Near the ocean, okay – broad, flat expanse where they can scavenge burger buns, etc. – but we’re pretty far inland here in Philly, though near enough a moderate-sized river (the Schuylkill) that empties into a significant river (the Delaware) that empties into the ocean. Why do they go so far upstream, and then head for parking lots?
Loosely enforced anti-loitering laws.
I’ve noticed the same thing in the Washington, D.C. area., plus I’ve noticed small wading birds, I believe they are plovers, hanging out in parking lots.
Because that’s where the food is.
Probably because it’s a good place to loaf around while still commanding a good view of approaching predators, both those coming from the air and on the ground. They have a good view of the sky for Peregrine Falcons, and of the surrounding terrain for dogs, cats, foxes, etc. They also hang out in groups for safety - it guarantees that someone will always be watching even if most are snoozing, and when they take off when an alarm is given it makes it harder for a predator to single out one to go after.
Another factor in the winter is that a black asphalt parking lot may absorb and retain more heat than other available surfaces.
Many species of gulls are not restricted to marine environments - there are plenty that can be found well inland on rivers, streams, lakes, and even around small ponds. When not hanging around the parking lot, these guys probably go out to scavenge fish along the river or dropped french fries at the nearest MacDonald’s.
The nearest McDonald’s is at the other end of the parking lot that inspired this question. 
Thanks, Colibri – your string of speedy, helpful answers to my dumb bird questions is unbroken.
Middle Tennessee is at least 500 miles from the nearest ocean/gulf, but I see seagulls in parking lots, too. And at the city dump. The dump is obviously a food source if rotting stinky stuff is what reminds gulls of the seashore.
The idea that the parking lot’s expanse affords “distant early warning” from predators makes good sense and beats anything I could come up with off the cuff. I’ll be interested to see if there’s a more “scientific” explanation.
If these birds use waterways to travel, as opposed to just striking out in search of parking lots, the ones that make it to this area have had to do a lot of heavy-duty river flying. The Cumberland and the Tennessee eventually flow into the Ohio and then to the Missisissippi, but that would make close to 1,000 miles of river to get to this area. Seeing them near the rivers is a common thing, but I have to hope they don’t just fly rivers to get inland. But then I have never seen gulls in flight except near the rivers here (and of course around the dumps and parking lots.)
Gull paradise, then. One of the best places to find rare migrant gulls in the winter is MacDonald’s parking lots, or other fast food places (fries being the equivalent of gull ambrosia).
Glad to be of help.
Psst – Colibri is an actual ornithologist – I think we already got the “scientific” explanation.
Beats my credentials.
Just what I was about to say . . . 
My Staff Report on flocking behavior may also be of interest.
As I indicated in a previous post, the term “seagull” is a bit of a misnomer for many species (and ornithologists prefer to just call them “gulls”). While they like to hang out near water, many species live far inland much of the time. Here are summer and winter range maps for the Herring Gull, for example. The state bird of Utah is the “seagull,” specifically the Franklin’s Gull, which nests on small lakes on the Great Plains and elsewhere in the west, because flocks of gulls saved the early Mormon settlers’ crops from locusts.
swoon
I have such a major geek crush on Colibri!
Exactly.
People get too wrapped up in the fact that the common name for these birds is “seagulls.” (I blame Jonathan Livingston!)
Call them gulls, and the perception that they are exclusively sea creatures disappears and there is no longer any cognitive dissonance at seeing them thousands of miles from the ocean.
I live in the Great Lakes region, and the parking lots of Duluth, Minnesota, are also overrun by these birds – which the locals call seagulls, until I correct them.
One good tern deserves another.
Bad puns? double swoon
Do one or two fast food outlets really have enough accidentally dropped available food for a big flock of gulls? I kind of doubt it, especially in the winter. We have lots of gulls in parking lots in my town on Maryland’s Eastern shore about 30 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. There is a HUGE concentration of them over at the landfill which is a giant food bowl to them. I suspect the large majority of their calories comes form the dump and the parking lot is just a hang out with some occasional goodies from the fast food joints.
I wonder if this hypothesis has ever been scientifically tested (ie where inland gulls get their food).
The flock that got me thinking isn’t particularly big – maybe a dozen birds. The parking lot in question is surrounded by stores (including a supermarket), several “regular” restaurants, and the McDonald’s. That, plus it’s probably only a mile or two from the river as the gull flies. Seems like a sustainable population to me.
Gulls will hang out in parking lots even when there is no food right there. In winter at Orchard Beach in the Bronx there are always lots of gulls standing around in the parking lot, even though the beach food stands are closed. These gulls probably get most of their food off the shore, though some may forage around restaurants on City Island. The lot is just a good place to hang out when not foraging.
(to Colibri) You mentioned Seagull “predators”. What actually preys on seagulls? Other than the occasional large hawk what’s really going to hassle them in nature?
You just want to make sure that you don’t use any shore birds to make sausage. That would be taking a tern for the wurst.