Gulls & Terns

Bonaparte's Gull

Bonapartemöwe

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Gulls & Terns1 photoFirst seen: 23 August 2026

Bonaparte's Gull is a small, buoyant gull that breeds around boreal wetlands, unusually often nesting in conifer trees. On migration it gathers over bays and tidal currents, picking food from the surface or dipping in with a light, tern-like flight. Adults develop a black hood in summer; young birds carry a dark carpal bar and black tail band.

ID tip: Look for a tiny black bill, quick tern-like flight and a white wedge along the outer primaries. Nonbreeding adults show a neat dark ear spot; juveniles add a dark wing bar and tail band.

First seen: 23 August 2026 · Kenai Fjords · 1 photo in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Kenai Fjords23 August 2026

Family: Gulls & Terns (Laridae)
Length: 28–30 cm
Wingspan: 90–100 cm
Regional status: Migrant (Alaska, USA)
Conservation: Not Evaluated NEIUCN Red List · retrieved 27 August 2026
Habitat: Boreal lakes and marshes in summer; bays, estuaries and open water on migration
Diet: Flying insects, small fish and aquatic invertebrates

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

Bonaparte's Gull

Places in my records

Selected photographs