www.montereycountynow.com JANUARY 8-14, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 9 A unique, near-threatened and rather striking bird has taken a liking to the rooftops of businesses in downtown Seaside: the Heermann’s Gull. During summer months, visitors enjoying a beer at Other Brother Beer Co. or getting their bike fixed at AMG Cyclery can often see—or smell— the birds, particularly when the chicks are fledging from their nesting grounds. The problem: the location that’s become critical to this population is not only dangerous due to traffic, but an issue for local businesses. “It gets kind of gnarly—dead birds in the street, which is tragic. And the smell wafts down the street,” says Evan Loewy, co-founder of Other Brother Beer Co. “We have customers mention the smell pretty frequently. It’s gotten to the point now where it’s negatively affecting business.” Heermann’s Gulls are not like other gulls. They have bright red beaks, are smaller than the typical beach gull, and are specialist feeders—less likely to steal food from trash cans than their nesting neighbors, including the Western Gull, which also occupy rooftops along lower Broadway. In the 1990s, Heermann’s Gulls migrated north from islands off Baja California. Today, 90 percent of the world population breeds on a single island in Baja; Monterey County is their only known breeding area in the U.S. The birds originally nested on the roof of a McDonald’s on Canyon Del Rey until the building caught fire in 2018 after a driver crashed into it. At one point, they became the unofficial mascot of Other Brother, which sold merchandise featuring the gull and sold a beer called Heermann’s Lager. Despite their local abundance, their populations are listed as near threatened and shrinking, today hovering around 350,000. From 2012-22, their population numbers have declined by about 50 percent. “Just because we see them all the time here and find them a nuisance doesn’t mean they don’t play an important role in our ecosystem,” says Shannon Simpson, executive director of the Monterey Audubon Society. “And just because they’re everywhere here doesn’t mean they’re everywhere.” Over the next few months, the City of Seaside and Audubon Society plan to take advantage of the winter season when the birds are no longer nesting on rooftops. In 2018, the City and Audubon Society raised funds to create a nesting island in Roberts Lake, but the birds didn’t use it; Simpson believes the island may have been too small. Simpson says they are interested in tagging some of the gulls to track their winter migration, while exploring the possibility of turning an empty building at the corner of Calaveras Street and Broadway—a known nesting hotspot—into an office space. Seaside City Manager Greg McDanel says they are also exploring falconry as a potential deterrent to encourage the gulls to nest elsewhere. “Our downtown is really challenged,” McDanel says. “We want to keep it active and vibrant, and it’s hard to do that with the stench. There’s not a single solution—it’s going to take a lot of things moving in the same direction.” Bird Dodge A near-threatened bird continues to set up shop on Seaside roofs, and the City is looking for solutions. By Katie Rodriguez Heermann’s Gulls can be found atop the businesses along Broadway Avenue in Seaside, particularly in summer months when the birds are fledging. NEWS “It gets kind of gnarly—dead birds in the street.” BYRON CHIN casaofmonterey.org I’m a Nurse and a CASA CASA volunteers are parents, professionals, retirees—people who once felt too busy. Then they realized the moments were already there: a ride home, a day-o visit, an evening check-in. CASA becomes part of your life’s routine. You’re more ready than you think—become a CASA volunteer. Find out how you can impact the life of a child in foster care and juvenile justice systems. INSIDE YORK JAN 13, 2026 6:00-7:30 PM go.york.org/insideyork26 DISCOVER WHAT MAKES YORK SCHOOL AN INSPIRING PLACE TO LEARN, GROW, AND BELONG. More information and registration here:
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