Larus delawarensis Status: Abundant regular spring and fall migrant statewide. Fairly common regular summer visitor statewide. Uncommon regular winter visitor statewide. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM6619, 22 Sep 1917 Lancaster Co. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). Pollet et al (2020) indicated that there are two breeding populations, eastern and western, that can generally be […]
FRANKLIN’S GULL
Leucophaeus pipixcan Status: Abundant regular spring and fall migrant statewide. Accidental breeder Sandhills. Uncommon regular summer visitor statewide. Rare casual winter visitor statewide. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM12719, 22 Apr 1892 Lancaster Co. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). Spring: Feb 18, 19, 20 <<<>>> summer Early dates including those above are 19 Feb 2011 […]
FORSTER’S TERN
Sterna forsteri Status: Common regular spring and fall migrant statewide. Locally common regular breeder northwest and north-central. Rare regular summer visitor statewide away from breeding locations. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM6627, 16 Jun 1902 Dewey Lake, Cherry Co. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). Spring: Apr 7, 8, 8 <<<>>> summer Earlier dates are 28 […]
SHORT-BILLED GULL
Larus brachyrhynchus Status: Rare regular winter visitor Lake McConaughy, rare casual elsewhere. Documentation: Photograph: 11 May 1996 Keith Co (Brogie 1997). Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). Olsen and Larsson (2004) and AviList (2025) treated North American brachyrhynchus as a full species split from L. canus Common Gull, retaining within the latter the three […]
AMERICAN HERRING GULL
Larus SMITHsonianus Status: Common, locally abundant, regular spring migrant statewide. Uncommon regular summer visitor Lake McConaughy, rare casual elsewhere. Common regular fall migrant statewide. Locally common regular winter visitor statewide. Documentation: Specimen: UNK mount, 8 Oct 1917 Kearney, Buffalo Co. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). Traditionally, five subspecies had been recognized in the […]
GLAUCOUS GULL
Larus hyperboreus hyperboreus Status: Uncommon regular spring and fall migrant statewide. Locally uncommon regular winter visitor statewide. Documentation: Photograph: 4 Apr 1986 Lake North, Platte Co (Mollhoff 1987). Taxonomy: Four subspecies are generally recognized (AviList 2025): hyperboreus of northern Europe to northwest Siberia, pallidissimus of northwest Siberia to Bering Sea islands, barrovianus of Alaska to northwest […]