ABSTRACT
This chapter reports on sampling techniques for herring gulls, although the methods are applicable to most gulls and terns. In addition, herring gulls often congregate around airports, posing a potential threat to airplane traffic. With frequent disturbance, or under weather pressures at northerly latitudes, herring gulls may depart from the colonies in mid to late August. In the winter months, herring gulls congregate at garbage dumps in harbors and bays and generally disperse along the Atlantic Coast from Massachusetts to Florida. Four census methods can be employed on herring gulls: direct counts, visual estimates from the ground, visual estimates from aircraft, and counts from photographs. Direct counts are used to census breeding herring gulls and involve directly counting all nests or adults. To obtain the number of breeding herring gulls, the number of nests must be multiplied by two.
