Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) and Great Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus) are familiar to anyone who has ever visited the Atlantic Ocean in New England. Their noisy calls, large size, and abundance make them stand out as the conspicuous "sea gulls" of beaches, marinas, towns, and garbage dumps.

Listen to the Kee-Oo call of a Herring Gull:

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Listen to the trumpeting call of a Herring Gull:

Great Black-backed Gulls are among the largest seabirds found on the East Coast. Great Black-backed Gulls have benefited greatly from humans and have increased to great numbers. As a result, they now breed in areas where they formerly did not, and cause great pressure on other seabird species. Although they are usually passive, in some instances they can be aggressive and dangerous to smaller seabirds on Eastern Egg Rock.

 

Listen to the call of a Great Black-backed Gull:

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Here is the sound of a Great Black-backed Gull's undisturbed call:

 

In the picture at left, a Great Black-backed Gull is attacking a young Arctic Tern. They frequently kill tern chicks and fledglings, along with many other seabird species.

In this photo, the adult Arctic Terns attempt to drive the Great Black-backed Gull away and rescue the chick.

The efforts of the adult terns fail and the Great Black-backed Gull captures and kills the Arctic Tern chick in its beak. Because of the devastating effect predation by Great Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls can have on the nesting seabirds--including puffins--Project Puffin often has to remove these gull species from the islands.