Did you know that jaegers, gulls, and terns are in the same family of birds? Welcome to Field Notes. I’m Rob MacDonald, a Wildlife Biologist with the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge.

The term “seagull” gets used quite a bit. However, they are actually called “gulls.” In the northern Bristol Bay area, we have identified 10 species of gulls. The most common are the glaucous-winged gulls, mew gulls, black-legged kittiwakes, and Bonaparte’s gulls.

Adult gulls are mostly white below and gray above, often with black on their wing tips or head. Young gulls are usually darker than the adults of the same species and can take as long as 4 years to reach maturity. Gulls will eat almost anything. They can act as scavengers on beaches or as predators on the eggs and young of other birds.

Jaegers are gull-like birds with a strongly hooked bill and sharp claws. Their wings are narrow, pointed, and dark. Jaegers fly in a fast, falcon-like manner forcing gulls and terns to drop recently-caught fish. They also feed on other birds, eggs and small mammals. The most common jaegers observed here are the parasitic jaeger and the long-tailed jaeger.

Terns look somewhat like gulls but are more slender with pointed wings, sharp-pointed bills, and usually long, forked tails. Most terns are whitish with black heads. Terns are more selective in their diet, feeding mostly on fish. They typically hunt for fish by hovering over the water and then plunging head-first after their prey. Our most common tern is the Arctic Tern, but we have concentrations of Aleutian Terns as well.

Although jaegers, gulls, and terns are not as glamorous as other types of birds, they are very important in nature and become more impressive the more you really try to understand them. For Field Notes, I’m Rob MacDonald.