A couple of months back a friend identified as a Larophile. My first thought was to console her, as that long of a scientific word usually reveals a short-life span and some obscure illness. Using the physical cues she gave while mentioning this I was afraid that a high-five to celebrate the accomplishment might be more appropriate though. This was a situation where my bluntness and directness came in quite handy; I simply asked "What the heck is a Larophile?" The basic premise is a Larophile is some one that gulls. I somehow managed to avoid an even more embarrassing situation by not going with either of my first thoughts. I was surprised to find that there are even gifts for the Larophile in your group of friends and family!
The first gull on my life list is an adult Laughing Gull from Madison Wisconsin in June 2007, a rarity visitor to the state of Wisconsin and a bird that is usually found further south. In 2007 we were taking photos of all birds and going home trying to identify them after the walk. This bird is on my lifelist only because of Peter Fissel. Peter describe the field marks of this bird at and let us look through his scope. We snapped a quick photo of the bird but were actually more interested in the Mallards than the gull even though Peter's enthusiasm for this bird was contagious. He shared the knowledge and scope with a complete stranger. It was one of many kind gestures from Madison Wisconsin birders when I first got started in birding.
I've been looking at birds for over a decade, but still remember that experience. In the winter of 2007-2008 I receive my first of three Sibley Guide to Birds and spent many nights trying to understand North American birds. I hope that I left the first two copies at someone's house or in someone's car but fear I likely left them on top of my car and drove away in the field. They both treated me well and had significantly torn covers, but alas RIP beloved books.
After five years I slowly started to expand my knowledge of different bird families with specialty guides but those included Shorebirds, Hawks, Warblers, but no Gulls. Each winter I spend a bit of time looking at gulls but didn't really care that I was missing maybe one or two species. Where I've lived in Wisconsin and Minnesota it was fairly easy to differentiate Bonaparte's Gull, Franklin's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, and Herring Gull. Of course there were different species around where I lived but I didn't know them.
During my first 5 years of birding I tried to differentiate between Iceland Gull, Thayer's Gull, and Herring Gull but without studying that time is more accurately described as a self-imposed frustration. Rather than jump in the deep end and read specialty guides I took a more conservative approach a few years back and starting reading the Anything Larus blog and following posts on the North American Gull Facebook Page. A dear friend gave me a copy of Gulls of the Americas and I think I'm officially hooked. So I accept any apparent good-nature ribbing or questions regarding my sanity, as I am a Larophile with limited experience in the Midwest. I feel comfortable with some Gull species but know that there is still a long ways for me to go; specifically I have a ways to go before I can go out in the field and correctly identifying gulls.
It is likely that I have muddied the lines on what a Larophile is but that was not my intention. Rather, I am confused by a gull! My thoughts on identification of that specific gull will be in the next blog post. The answer to this blog posts title question is unequivocally yes in my opinion. Many birders I know accept that birds in the field can be confusing, some are living in denial and don't admit confusion, some of the happiest people I know enjoy birds but don't care about identification, and then unfortunately there are too many that don't appreciate birds or nature.
I've had help from many to identify gull species in my past and look forward to opportunities yet to come. Arriving home and sharing excellent photos of most species remind me of the day and even inflate my ego through social media a bit, but blurry photos represent time lost that I could have spent studying the bird. Generally I prefer to use binoculars and identify bird in the field. With Gulls I still rely on photos as blurry distant photos often provide fuel for studying. If you like gull photos here is a link to my Flickr album of Gulls. Click the slideshow option in the top right of the screen to see them easily.
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| Adult Laughing Gull - Madison Wisconsin June 2007 |
I've been looking at birds for over a decade, but still remember that experience. In the winter of 2007-2008 I receive my first of three Sibley Guide to Birds and spent many nights trying to understand North American birds. I hope that I left the first two copies at someone's house or in someone's car but fear I likely left them on top of my car and drove away in the field. They both treated me well and had significantly torn covers, but alas RIP beloved books.
After five years I slowly started to expand my knowledge of different bird families with specialty guides but those included Shorebirds, Hawks, Warblers, but no Gulls. Each winter I spend a bit of time looking at gulls but didn't really care that I was missing maybe one or two species. Where I've lived in Wisconsin and Minnesota it was fairly easy to differentiate Bonaparte's Gull, Franklin's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, and Herring Gull. Of course there were different species around where I lived but I didn't know them.
During my first 5 years of birding I tried to differentiate between Iceland Gull, Thayer's Gull, and Herring Gull but without studying that time is more accurately described as a self-imposed frustration. Rather than jump in the deep end and read specialty guides I took a more conservative approach a few years back and starting reading the Anything Larus blog and following posts on the North American Gull Facebook Page. A dear friend gave me a copy of Gulls of the Americas and I think I'm officially hooked. So I accept any apparent good-nature ribbing or questions regarding my sanity, as I am a Larophile with limited experience in the Midwest. I feel comfortable with some Gull species but know that there is still a long ways for me to go; specifically I have a ways to go before I can go out in the field and correctly identifying gulls.
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| Immature Ivory Gull - Duluth Minnesota January 2016 |
I've had help from many to identify gull species in my past and look forward to opportunities yet to come. Arriving home and sharing excellent photos of most species remind me of the day and even inflate my ego through social media a bit, but blurry photos represent time lost that I could have spent studying the bird. Generally I prefer to use binoculars and identify bird in the field. With Gulls I still rely on photos as blurry distant photos often provide fuel for studying. If you like gull photos here is a link to my Flickr album of Gulls. Click the slideshow option in the top right of the screen to see them easily.
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