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Breeding Range. (Fig. 74). Five breeding colonies have been active during recent years (1961-1972) at the following locations: Chase Lake in Stutsman County; Stony Lake in Kidder County (J. R. Serie); East Devils Lake in Ramsey County (RES); Lake Williams in McLean County (R. N. Randall); and a large alkali lake in Divide County, located about 2 miles north-northeast of Westby (RES). A former active colony occurred on Stump Lake in Nelson County during 1899 (Friedmann 1963), 1901 (three sets of eggs collected - Bishop egg collection catalog, Peabody Museum), 1902 (two sets of eggs collected - Bishop egg collection catalog), 1906 (Dutcher 1906), 1909 (300 nests - A. Eastgate), probably in 1911 (A. Eastgate), 1912 (V. Bailey and A. Eastgate), and 1920 (Wood 1923). Records of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) nesting on Stump Lake in 1884 (E. S. Rolfe), 1898 (Job 1898, and Rolfe 1898a), and in 1901 (Job 1902), probably were based on misidentifications and should be assigned to the California Gull. Early records of California Gulls nesting on Devils Lake also have been reported by H. K. Job in 1914 and by Cooke (1915) and Bent (1921).

The large colony at Chase Lake in Stutsman County has been in existence for many years as indicated by the following records:

1924--California Gulls accounted for about 1/4 of the colony of several hundred gulls (Bennett 1926).
1947--About 200 young raised (N. B. Nelson).
1948--About 200 young raised (N. B. Nelson).
1949--About 350 young raised (N. B. Nelson).
1951--100 young banded (BSFW banding file).
1962--Many young present (RES).
1963--About 600 young (RES).
1966--Many nests with eggs and young (RES).
1969--Large numbers nesting (RES).

The colony on Lake Williams in McLean County contained about 350 adults and many young on July 2, 1972 (R. N. Randall).

Breeding Habitat. Colonies are located on isolated, sparsely vegetated islands on large brackish or alkali lakes. Adults range out from these colonies for 35 miles or more in order to secure food along shorelines of lakes and reservoirs, in garbage dumps of towns, and on various cropland fields.

In the North Dakota colonies, California Gulls are usually associated with nesting Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis). Within these mixed colonies the two species are often somewhat segregated. For example, the breeding gulls of Chase Lake inhabited two islands, one with an area of about 3 acres and the other less than half that size; in 1963, Ring-billed Gulls were preponderant on the large island while California Gulls were much more numerous on the small island. In the colony located in Divide County, California Gulls were nesting on the more elevated portion of an island, while Ring-billed Gull nests occurred in a peripheral band nearer the water's edge.

Nesting. Breeding season: Early May to early August; peak, mid-May to early July. Extreme egg dates (hundreds of nests): May 3 [1898] probably in Nelson County (Rolfe 1898a) to June 24 [1924] in Stutsman County (Bennett 1926). Extreme dates of flightless young (hundreds of young birds): June 8 [1966] to July 28 [1962] in Stutsman County (RES). Many flying young were observed on July 28 [1962] in Stutsman County (RES).

Nests were situated on the ground on barren, sparsely vegetated island sites.

Indicated clutch size (8 nests): 2 to 3 eggs; mean, 2.7 eggs.

Figure 74. Breeding Range of California Gull.