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Range
 Mew
Gull breeds from central and southern Alaska and
northwestern Canada south to northern and coastal British
Columbia and east to northern Saskatchewan. Winters along
the coast from southeastern Alaska south to Baja California.
Also occurs in Eurasia.
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Status
 Abundant
to very abundant spring and autumn migrant on the coast. In winter, very
abundant on the southwest mainland coast, common to very common on the
northern mainland coast and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Uncommon to common
summer visitant along the coast. In the southern interior, rare spring
and autumn transient, very rare summer and winter visitant. In the northern
interior, very common spring and autumn migrant, and uncommon summer visitant.
Breeds.
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Status
Change
No change.
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Nonbreeding
The Mew Gull is widely
distributed along coastal British Columbia. It has a
widespread but sparse distribution throughout the interior
of British Columbia. Along the coast, it frequents a variety
of habitats including bays, estuaries, surge narrows,
beaches, mudflats, harbours, and sewage outlets, and follows
inlets and rivers up to 150 km inland. The Mew Gull
regularly joins other gulls at abundant food sources such as
Pacific herring and salmon spawning areas and along lines of
tide convergence. During migration and winter, tens of
thousands of birds are found in fields throughout the lower
Fraser River valley, and are frequently seen in cultivated
lands following ploughs. The Mew Gull is seldom found
offshore. In the interior, it frequents rivers, sand bars,
lakes, garbage dumps, sewage ponds, and marshes. It has been
found from sea level to 1,280 m elevation.
On the coast, spring migration
occurs from early March through mid May. Peak numbers in the
Fraser River delta were reported in early May. Early autumn
migrants appear in August; numbers build up until winter
maxima are reached about early December. The Strait of
Georgia is the main wintering area; Victoria and the Fraser
River delta support the largest concentrations.
In the northern interior,
migrants and breeding birds first arrive in late April and
early May; most depart in August and by early September few
remain. Extreme dates in the northeast are 29 April and 12
October (Fort St. John); in the northwest they are 3 May and
14 September (Atlin). In the southern interior, spring
migrants occur mostly in May, autumn migrants in August and
early September. Small numbers are found some winters.
Extreme dates there are 25 March (Summerland) and January
(Vernon).
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Breeding
 The
Mew Gull breeds throughout Vancouver Island,: along the
mainland coast west of the Coast Mountains from Harrison
Lake to Prince Rupert, and in the interior generally across
British Columbia north of 57°N latitude. It nests
singly or in small colonies. Along the coast, nest sites are
associated with freshwater lakes where bare or treed rocky
islets, large boulders, and, occasionally, fallen trees and
stumps provide nesting sites. In the interior, the Mew Gull
nests in marshy areas,: shallow lakes, on beaches, ponds,
and other wetlands where tussocks, hummocks, and islands are
evident. Occasionally, sites are shared with other larids
including Herring and Bonaparte's gulls. Nesting sites have
been found from 15 to 1.158 m elevation.
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Nests: 
Nests (n=152) were situated on
bare rock (50%), hummocks/tussocks (23%), living trees
(13%), bare ground (6%), fallen trees/stumps (4%), and river
pilings (4%). Some eggs were simply laid on sphagnum with no
materials while others were laid in more typical nests
constructed mainly of grasses, twigs, rootlets, and sticks
(66% of all nests). Other materials included mosses, sedges,
lichens, conifer cones, bark, and leaves. Outside diameters
of 37 nests ranged from 36 to 56 cm; inside diameters ranged
from 22 to 29 cm; inside depths ranged from 9 to 19 cm;
heights ranged from 16 to 24 cm.
Eggs:
Dates for 161 clutches ranged
from 8 May (Cowichan Lake) to 12 July (Chilkat Pass), with
52% recorded between 5 and 20 June. Clutch size ranged from
1 to 5 eggs (lE-10, 2E-39,3E-108, 4E-2, 5E-2), with 67%
having 3 eggs. Incubation period in British Columbia
averages 25 days (Vermeer and Devito 1986).
Young:
Dates for 89 broods ranged from
10 June to 31 August, with 56% recorded between 21 June and
12 July. Calculated dates indicate that young could be found
by the first week of June. Brood size ranged from 1 to 3
young (lY-19,2Y-49, 3Y-21), with 55% having 2 young.
Fledging period in British Columbia is 30 to 32 days
(Vermeer and Devito 1986).
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Remarks
Previously known as
Short-billed Gull in North America; also as Common Gull in
Old World.
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Located
at:
675 Belleville Street,
Victoria, British Columbia,
CANADA
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Copyright © Royal BC Museum
All rights reserved
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This
information was scanned from The Birds of British Columbia (Campbell
et al.), Volume II, pages 242-245. Volumes I, II and III of The Birds of British
Columbia can be ordered electronically at: 
Nests