Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Laughing Gull
Scientific name:	[Leucophaeuus atricilla]
Date:	6/19/26
Time:	10:30-10:40am
Length of time observed:	at least 10 min, and could have longer
Number:	1
Age:	adult
Sex:
Location:	Sand Hollow Reservoir, south shore
County:	Washington
Latilong:
Elevation:	3000
Distance to bird:	about 100-120 yards?
Optical equipment:	Leica scope, 20-60x
Weather:	sunny, light breeze
Light Conditions:	bright sunlight, coming from overhead and slightly to the right and behind
Description: Size of bird:	small gull - smaller than Ring-billed, larger than F's Tern
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Gull
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	blackish hood, dark gray mantle, white below
(Description:) Bill Type:	gull bill
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Full adult breeding plumage. Dark mantle; wingtips at rest almost entirely black except for 2 small spots visible. All-black hood that drops down slight at the nape, kinda like a shallow "V"; prominent eye arcs. Bill blackish but showed a hint of deep red/maroon in certain light (for example, more evident where sunlight bled through the thin tip); not as long and drooped as I might expect. Legs blackish with perhaps a hint of red/maroon. Wings in flight have white trailing edge and nearly all-black wingtips. Not much larger than adjacent Forster's Terns, smaller than nearby Ring-bills. (see photos) Discription from eBird checklist: Full adult breeding plumage. Dark mantle; wingtips at rest almost entirely black except for 2 small spots visible. All-black hood; prominent eye arcs. Bill blackish but showed a hint of deep red/maroon in certain light; not as long and drooped as I might expect. Legs blackish with perhaps a hint of red/maroon. White trailing edge of wings in flight. Not much larger than adjacent Forster's Terns, smaller than nearby Ring-bills. Seen on south shore on return leg around 10:30, but soon flushed (but returned) by newly arriving beach lovers. Not quite as actively walking around as the one (not quite yet in full breeding plumage) that I saw a few weeks back. Pics.
Song or call & method of delivery:
Behavior:	Mostly standing near water's edge; walking a feeding a little bit; may have been nervous at the people nearby, especially when they approached the beach; took flight briefly out toward the lake but soon returned, where it was associating with Ring-bills and Forster's and Caspian Terns.
Habitat:	Sandy freshwater shoreline/beach.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Franklin's Gull: lacked prominent white spots on dark wingtips Bonaparte's Gull: all-dark-gray wings with narrow white trailing edge, larger size Sabine's Gull: ditto; prominent eye arcs, fuller black hood, larger size Little Gull: ditto, and much darker mantle
Previous experience with this & similar species:	This is the fourth Laughing Gull I have seen at Sand Hollow in the last three years and the second this spring. I also saw one at Tokeland, WA, a few years ago on a field trip I was leading. Plus numerous on Florida coast two(?) years ago and a few in Connecticut 15+ years ago. I see Bonaparte's and Sabine's each year at Sand Hollow, though most often in non-breeding plumage. The former fairly common in W Wash. Plus many Black-headed and Mediterraneans on Costa del Sol and elsewhere.
References consulted:	Sibley and Mullarney (Europe) field guides -- "just in case"
Description from:	Notes made later From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Paul Hicks
Observer's address:	1630 E 2450 S #26, St George, UT 84790
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:
Date prepared:	6/19/26
Additional material:	Photos - eBird checklist
Additional comments:	The black hood on this bird was completely jet black, highlighting the eye arcs; the bird I saw and photographed in May had pale mottling in the hood (mostly face and throat), and seemed considerably more active/restless (walking and taking short flights). The bill on this bird was not as long and drooped as I might expect. The bird flushed at the arrival of beach lovers (I yelled at them to please not scare the birds, and they obliged), flew a short distance out over the lake but soon returned -- at least until the rest of the family arrived at the shore. But it was tame enough, along with the Forster's Terns and gulls, to allow fairly close approach. One recreationist took pics with his cell phone. I didn't stick around to see what happened next. It was getting hot and I had a World Cup soccer game to go watch with my grandson!