California Gull

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California Gull
California Gull

Each package comprises a personalized certificate with the recipient's name, an 8 x 10 photo, and qualifies for a tax receipt.

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(Larus californicus)

Date of admission: Aug 5, 2025.
Reason for admission: Physical Injury.

Patient History:

Despite being named the California gull, these birds can be found across western North America at different times of year. California gulls are migratory birds that are most commonly found along the Pacific coast during their nonbreeding season, where the weather is mild during the winter months. In the spring, these gulls will migrate inland to breeding grounds in the Pacific Northwest and across the Canadian prairies.Ā 

California gulls, like most gulls, are opportunistic feeders and will eat anything they can fit in their mouths!

This can include crabs, insects, worms, small mammals, fish, eggs, seeds, garbage, and more. By being able to maneuver on land, in the air, and in water, they can exploit many different niches to find their next meal. Relying on a wide range of food resources helps this species to be habitat generalists, which means they can survive in a variety of different environments. California gulls can be found anywhere from marshes to rivers, to farming fields, to beaches. These gulls have also become very well adapted to city environments, and can often be found in parking lots, on city buildings, or at dumps where they can search for an easy meal.

California gulls will have one mate per breeding season, but may not stay with the same mate year after year. Each spring, adult California gulls will engage in courtship displays that involve arching their necks backward and giving one another food before constructing a nest together. Nests are built on the ground among a colony, and each mated pair defends the nest from threats, including other gulls. Chicks are typically hatched in June with fluffy spotted down, and leave the nest by August. Juvenile California gulls have mottled brown, grey, and white feathers. Adult plumage gradually emerges after four years in the form of white body feathers, grey feathers on the wings and back, and black primary feathers at the tips of the wings. California gulls can be distinguished from other gulls in Alberta by their dark eyes, which are accompanied by striking red orbits in adults.Ā 

This juvenile California gull came into care after they were struck by a car in Northwest Calgary. They sustained a fracture to their coracoid - a bone in the chest near the clavicle - and a fracture to the femur bone in their right leg. While the coracoid fracture could heal with plenty of rest, surgery had to be performed on the gullā€™s femur to realign the bone. They recovered well post-surgery and spent some time resting in a sling before they were able to put weight on their injured leg. In the time since, they have been practicing walking, running, and flying in an outdoor enclosure with another gull patient while indulging in a delicious diet of fish, eggs, fruits, and vegetables.

Thank you so much for supporting their recovery!

Please note:

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