It’s tempting to ignore Ring-Billed Gulls, especially when they return to the lakefront in great numbers every spring, but sometimes they get my attention anyway.

Second Cycle

And I have to remind myself to not assume everything is a Ring-Billed Gull…because there could be a rarer species sifted in there somewhere. Like I almost thought about this guy standing on the railing by the river a couple weeks ago…with his dark eye and grayish legs…but after checking with Gulls of the Americas, it turns out he’s a Second Cycle Ring-Billed Gull.  I’ve known the adults and the first-year gulls for a long time, but this morph is new to me.

Gulls on the Chicago River

Then there are the pairs. Normally two gulls would not occupy such a precarious perch but this was definitely a piling built for two.

Gulls in Love

Springtime down by the lake, another pair taking a break together.

Gulling it up in Millennium Park

A few more Ring-Billed Gulls doing their thing. Ever vigilant.

I’ll be back soon with more spring migrants.