23rd IOS Gull Frolic - 2025

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on November 15th.

Gull Frolic is a unique winter event at Illinois’ premier gull-watching hotspot, North Point Marina. Bring your binoculars, scope, and cold weather gear to join birders outside the yacht club for a close study of some of our harder-to-find winter gull species, including Iceland (Thayer’s and Kumlien’s), Glaucous, Great Black-backed, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. An assortment of waterfowl are also typically in attendance, such scoters, goldeneye, and other diving ducks, along with the occasional raptor, owl, or winter finch. IOS volunteers will be available to help answer questions along the “boardwalk”.

Speaker: Amar Ayyash, author of The Gull Guide: North America.
Ayyash, leading authority on the gulls of North America, will be leading an entertaining and intriguing conversation of the natural history of gulls, and share some of the lesser-known adaptations and quirky behaviors of gulls.
Ayyash's new book, The Gull Guide: North America, will be available for purchase during the Gull Frolic. He will also be signing books throughout the day.

The $40 registration fee ($30 for IOS members) includes a continental breakfast, lunch, and more. Any surplus raised will go to the IOS Grant Program, which provides money to local researchers and projects that benefit Illinois birds and birding.

for more information about the presentation, speaker, and the event location

Host or Publisher Illinois Ornithological Society