Huguenot Island Park, Florida. Laughing Gull nesting colony.

Laughing Gulls during nesting forage for food night and day. The male and female build their nests together. Males typically bring more of the nest material, and the female arranges it. She arranges saltmarsh vegetation and grasses to form a rim that’s a foot across, containing a cup 6 inches in diameter and about 2.5 inches deep. She may attach the nest to the surrounding vegetation so that the nest doesn’t get swept away if flooded. If storms or floods damage or soak the nest, the parents add more material to shore it up. The oldest banded Laughing Gull was 22 years old. This island keeps them safe from terrestrial predators.