SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Jamie Bastedo isn't surprised to hear there's about 30 gulls still hanging around Yellowknife in the water at Willow Flats near School Draw Avenue.

Gulls have been hanging around Yellowknife longer than usual this year, largely because of the warmer weather at the end of October. - Terrence McEachern/NNSL photo

"It's a no brainer, at least for a bird brain," said Bastedo, a Yellowknife writer, naturalist and bird enthusiast.

He said the reason the birds are still around is due to warmer weather, providing more open water for gulls compared to other years. And as long as gulls and other species of birds have access to food and water, they're less likely to migrate.

"They're opportunists, and as long as the pickings are good, they're going to hang around," he said.

Vicky Johnston, a biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Yellowknife, agreed it is unusual gulls haven't already migrated, but not "crazy unusual."

She said compared to years past, the difference is about two weeks. She also said warmer weather in November compared to a snowy October are keeping gulls in the area. When gulls do migrate, they travel as far as south as the Gulf of Mexico whereas other gulls head south-west to the California coast, she said.

But at the city's waste facility, the gulls have already left, said Henry Kruse, supervisor for the facility. He said they were around longer this year than in the past, but left about three weeks ago. He said the type of gull that occupies the waste facility are herring gulls. Normally, there can be up to 3,000 herring gulls at the waste facility.

Besides herring gulls, the other species of gulls found locally are Bonaparte, California, ring-billed and the mew gull. But none of them are seagulls.

"You won't find 'seagulls' in any reputable field guide for birds," explained Bastedo. "Technically, there's no such thing as a seagull, although it is kind of a 'catch all' street phrase that I occasionally use myself."

Johnston explained that from a nature perspective, gulls provide a great source of fertilizer and provide a service to nature by consuming garbage. Gull eggs and the young also serve as a food source for predators, said Johnston.

Bastedo notes gulls have acquired a negative reputation as scavengers, but his views of gulls are largely influenced by Richard Bach's famous 1970 novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. "It's a beautiful story celebrating the flight and the shape and the elegance of this bird," he said. "They're a thing of beauty just to watch."

From a practical perspective, gulls let us know that a long winter has come to an end.

"When you hear that first gull in the spring, it's like winter has finally 'cracked,'" he said. "When the gulls return, summer is just around the corner."

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