Flocks of white gulls show up on Lake Martin during the winter months to feed on schools of minnows that rise to the surface. The larger birds are usually Ring-Billed Gulls, which we have profiled in a past issue. But the smaller gulls – often rafted up with the Ring-Billed Gulls – are very likely Bonaparte’s Gulls.

These mostly white birds are easy to identify because during the winter months, they have a black smudge on their cheeks and light orange or pink legs. During the summer breeding season, which these birds spend in Canada and Alaska, Bonaparte’s Gulls have solid black heads and red legs.