NORTH AMERICAN GULL CONFERENCE
Sponsored by: Swarovski Optik North America LTD

www.swarovskioptik.com

A SPECIAL PART OF THE
13TH ANNUAL SPACE COAST BIRDING & WILDLIFE FESTIVAL (SCBWF)
Co-host is the Volusia County Marine Science Center

The 1st North American Gull Conference (NAGC) was held in November, 2000 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.  Swarovski Optik was one of the sponsors of this event and is the sole sponsor of this 2010 version.  Three 2000 Conference attendees are Bruce Mactavish (who was one of the key presenters), Paul Lehman and Clay Taylor.

Clay Taylor, Naturalist Market Manager, Swarovski Optik North America LTD conceived this idea of adding the NAGC to the SCBWF.  By folding Gull and regular birding activities seamlessly together the goal is for all attendees to have a great learning and fun experience.  Joining Bruce, Paul and Clay for the 2010 NAGC will be Martin Reid, Alvaro Jaramillo, Michael O’Brien and local naturalist, Michael Brothers.

 

Bruce Mactavish

Martin Reid

Clay Taylor

Alvaro Jaramillo

Michael O'Brien

Paul Lehman

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PROGRAMS

Beach Gull Watch
Jan. 26, 3:00pm-9:30pm; MAS; Daytona Beach Shores Resort; Limited to 100 seats (waiting list available) ; $60
Directions: North on I-95 to Exit #256. Merge on SR421 toward Port Orange and follow Atlantic Ave. Turn left on A1A for approx. 3 miles. Daytona Shores Resort will be on the right. Park in the Resort self-park lot for $5 or by valet for $7. Free parking in the public lot in Frank Rendon Park located south of the Daytona Shores Resort on A1A with a short walk to the Resort entrance. Drive time from Titusville to Daytona Beach Shores approx. 50 minutes.
Note: Meet at Daytona Beach Resort.
Note: Registration required.
Spend an afternoon and evening with gull experts: Bruce Mactavish, Martin Reid, Alvaro Jaramillo, Michael O’Brien, Paul Lehman, and Clay Taylor, welcomed by Michael Brothers, Marine Science Center, Volusia County. The Beach Gull Watch starts at 3pm at the Gull Mecca of East Central Florida. Meet on the Lanai of the hotel. You will be able to stand on the beach among hundreds of gulls. Each leader will gather a group of participants with opportunities to exchange groups so that all attendees will be able to work with each expert. Clay Taylor will show and explain his latest digiscoping techniques and will be available to personally assist you in getting the best photo advantage. At 6pm, host Michael Brothers of the Marine Science Center, will assist everyone to head up to the Atlantic Room, which has breathtaking views of the ocean. A cash bar will be available for a leisurely transition for the evening, and you can preview the EL 42 Edition of Swarovski Optik Binoculars that celebrates the launch of their first binoculars 60 years ago! Dinner will be served around 7pm. Menu includes house salad, dual-entrée of chicken breast and lemon-peppered prawns served with potatoes and a vegetable medley. Enjoy dessert - New York cheesecake with raspberry sauce - and your choice of coffee or tea.

Keynote Speaker: Bruce Mactavish (North American Birds/ABA)
A Birders Introduction to Gull Watching: Yesterday and Today
Gull watching has taken on a life of its own. Take a walk down memory lane from the beginnings of gull watching in North America to the present. What was the lure? Why is the interest still growing today? How have modern day optics and technology enhanced the sport? Why do some become seriously afflicted with gull watching? Gull watching can be taken to any scale. Learn how to get into gull watching and enjoy it. See gulls on your terms. Gull watching is fun.

Gull Classroom Workshop: Taking the Fear Out of Identifying Gulls
Jan. 27, 8:00am-9:30am; Community Dining Room; Limited to 40 seats; $15
Jan. 28, 12:30pm-1:30pm; 121; Limited to 40 seats; $15
Jan. 29, 8:00am-9:30am; 121; Limited to 40 seats; $15
Alvaro Jaramillo (Field Guides Inc.)
www.fieldguides.com
Gulls can be a dizzying group to separate (some individuals even baffle experts). Their propensity to wander great distances makes them a favorite of veteran birders everywhere. However, they are also a perfect group for beginners as they are easy to approach and sit in plain view for extended periods. This allows for detailed study! In this classroom session, Al will review basics such as “parts” of a gull and a basic understanding of age, molt and seasonal variations in plumages. Photos of some of the many plumages shown by commonly occurring Florida species will be shown. Gulls are never truly easy birds to identify, but there are a bunch of tips and tricks which can literally take the fear out of this group, even for a beginner. Do you get all “messed up” when you reach the gull pages in the field guides? If so, this course aims to clarify rather than confuse.
A trip to the Brevard County Landfill on Wednesday, Jan. 27 and Friday, Jan. 29, and a trip to Daytona Beach Shores on Thursday, Jan. 28 will also take place. These areas are consistently productive for many gull species, including some rather rare ones for Florida. Whether you are a beginner just learning these skills or a veteran refreshing them, this class/field trip promises to be a fun and interactive experience.
Alvaro (Al) Jaramillo is a guide for Field Guides Inc. and author of The Birds of Chile.

