Gull ID Oregon Coast July (2 Viewers)

[marwey]

Hi,

Can somebody help with gull identification? Attached picture was taken in July 2016 at Cape Perpetua, Oregon -sorry for the poor quality
I thought it might be Western Gulls, but I'm not sure. As if European gulls weren't difficult enough, I thought dabbling with the American gulls would be a great idea
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Martin

 

[Michael Long]

Western or dark Olympic photos not clear enough to rule out Olympic but you should be safe putting it as Western

 

[lmans66]

I would have to say Western Gull just to be safe. The Olympic gulls, from what I understand....are further north into the Puget Sound area. There are so many sub-and hybrid species of gull that I don't know how anyone can realistically tell them apart anymore other than by general range.

 

[Michael Long]

The most reliable way of separating Western from Dark Olympic is the color of the eye ring. Orange in Western and pink in Olympic and Glaucous-winged. We cannot see the eye ring here unfortunately. Additionally Olympic Gulls are still the majority as far south as Newport only 27 miles north of Cape Perpetua. Olympic Gulls are breeders as far south as Coos Bay.
See this photo attached

 

[marwey]

Thanks a lot for your quick and detailed replies. I wasn't aware of the hybridisation problem... but on the other hand why should you guys have an easier life with gull ID . I got Glaucous-winged in the Puget Sound with a good view on the eye ring (attached photo). The Heermann's Gulls were my Favourites though - easy to ID and nice to look at with their dark plumage.