Annotated Bibliography Examples

All of these examples assume that I am writing a paper using the herring gull proposal. I have added an additional source, a book that we did not have in class. This will give a wide range of examples for your perusal (informational site, press release, magazine article, book, and the journal articles that we have examined in class).

“Herring Gull (smithsonianus).” Gull Identification Website. October 24, 2002 <www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/6181/smith_d.htm>.

This informational web page, put together by gull enthusiasts Steve Hampton and Don DesJardins (though they are not credited on this page), probably has the most extensive information on the various plumages of the Herring Gull available on the web. This is not the only Herring Gull web site associated with this project: different pages outline plumage characteristics for other Herring Gull subspecies. While all this detail is useful, and perhaps the most extensive that I have found, there really is little information available beyond identification-related material, and this information is available from other sources I have already located. Additionally, while I am sure that the authors’ information is accurate, I cannot find credentials for the two primary workers beyond a codicil that says material on the site can be used for school projects without copyright violation. Given that my goal is to discuss harassment and not identification, I probably will not make as much use of this site with one exception: excellent photographs are available here, and I can easily download these and cut them into my paper, adding a graphic element for the reader.

Pierotti, R. J., and T. P. Good. Herring Gull. The Birds of North America Series No. 124. Editors A. Poole and F. Gill. Philadelphia: Academy of Natural Sciences, 1994.

This 28-page researched pamphlet is the most extensive and recent overview of the species currently available. The Birds of North America series was published to update the Bent series of bird life histories, and the series succeeds in giving succinct and well-researched information. Associated with the American Ornithologists’ Union, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and the Academy of Natural Science, the book is well reviewed and edited, and the two authors have extensive backgrounds in researching gulls (Pierotti also co-authored the Western Gull account). Given the book’s authority, I know that the sections that I intend to use—causes of mortality, population status, population management, effects of human activity, and management—will provide me with a great deal of pertinent information. Additionally, the extensive bibliography gives me a prime opportunity to mooch material, provided I can get interlibrary loan material here in sufficient time. All in all, for basic information that provides an overview, this is a great source.

An entertaining article from the Cornish equivalent of Sunset Magazine describes the problems that gull population increases have caused in southern Britain. The article mixes local-color accounts of resident problems with some information about the gull population increases since 1960 (though I have no idea how of the most recent information's date). The local-color aspect may allow me to use a clever story as part of my introduction, providing a contrast to the times when the birds were wiped out for plumage for fashion, to emphasize the success of the species' recovery. Beyond that, the article does not match the technical specifications of the Birds of North America account, and I would only use the Cornwall article for color.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [Press Releases on Monomoy NWR, May 15, 2000-June 12, 2000]. October 24, 2002 <www.friendsofmonomy.org/fws-update-2000.htm>.

This series of brief press releases gives information about efforts to harass gull populations at one of the more important National Wildlife Refuges on the East Coast. While some of the information provided is irrelevant (such as new personnel arriving at the refuge and other bird species), several bits of information are provided on gull control efforts at the refuge. This set of reports does not extend all the way through the 2000 nesting season; however, a link to a more extensive collection of reports from 1999 is available at the web site. I have not yet been able to find a more complete scientific report on efforts at Monomoy; the lack of a report with analysis and conclusions is somewhat problematic. If I can find an edited and reviewed report from a group as reputable as the Fish and Wildlife Service covering a similar effort, then I will use that information. In case I do not, then I have this raw data to use in a less formal way.