57). Photos are on the Carolina Bird Club Photo Gallery, as well as in the above reference. Presumably this same bird was seen three days later -- 15 February -- farther north at Cape Hatteras Point (Dare). Though spanning two non-contiguous counties, the NC BRC considered this as a single record, which it accepted (Chat 87:26). What might have been the same adult was seen at Jennette's Pier at Nags Head (Dare) on 20 May 2022, at nearby Oregon Inlet later that day, and at Cape Hatteras Point on 23 May* (Chat 86:80). The NC BRC considered (and accepted) this as a second record for voting purposes (Chat 87:27), as three months passed since the first series of sightings, and Dare is much farther up the coast than is New Hanover. Another (if not the same?) adult was photographed at Caswell Beach (Brunswick) on 25 Feb 2023* (Chat 87:38), (Chat 88:55). In spring 2023, this or another adult was seen at Cape Hatteras Point on 9 May and in the Nags Head area -- on the beach near Jennette's Pier -- from 12-22 May* (Chat 87:55), (Chat 88:55). A few months later, it or another adult was seen at Cape Lookout (Carteret) on 1 Jul* (Chat 88:54). In 2024, an adult was noted in the Hatteras village area (Dare) from 21 Jun - 3 Oct. Perhaps the same bird was noted at Wrightsville Beach on 19 Jan 2025. Other records were, again of single adults, on 8 Mar 2025 at Lea-Hutaff Island (Pender) and between Hatteras Inlet and Cape Hatteras Point from 3 Mar - 6 May 2025.
Piedmont
No records.
Mountain
No records.
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