Gull ID at Brevard Co. Landfill Field Workshop - Friday trip FILLED
Jan. 27 & 29, 10:00am-12:30pm; MAS; Limited to 30 registrants; $30
Alvaro Jaramillo (Field Guides, Inc.) with Paul Lehman, Bruce Mactavish (North American Birds/ABA), Martin Reid, and host Pam Shoemaker, Recycling Coordinator for Brevard Co. Solid Waste Mgmt. Dept.
Directions: From BCC, drive south on US 1 to Garden St. Turn right onto Garden St. and follow to I-95. Merge onto I-95 south and drive approx. 17 miles to the SR524 Merge onto SR524 west and drive approx. 1.2 miles to Adamson Rd. Turn right onto Adamson Rd. (observe sign for Brevard County Landfill) and drive approx. 2.2 miles to the entrance to the landfill. The entrance will be marked with a Festival sign. Turn left into the property and proceed to the Administration Bldg. on your right. Park in this lot toward the north end. The group will board a Lynx bus for the trip to the top of the landfill. Drive time from Titusville to the landfill is approx. 30 minutes.
The Brevard County Landfill is a most productive birding site! Join us for a rare opportunity to tour this site with some of the most knowledgeable gull experts in the world. Thousands of gulls of different species can be seen at the Landfill. Possible rare ones include Glaucous Gull, Iceland (Kumlien’s) Gull, Thayer’s Gull, California Gull and European Herring Gull. Who knows what else we might find - maybe a first state record Yellow-legged Gull or Kelp Gull! The conditions allow for close comparison of similar species with many different age classes and plumages. The landfill also offers the opportunity to get great photographs of Bald Eagles, and other bird species that are present. This is a trip you will not want to miss!

Gull ID at Daytona Beach Shores Field Workshop
Jan. 28, 2:30pm-6:00pm; MAS; Limited to 40 registrants; $30
Alvaro Jaramillo (Field Guides, Inc.) with Michael Brothers (Marine Science Center), Bruce Mactavish (North American Birds/ABA), Michael O’Brien (VENT) and Martin Reid
Directions: North on I-95 to Exit #256. Merge on SR421 toward Port Orange and follow Atlantic Ave. Turn left on A1A for approx. 3 miles, to Frank Rendon Park on your right, located immediately south of the Daytona Shores Resort on A1A. Free parking is available. Meet in the parking lot near the beach to begin the field trip. Drive time from Titusville to Daytona Beach Shores approx. 50 minutes.
Note: Meet at Frank Rendon Park.
The beach at Daytona Beach Shores is considered the Gull Mecca of East Central Florida! Be prepared as a profusion of gull species find this beach especially suitable for finding land crabs and other morsels that are part of their diet. Gulls that you may see include Bonaparte’s Gull, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, and Great Black-backed Gull as well as rare species that may be visiting the area. Bring your camera! The trip leaders will assist you in identification techniques and help in spotting a gull for your Life List. This trip is one of the ‘must-do’ trips during the Festival.

A Birder’s Introduction to Gull Watching
Jan. 30, 10:00am-11:15am; 121; Limited to 40 seats; $15
Bruce Mactavish (North American Birds/ABA)
Gull watching has taken on a life of its own. What is the lure? Why is interest growing rapidly? How have modern day optics and technology enhanced the sport? Why is gull watching addictive for some and shunned by others? Gull watching can be taken to any scale. Take a walk down memory lane from the beginnings of gull watching in North America to the present. Learn how to get into gull watching on your own terms and enjoy it. See gulls your way. Gull watching is fun for all.

