Presently on the move through the Plains States, Franklin's Gull has smaller black tips on the primaries than other look-alike gulls. Note the whitish hindneck and the dark half-hood, which is more extensive than the Laughing Gull on a first winter bird, along with a clean white underwing. A second winter bird could have a little more wingbar black than an adult. Its call is also less penetrating than the Laughing Gull.
Commonly referred to as a bird of the prairies, the Prairie Dove will often follow field plowing operations to snatch mice, insects and worms.
Franklin's Gull
Audubon.org
These omnivores are migratory breeders in central Canada to our northern states, wintering in western South America and the Caribbean. They are uncommon coastal birds in the US, breeding in colonies near prairie lakes, wetlands, or sloughs on the ground or floating in the water. If they choose to build a floating nest, it gradually sinks due to penetration of water and must have fresh material added daily. Older birds will also add to it while parents are still breeding.
Populations will fluctuate with rainfall and drought, so since marsh conditions can change yearly, thus will the breeding birds.
Named after Sir John Franklin, an explorer of the Arctic, this neotropical migrants was first called the Franklin's rosy gull, after its colorful belly and breast. Early area settlers in the prairie states called it the prairie dove.
It is expected that climate change will also affect this gull, sending its breeding colonies north toward the Hudson Bay of Canada, and possibly out of the US altogether.
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