Where do gulls nest and breed?
Gulls are colonial nesters and are often crowded together on nesting grounds. • Herring and great black-backed gulls breed on the Bay’s islands near Tangier Sound. Female herring gulls lay an average of three olive to light blue eggs, which hatch in about 24 to 28 days. • Laughing gulls nest from late May to early August in sand dunes and salt marshes. Females lay an average of three olive to buff-colored eggs, which hatch in about 20 days. The gulls found in the Bay watershed take three to four years to reach maturity. Immature gulls are often variably colored and confusing to identify. • Herring gulls are a four-year gull, meaning that it takes four years for one to obtain its breeding plumage. In their first winter, herring gulls are speckled or marbled dusky brown to tan; their plumage gets paler in their second and third winters. • Great black-backed gull are also a four-year gull. Their young are larger and more checkered-patterned with contrasting colors than first-year herring
