The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 124(3):525 530. 2012 
HISTORICAL AND CURRENT STATUS OF LAUGHING GULLS 
BREEDING IN NEW YORK STATE 
BRIAN E. WASHBURN. 1,1 MARTIN S. LOWNEY, 2 AND ALLEN L. GOSSER 2 
ABSTRACT.—The Laughing Gull tLeucophaem atririlla ) was extripated as a breeding bird from New York State by 
1900. Recolonization of coastal New York by this colonial waterbird occurred in 1070 w ith discovery ol 15 breeding pairs 
in Jamaica Bay (Queens County) New York. New York. We conducted a survey ol Long Island salt marsh habitats in 2008 
in document if other breeding colonies of Laughing Gulls existed. We identified 66 individual possible breeding areas and 
held vurseys were conducted in each area during June 2(MI8. Many areas appeared to provide suitable nesting habitat (i.e., 
large areas of salt marsh dominated by Spartina), but no evidence of Laughing Gull nesting was found. A better 
understanding of Laughing Gull populations within the northeast coastal region and the effects of ongoing gull control near 
New Y»rk airports is needed for their conservation. Received 26 September 2011. Accepted 22 March 2012. 
The Laughing Gull (Leucophaem utricilltt) has 
a predominantly southern breeding range, extend¬ 
ing from the Carribbean and the Gulf of Mexico 
northward to Atlantic Canada (Burger 1996). Leu 
nesting colonies of Laughing Gull exist north of 
New Jersey along the Atlantic Coast of North 
America. Those few colonies are in New York. 
Massachusetts. Maine, and Nova Scotia (Nisbet 
1971, Belant and Dolbeer 1993. Burger 1996). 
Nesting habitat for Laughing Gulls varies across 
their breeding range. They nest on sandy beaches 
with varying amounts of vegetation from Florida 
if North Carolina (Bent 1921. Burger and 
Gochfeld 1985). This species is a salt marsh 
obligate nester in the mid-Atlantic region (Vir¬ 
ginia to New York) with colony sites exclusively 
in salt marsh habitats (Burger and Shisler 1978. 
Montevecchi 1978. Burger and Shisler 1980). 
Laughing Gulls nest on rocky islands with grassy 
areas in northern New England (Nisbet 1971). 
The Laughing Gull was historically confined to 
'he coastal areas of Long Island in New York 
Mate. This gull was a common summer resident 
and breeder during the early 1800s (Giraud 1844. 
Ctriscom 1923). Populations of Laughing Gulls. 
s 'milar toother colonial seabirds, were decimated 
h . v commercial egging and plume-hunting for the 
millinery trade in the mid- to late 1800s (Nisbet 
1971. Buckley et al. 1978. Brinker et al. 2007). 
and the species was extirpated as a breeding bird 
horn New York State by 1900. The last known 
USDA, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research 
' enter. 6100 Columbus Avenue. Sandusky. OH 44870, 
L'SA. 
USDA. Wildlife Services. 1930 Route 9. Castleton. NY 
•2033. USA. 
Corresponding author; e-mail: 
hhan.e.washbum@aphis.usda.gov 
breeding records during that period were South 
Oyster Bay in 1884. Amityville in 1887, Cedar 
Island in 1888. and a lone pair in Orient in 1900 
(Eaton 1910. Griscom 1923. Bull 1964. Latham 
1975). 
Laughing Gulls starting breeding (again) on 
Long Island in the late 1970s after an absence from 
New York Stale as a breeding bird for almost 80 yrs 
(Buckley el al. 1978. Post and Riepe 1980). Our 
study objectives were to: (I) review and summarize 
information regarding Laughing Gull nesting in 
New York State since 1900. and (2) provide a 
current assessment of the distribution and the 
nesting status of Laughing Gulls in New York. 
METHODS 
Breeding Records —We reviewed the scientific 
literature, books, published reports, and other 
printed materials for any and all available records 
and information regarding the breeding status of 
Laughing Gulls in New York Stale from the 1800s 
to 2008. We contacted curatorial staff or accessed 
on-line data bases for the New York State 
Breeding Bird Atlas, the USGS Breeding Bird 
Survey (BBS), and the New York cRird Network. 
Reports and data summaries of Long Island 
Colonial Waterbird and Piping Plover (Chara- 
driits melodus) Survey information were obtained 
from the New York State Department of Envi¬ 
ronmental Conservation tNYSDEC). Personal and 
telephone interviews were conducted with repre¬ 
sentatives from the NYSDEC. National Park 
Service. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Town 
of Hempstead, New' York City Audubon, and 
other entities. All breeding records and associated 
information were compiled into an electronic data 
base, which we used for the summary and analysis 
of Laughing Gulls breeding in New York 
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