Heermann’s Gulls Nesting in California

Byron and Joanna Chin
San Francisco: Thursday, January 16, 2020
6:30 p.m. refreshments, 7 p.m. program

Note new transit-friendly location! S.F. State University Downtown Campus, 835 Market Street (Westfield Shopping Center, at Powell Street BART station), 6th floor.

Heermann’s Gulls were thought to breed exclusively on small islands in the Gulf of California and off the Mexican coast, where their numbers are declining due to warming seas and overfishing. But in 1999, a few nested on a man-made island on Roberts Lake in Seaside, California—the only known nesting colony of Heermann’s Gulls in the United States. Learn about the natural history of Heermann’s Gulls, the Seaside colony’s growth to 100 individuals, its environmental challenges, and efforts by Monterey Audubon and others to help the colony by monitoring and deployment of a floating nesting island.

Byron and Joanna Chin have been avid birders for over a decade, with a particular love for gulls and other seabirds. They’ve spent the last two years studying the Heermann’s Gull colony in Seaside and have worked closely with Monterey Audubon to conserve them. When not involved in bird-related pursuits, Byron is a patent litigator and Joanna is a pediatrician.