Alaskan Herring Gull

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Herring gulls have white heads and bodies, gray backs, typically yellow eyes, and black wing tips with small white spots. Total length is 22 to 25 inches (56-64 cm).
Juvenile herring gulls are difficult to tell from juvenile glaucous-winged gulls. Herring gulls are usually found breeding in low numbers on boreal lakes and rivers in interior Alaska. Some herring gulls, however, breed on the south coast of Alaska, notably in Upper Cook Inlet near the mouth of the Susitna River; at Dry Bay, mouth of the Alsek River, near Yakutat; and in Glacier Bay in recently deglaciated fjords. Hybridization with glaucous-winged gulls occurs in these locations. Hybrid
gulls display characteristics of both these parental forms and are found at river mouths and near tidewater glaciers. They nest on flat gravel bars, sloping grassy hillsides, and on nearly vertical cliff faces. A Siberian form of the herring gull (Larus argentatus vegae) breeds on sea cliffs on St. Lawrence Island and occasionally appears in western Alaska, where it hybridizes with glaucous gulls. In addition, many glaucous gulls on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta show signs of interbreeding with glaucous-winged gulls.  Almost all features of reproductive biology of Interior herring gulls resemble those of glaucous-winged gulls. However, the food of Interior herring gulls is limited and consists mainly of fish. This may account for their lower numbers. Alaska herring gulls are completely migratory, leaving lakes and rivers for the coast in September.
Herring gulls banded on Alaska lakes have been resighted during winter in southern California and Mexico. Herring gulls return to Alaska lakes in May. Alaska's herring gull populations are not likely to expand in the foreseeable future because of restricted nesting space and lack of substantial sources of artificial food. Indeed, as recreational boating traffic on lakes increases, disturbance of their relatively small colonies may result in population declines.