Gull Crazed on the West Coast

Searching for a Heermann's Gull. Saw Western Gulls, California Gulls. Ring-billed and Herring Gulls too--but don't need to board a flight for those.

Ring-billed Gull. I ran this through the Merlin app’s photo ID feature—which first said it’s a Short-billed Gull, then a Lesser Black-backed. Finally: Ring-billed. My unglamorous identification was confirmed. I typically assume a bird is the least rare species it could be.

I recently visited the San Diego area to see a friend from college. He flew out to…