Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Patient of the Week: Ring-billed Gull

This gull was found in Arlington, VA acting disoriented and uncoordinated.

We rarely admit gulls at our hospital, but given their fondness for parking lots and inland, urban areas, the gulls we do see are most frequently ring-billed gulls, like this patient.

Since this species is considered higher risk for Highly-pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), this bird was initially kept in quarantine while we pursued further diagnostics.

This patient was negative for HPAI and for lead.

Radiographs were taken to help us identify any missed signs of trauma (none were found) and to monitor the lungs for secondary pneumonia, which quite common in these species while they are in care.

Based on the response to supportive treatment, we suspect that this gull was suffering from some sort of toxicity that our tests were unable to identify.

The gull is now eating well on their own and is balanced enough to move to an outdoor shelter.

We are hopeful that this improvement continues and that this patient can go home soon!

WildFest 2024

Join us at the Blandy Experimental Farm on Saturday, October 12th, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM for WildFest 2024! We will have nature-themed vendors and organizations, a variety of food trucks, and live animal shows featuring our education ambassadors! We will have our BRWC swag for sale as well if you want to represent the center!

Interested in featuring your organization at WildFest? Find exhibitor info here.