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 begins with an excellent commentary by Nate on the "de-extinction world" with focus on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and the Passenger Pigeon. His podcasts often begin with a brief commentary like this and Nates's insights are revealing.
But, I digress. This blog post is about gulls, and in particular about Amar Ayyash's new gull book. Having just received it in the mail clearly I have not had the chance to read or use it fully. But I am excited to review it.
Amar Ayyash is a man who knows gulls. I have to confess to being a long-time secret admirer of Amar. His longstanding blog Anything Larus is one of my favorites with a monthly listing of rarity sightings and a monthly identification quiz which is challenging and fun. Before he changed his blog to its present format, he posted his photos with description and also highlighted gull events, like his organization of the Illinois Ornithological Society's annual Gull Frolic on Lake Michigan. I've plucked Amar's old-style blog link below from GeoffWilliamson.info (guest speaker at the 2024 Gull Frolic) 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 in the book). I sort of miss his old blog format. I loved his photos and descriptions of the gulls and the weather, most commonly cold and windy. Writing a book of this complexity requires its own full attention and research. Writing a blog is mostly a hobby, although Anything Larus in its present format must be an excellent tool for much 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. I read somewhere that he wrote most of the narrative for his species accounts during the Covid lock down.
The ABA podcast interview starts with the awareness that 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's book goes the distance to define, describe and show how one can improve their gull identification 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 secured my basic skills. In the past several years, however, I have paid no attention to gulls. Amongst many other things in my life, gulls fell to the wayside. For this review I do not pretend to be a gull expert. This said, I know a good field guide when I see one.
I like to start with Acknowledgements and Amar Ayyash has an extensive list of contributors for both photos and for identification and writing assistance. I recognized many of the names. Always saving the best for last, his final paragraph is beautiful. He dedicates his book to Inaam and Ibrahim who we learn are his parents. He also dedicates it to Asmaa and Ismail who are perhaps his children. He doesn't say. Before he goes into each species account, he takes a deep dive into taxonomy, gull topography, feathers, colors, aging and molt and identification being the most lengthy (pages 4-56). This is all accompanied by detailed photos. If you only read these pages your understanding and comfort with gull identification will take a giant leap forward. The rest of the guide (pages 57-501) is a species account of over 40 gulls including subspecies and hybrids with extensive detail. He provides clear and beautiful photographs to reveal each cycle of aging. Each photograph is accompanied by a number and a corresponding description of what is being highlighted in the photo. True enough, the photos and the print are small, but they need to be to fit. The thing for me is Amar's writing. This is no ordinary field guide when it comes to overview, taxonomy, range and identification. I was also struck by the fact that even defining the range for each species must have been a challenge; for as we know, gulls really do not have geographical boundaries.
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 small lake in Anchorage, Alaska in June of 2012 and I even got decent identifiable 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 perhaps the second best of my birding highlights.
With this guide I confirmed that my favorite species of gull is one I am unlikely to ever see, Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea). Of those that I may be able to see there are two. Sabine's Gull (Xema sabini) (which I may have seen fleetingly, but definitely not confirmed, in Nome, Alaska) and Swallow-tailed Gull (Creagrus furcates) which, if I am fortunate with my travel goals, I may be able to see.
At this stage of my birding career (such as it is or was) I doubt I'll be able to use The Gull Guide to its full capacity. It doesn't matter; something will come up and I'll need it. This acknowledged, I'm very proud to have The Gull Guide on my bookshelf. Even if you and gulls don't speak, this is a must have field guide for any birder. The detail is extraordinary and the photos and written descriptions are excellent. It was written by a gull expert who wants you to have the tools to improve your own gull identification skills. You will appreciate this book for its extensive research to achieve this goal and for the sheer beauty of it.
Addendum added on 12/13/2024
The American Birding Association just published their 2024 annual award winners. Amar Ayyash won the ABA Robert Ridgeway Award for Outstanding Orinithological Publications. You may need to be a member to open the link, but if you are reading this chances are you are an ABA member and already know this.
On the ABA 12/05/2024 podcast, for their annual birding book club for the best of 2024, The Gull Guide came up again when Nate Swick placed it in the top spot on his list of five best. Donna Schulman also placed it in her number three spot and comments extensively on it in the podcast. I agree with much of what she said, but I still like my review better. As an aside, The Birds Audubon Missed by Kenn Kaufman was also recognized in this podcast. While said differently much of what was said about The Birds Audubon Missed was congruent with what I wrote in my review of Kenn Kaufman's book.
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