Short-billed Gull

Erika and I listed this Short-billed Gull on 1 January 2022 at the Nisqually national wildlife refuge. Note the smallish head and relatively unmarked bill. Short-billed Gulls nest across far-northwestern North America and winter from coastal Alaska to southern California. At least I think it is a Short-billed Gull. Last year, ornithologists declared North American populations to be separate species than Common Gulls of Asia and Europe—all these gulls were previously known as Mew Gulls. Across their range, these gulls have been declared to be two or three species. Although genetically distinct, the various species show lots of overlapping field marks—making identification difficult. Perhaps an argument could be made that this bird is Common Gull, since Old World Birds often have "a more distinct blackish ring on the bill, and Kamchatka and Russian subspecies apparently often retain brighter yellow bill color through the winter” (https://www.sibleyguides.com/2021/07/mew-gull-is-now-two-species-how-to-identify-common-gull-and-short-billed-gull/).