Seagulls over Victorville described as big 'dust devil' or 'tornado'
What appeared to be a swirling tornado over Victorville on Saturday was actually hundreds of congregating California gulls.
Over the years, migrating gulls in the High Desert have selected large parking lots and vacant land as temporary homes. During the recent sighting, nearly 1,000 of the birds were seen nesting and flying near the Victorville Post Office on Green Tree Boulevard.
Upon closer inspection, the birds had set up a temporary home on cleared housing tract property north of the Post Office, between Arrowhead Drive/Seventh Avenue and Third Avenue.
Neighbors told the Daily Press the birds in flight resembled a big “dark dust devil” or “tornado” reaching high into the sky.
"I looked across the field and saw what looked to be a dark tornado," Ralph Peters, of Victorville, said. "After a while, I realized it was hundreds of seagulls."
Victorville resident Katie Shields, who recently moved to the High Desert from Los Angeles County, told the Daily Press she was confused when she saw hundreds of gulls flying in the desert.
"It was common to see seagulls down by Long Beach, San Pedro and Carson, but seeing them up here in the desert was crazy," Shields said. "At first, I thought they were pigeons, but nope, they were seagulls."
A large mass of California gulls has returned to the High Desert. On December 13, 2025, nearly 1,000 birds were seen near the Victorville Post Office.
Migrating birds
Environmental Scientist Samantha Przeklasa with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told the Daily Press in a previous interview that the gulls' presence in the Victor Valley is due to their migration pattern.
The gulls are known to rest in large parking lots and vacant land adjacent to shopping centers because there they have easy access to food and open flat terrain that allows for a mass congregation, which allows the birds to look out for potential dangers, Przeklasa said.
Popular nesting areas
Over the last decade, the gulls have been seen near Target on Bear Valley Road in Apple Valley and near Del Taco and Gators Sports Bar & Grill in the Victor Valley Town Center shopping complex on Hesperia Road in Victorville.
Gull colonies have also been spotted during construction of the Kaiser Permanente Hesperia Medical Office and near the Home Depot on Roy Rogers Drive in Victorville.
Przeklasa said the California gulls are traveling across the High Desert to Mono Lake, where they’ll form one of the largest rookeries in North America, with a population of roughly 50,000.
The birds’ breeding season begins in April at Mono Lake, which is located near Yosemite National Park in Northern California.
A large mass of California gulls has returned to the High Desert. On December 13, 2025, nearly 1,000 birds were seen near the Victorville Post Office.
Staying close to water sources
The California gulls breed on sparsely vegetated islands and levees in inland lakes and rivers.
Their habitat is mainly marine areas, including mudflats, estuaries, deltas and beaches, but they are frequently seen in any open area where they can find food, including garbage dumps, scrublands, pastures, orchards, meadows, and farms.
Several waterways and meadows are located within 2.5 miles of the gull field near the Victorville Post Office, including the Mojave River, and the lakes at Mojave Narrows Regional Park, Spring Valley Lake and Victor Valley College.
During the winter, the California gull mixes with other gull species and forages along the Pacific Coast.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