Decoding the Herring Gull Complex: In the New World (Intermediate Level)
Jan. 29, 3:30pm-5:00pm; 123; Limited to 40 seats; $15
Martin Reid
www.martinreid.com
Examine the migration and potential vagrancy dynamics of the rarer forms, then look at each age-class and how to start distinguishing them. We will get at least two kinds of American Herring Gull, plus vagrant European Herring Gulls and Vega Herring Gulls.

Gull Nightmares from the Bering Sea Region, Alaska
Jan. 31, 8:00am-9:30am; 123; Limited to 40 seats; $15
Paul Lehman
Join Paul Lehman as he samples some of the more difficult and unresolved identification issues associated with the several large gull species found in the Bering Sea region. Species and subspecies include Slaty-backed, Vega Herring, Glaucous-winged, and a myriad of hybrids - all forms which are turning up (or at least being reported) in many other parts of North America as well.

Hybrid Gulls in Eastern North America: Potential Identification Traps
Jan. 29, 1:30pm-3:00pm; 118; Limited to 30 seats; $15
Bruce Mactavish (North American Birds/ABA)
Gulls are notorious for hybridizing. No other group of North American birds cross-breeds as liberally as the gulls. While the percentage of gulls in eastern North America that are hybrids is extremely small, just one can throw a curve ball into an ordinary day of gull watching. Most hybrid gulls are a compromise of features between the two parent species. The results can be beautiful, such as the hybrid Glaucous x Great Blackbacked Gull, or vexing, like Herring x Great Black-backed Gull, producing a collection of characters resembling rare species. The recent increase of Lesser Black-backed Gull x Herring Gull hybrids in North America means more Yellow-legged Gull look-a-likes to challenge the gull watcher. We will look these imposters straight in the eye as we explore and identify the frequent hybrid gull combinations in the East.

Large Gull Workshop: A Round Table Discussion
Jan. 31, 3:00pm-4:30pm; AUD; Limited to 150 (waiting list available) ; $20
Martin Reid - Facilitator with Panelists Alvaro Jaramillo (Field Guides), Paul Lehman, Bruce Mactavish (North American Birds/ ABA) and Clay Taylor (Swarovski Optik)
Watch and absorb as our gull experts lead a round table discussion covering leading-edge issues in the identity and occurrence of rare large gulls in North America. The experts will discuss and illustrate matters such as range/ coverage dynamics, hybridization dynamics, how to use molt in gull ID, human and weather-related changes in gull distribution, and many more, culminating in an illustrated discussion of any rare/mystery gulls seen and photographed during the actual Conference. A short Q&A session will wrap up the workshop. Participants are invited to share gull photographs taken during the Festival.

The Truth About Gulls: Most Are Easy to Identify (shhh, don’t tell...)
Jan. 30, 1:00pm-2:15pm; 121; Limited to 40 seats; $15
Michael O’Brien (VENT)
www.ventbirds.com
Most of us know that gulls have the reputation of being extremely difficult to identify, and that certainly is true, sometimes. But the vast majority of individuals are actually pretty straightforward. Ask any gull expert who spent hours watching thousands of gulls at a landfill how many he or she couldn’t identify. It will be a handful at best. Every now and then, one comes across a truly puzzling gull that defies identification. But, if the proper features are considered, most individual gulls can be identified with relative ease.

Younger Yellow-legged Gulls - What to Look For (Intermediate/Advanced Level)
Jan. 30, 11:30am-12:45pm; 123; Limited to 40 seats; $15
Martin Reid
www.martinreid.com
There has been an increase in detected nonadult Yellow-legged Gull types in the Gulf and Atlantic Florida. In this program we’ll start with a primer on the different types of Yellowlegged Gull and where they come from, then look at and discuss some examples of birds seen in the southern US that fit the mold for this variable taxon.

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Clay Taylor's Digiscoped Photographs Sponsored By Swarovski Optik.

Glaucous Gull Daytona Shores	Glaucous Gull Daytona Shores	Glaucous Gull Daytona Shores	Iceland Gull Daytona Shores
Gull	Herring Gull Texas	Lesser Black-backed Gull - Connecticut	Lesser Black-backed Gull - Connecticut
Lesser Black-backed Gull - Connecticut	Lesser Black-backed Gull - Connecticut	Lesser Black-backed Gull with Greater Black-backed - CT	California Gull - CA
Ring-billed Gull - OR	Iceland Gull Daytona Shores	Iceland Gull Daytona Shores	Click on any photo for the enlargements gallery.

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