Responsible Wildlife Tourism: My Summer with the Heermann's Gulls
This summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Monterey Audubon Society to help protect Heermann’s Gull fledglings in downtown Seaside. The Seaside colony is pretty unique because it is the only breeding colony of Heermann’s Gulls in the United States. Most of the species breeds on Isla Rasa in the Gulf of California, Mexico. The Seaside colony first successfully nested on small artificial islands in Roberts Lake in 1999, but after those islands eroded, the gulls began using rooftops and other buildings nearby. Today, some of them nest on rooftops along Broadway Avenue.
Broadway is a busy area with cars, businesses, and a lot of foot traffic, which can be dangerous for young gulls learning to fly. I volunteered in pairs with other volunteers, walking around the area looking for fledglings that had come down from the rooftops. If we found one close to the street, we tried to guide it toward the sidewalk or a quieter side street where it would be safer from traffic. We also talked with people passing by about the gulls and why the Seaside colony is important. Kai Russell, the project leader for Monterey Audubon’s Seaside Heermann’s Gull monitoring, was usually nearby while I was volunteering. If a young gull couldn't make it back to the rooftops, Kai could catch and band it before returning it to the nesting area.
Banding and releasing juvenile Heermann's Gulls; talking with the community about the gulls.
One of the biggest things I took away from volunteering was how easy it is for people and wildlife to cross paths without us really thinking about it. Most people driving or walking down Broadway probably don't realize there are gulls raising their young on the rooftops above them. They aren't intentionally putting the birds in danger, but normal activities like driving through downtown can still affect wildlife. Talking with people while volunteering also showed me how much of a difference simply knowing about the birds can make.
As part of my Civic Action Project at California State University, Monterey Bay, I created the Responsible Wildlife Tourism: A Visitor’s Guide to Monterey County based on this incredible experience. The guide focuses on simple ways people can reduce their impact on wildlife, such as learning about local species, keeping a safe distance, staying on designated trails, and avoiding disturbing animals. Volunteering with the Heermann’s Gulls made those ideas feel more real to me. I realized that responsible interactions with wildlife don't only matter when we're visiting a beach, park, or nature reserve. They can also matter in the middle of downtown.
Responsible Wildlife Tourism: A Visitor’s Guide to Monterey County by Gokul Kowligi.
Volunteering with Monterey Audubon gave me a better understanding of what local conservation can look like. Sometimes helping wildlife can be as simple as watching out for a fledgling near the road, slowing down, or taking a few minutes to explain to someone why these birds are important. I hope my guide encourages both visitors and locals to pay a little more attention to the wildlife around them and think about the small things we can do to share these spaces more responsibly.
Gokul Kowligi is a student at CSUMB.
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