In this part of the country, there are around 20 different types of gull, all with 4-10 different color patterns and variations depending on sex, age, weather and season, wear and fading and individual variation. To make things even more complicated, some gull species breed with others, e.g., the Western Gull and the Glaucous Winged Gulls.

To all this, we say PHOOEY! Gulls nesting on Haystack Rock are Western Gulls, so we won't worry about all the others right now. While the count varies from year to year, there are an estimated 1200 Western Gulls nesting on Haystack Rock each summer.

Weighing in at over two pounds, Western Gulls are the largest and darkest of all the Pacific Coast gulls. These gulls are frequently the first to set up their nest on Haystack Rock. They lay between two and five brown, spotted eggs that they incubate for about a month. The chicks are fed by their parents even after they have learned to fly - for six to eight weeks. To get food, the young gulls peck at a red mark on the adult's bill that causes the adult to regurgitate food.

Western Gulls pass through nine distinct, dusky color phases before they reach sexual maturity at four years of age.

The gull diet consists of clams, crabs, urchins, young birds, seabird eggs, small vertebrates and carrion (dead, decaying flesh). Western Gulls are excellent scavengers and have earned reputations as pirates. They will aggressively challenge other birds for food.n this part of the country, there are around 20 different types of gull, all with 4-10 different color patterns and variations depending on sex, age, weather and season, wear and fading and individual variation. To make things even more complicated, some gull species breed with others, e.g., the Western Gull and the Glaucous Winged Gulls.

Other gull species at Cannon Beach throughout the year include: Bonaparte's Gull (winter), Mew Gull (winter), Ring Billed Gull (winter), California Gull (winter), Herring Gull (winter), Thayer's Gull (winter), Glaucous Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull (winter), and Heermann's Gull (migrating). Also, Caspian Terns can be spotted fishing just off shore.

Other gull species at Cannon Beach throughout the year include: Bonaparte's Gull (winter), Mew Gull (winter), Ring Billed Gull (winter), California Gull (winter), Herring Gull (winter), Thayer's Gull (winter), Glaucous Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull (winter), and Heermann's Gull (migrating). Also, Caspian Terns can be spotted fishing just off shore.

PLEASE DON'T FEED THE GULLS!
While people enjoy feeding young gulls, it establishes an unhealthy pattern that make the birds unable to feed themselves when winter arrives and the visitors have gone home. Also, it is dangerous for people, especially young children, to feed these large, aggressive birds.

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