This is the second field guide I have looked forward to reviewing. Last week I reviewed Dragonflies of North America. Again, just today, and hot off the press, I received The Gull Guide North America by Amar Ayyash, Princeton University Press, 2024 in my mailbox.
I've already received some help with my review from the author himself, Amar Ayyash, who was interviewed by Nate Swick for the October 24th, 2024 American Birding Podcast, number 08-43 and titled Gulls are for Everyone with Amar Ayyash. If you are a birder and do not already subscribe to this podcast, I recommend that you do. Nate Swick does a terrific job with it and has done some excellent interviews. His interview with Amar about his new book is no exception. As an aside, the October 24th podcast also has an introduction by Nate commenting on the "de-extinction world" with focus on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and the Passenger Pigeon. I think you will agree with Nates's insights.
But, I digress. This blog post is about gulls, and in particular about Amar Ayyash's new gull book. I just received it in the mail today, so clearly I have not had a chance to review it closely or even use it in the field.
Amar Ayyash is a man who knows gulls. I have to confess to being a secret admirer of Amar for a very long time. His longstanding blog. Anything Larus, is one of my favorites with a monthly listing of rarities and a monthly identification quiz which is challenging and fun. Before he changed his blog to its present format, he posted his own photos and would highlight gull events, like his organization of the Illinois Ornithological Society's annual Gull Frolic on Lake Michigan. I've plucked this old-style link below from GeoffWilliamson.info (this year's Gull Frolic guest speaker) to remind readers how Anything Larus used to look. In this March 2015 blog entry he is highlighting the Herring/Kelp gull hybrid Chandeleur Gull which is found on the Chandeleur Islands 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico (page 316). I sort of miss his old blog format. I loved his photos and descriptions of the gulls. But writing a book of this complexity requires its own full attention and research. After his children, to whom he dedicates his book, this may be his life's project. Writing a blog is mostly a hobby although Anything Larus must have been an excellent tool for some of Amar's research. Something else which heightened my secret admiration of Amar Ayyash was when I learned that he is a high school math teacher. Truly admirable.
The podcast interview starts with the awareness that many/most birders struggle with gull identification and aging as in "I don't do gulls." (In Baltimore I had a friend who would say, "Me and gulls don't speak".) Amar goes a long way to explain how one can improve their gull ID skills.
I used to be so-so at gull identification. Trips to Niagara Falls led by the excellent Alan Wormington (sadly now deceased), went a long way to improving my basic skills. Other local field trips to a landfill, or taking myself to the nearby Visteon pond when a new or good gull species had been reported from there improved my skill level. In the past several years, however, I have paid no attention at all to gulls. Amongst many other things, gulls fell to the wayside. I do not pretend to be an expert reviewing this new Gull Guide. Even so I know a good field guide when I see one.
In the podcast listeners learn that Amar's favorite gull is the Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan). I remember my absolute excitement when I found a Franklin's Gull flying around a pond or small lake in Anchorage, Alaska in 2012 and I even got adequate photographs. I submitted my report and photos to the Alaska Checklist Committee and it was accepted and appeared in their North American Birds summary. This was probably the second best of my own birding highlights.
Even you and gulls don't speak, this is a must have field guide. The detail is extraordinary and the photos are excellent and take the reader through each gull species aging process. You will learn and appreciate this book for its extensive research and the sheer beauty of it.
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