Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)

Abundance: Rare (6 records in 4 counties, 3 in Kentucky and 1 in Tennessee).

Status: Visitor during spring (1 record), fall (4 records), and winter (1 record), mostly in association with inland penetration of tropical depressions; photograph (see link below).

High Count: 3+ (see second record below).

Information on Records: 

25 September 2005 (1 adult and 1 juvenile) Wolf Creek Dam, Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006a).

26/27 September 2005 (1-2 adults and 2 immatures/1 immature) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006a).

28 September 2005 (1 basic-plumaged) Floating Mill Recreation Area, Center Hill Lake, DeKalb County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data).

24/25 October 2005 (1 second-year) Mason's Island/The Narrows, Barren River Reservoir, Barren County [near or in Allen County on the former date], Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006a); photo (25 October 2005, David L. Roemer).

26-30 January 2006 (1 basic-plumaged adult) Dam at Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo; Palmer-Ball and McNeeley 2006b), photo (26 January 2006, David L. Roemer).

21 March 2008 (1 adult) Waitsboro Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo and unpubl. data).

Habitat: 

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Remarks: The three records taking place during late September 2005 probably all represented birds displaced by remnants of Hurricane Rita, which brushed the Region on the west during its northward passage 25-26 September 2005.

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited