If I go by the brochure given out at the entrance to the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, I would identify this gull as either a Western or a Glaucous-winged. I can't justify either choice however, as the Glaucous-winged Gull has a darker brown eye and the Western Gull has a peak above the eye on its head. This gull has a yellow eye and no peak. It also has a orange-yellow orbital ring around it eye just like Sibley points out. Therefore, I'm fairly confident this is a Herring Gull. Thursday, August 19, 2010
Herring Gull
If I go by the brochure given out at the entrance to the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, I would identify this gull as either a Western or a Glaucous-winged. I can't justify either choice however, as the Glaucous-winged Gull has a darker brown eye and the Western Gull has a peak above the eye on its head. This gull has a yellow eye and no peak. It also has a orange-yellow orbital ring around it eye just like Sibley points out. Therefore, I'm fairly confident this is a Herring Gull. 
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This is a nice Western Gull. The school-bus orange bill with the fat gonys, dark mantle, dark eye, and yellow-orange orbital ring are all correct. It is August in this photo. The very pale-mantled, white-eyed, Herring Gulls are all in the Arctic at this time of year and won't come back until October.
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