water, these gulls were nearly always 
in sight.*' Large numbers stay around 
the fishermen's docks, especially when 
the catch has been brought in and the 
fish cleanings are thrown away. 
Gilbert kept bird records from 
1941 to 1946 and noted that the birds 
usually migrate to the mainland of 
Minnesota and Ontario during the win¬ 
ter months but may also be seen on or 
near Isle Royale in midwinter (30). 
Shelton saw one immature herring gull 
in early February 1962 ( 39) . 
They nest by the hundreds on the 
Siskiwit Islands, Long Island, Menag¬ 
erie Island, Taylor Reef, Bradsford 
Reef, and Harlem Reef (figs. 16 and 
17) . Smaller numbers of nests may be 
found on some of the reefs near 
Scoville Point and Passage Island and 
on the smaller rocky reefs scattered 
around Isle Royale. On May 17, 1948, 
Lee and Krefting visited the breeding 
colonies on Menagerie and Long Islands 
and on Taylor Reef. On Menagerie 
Island the gulls were perched on the 
old lighthouse and also over all other 
parts of the small rocky island (fig. 
18) . Most of the nests were found in 
the rocky shelves and crevices and on 
the more level grassy area in the in¬ 
terior. Each nest had from one to 
three eggs and they were usually lined 
with dry grass. Some of the nests 
were small while others were large 
and bulky. On a small area of the 
island (33 by 300 feet) 24 nests were 
found. On Long Island, 290 nests 
were counted on a very narrow strip 
about 2% miles long. These nests were 
built in rocky crevices and shelves 
and for the most part were on the east 
or Lake Superior side of the island. 
A few of the Long Island nests were 
located on the grassier areas at the 
edge of the tree cover, while six 
were found within the balsam-fir 
cover on level ground. One nest 
was under a clump of mountain ash 
and balsam fir about 5 feet in from 
the edge of the forest cover. It 
was lined with lichen ( Usnea sp,) 
sphagnum moss, and small sticks 
from tree branches. Taylor Reef 
was also visited, and 100 nests 
were counted on the east end. 
References to these gulls, and 
especially their eggs, are contained 
in the journal for the lighthouse 
station at Menagerie Island by Stearns 
and Malone, 1875-93 (40), since the 
eggs served as an important source of 
food. In the log for May 13, 1886, 
Malone wrote, "The sea gulls commenced 
laying their eggs. We got 12 on 
Menagerie Island." For the year 
(1886) 1,028 eggs were gathered, and 
the last collection date mentioned 
was May 20. In 1887 Malone made only 
two references to gull eggs. On 
May 20 he wrote, "The assistant got 
740 gull eggs at Siscowette Point. 
He said he counted 32 dead gulls. It 
seems they are killing each other." 
Again on June 1 the log states, "We 
have 32 gull eggs blowed out for the 
Supply Vessel Crew." No mention was 
made of gull eggs in 1888, but on 
May 11, 1889, the entry read, "Got 
some gulls eggs today. First for the 
season. We got 122 gull eggs to date." 
The last entry was on June 6, when 798 
eggs had been gathered for the season. 
The first entry for 1890 was May 13, 
and the log stated, "Found four gull 
eggs. The first for the season at 
Rabbit Island." The last eggs were 
taken that year on June 4, and the 
season total was 1,505 eggs. No 
mention was made of collections in 
1891, but in 1892 the season total 
was 1,390 eggs, and in 1893 it was 
1,764 eggs. Since the log book that 
covered the years after 1893 could 
not be located, no other egg collec¬ 
tion information is available. 
Adult gulls have been observed 
on several occasions chasing song¬ 
birds during migration while out over 
the main lake. Oftentimes when pursued 
by gulls, the songbirds took refuge 
on small fishing boats in the vicinity. 
31 
