I live in Utah. True to form, you will find flocks of seagulls at every landfill in the state.

I doubt the miracle story. Salt Lake City is next to a huge inland lake with well established bird sanctuaries.

The miracle claim is based largely on the name of the bird. One assumes that "seagulls" are dependent on an ocean. So the appearance of "seagulls" in the interior must be a miracle.

Had people used the term "gull" instead, people would not have perceived the appearance of the birds as a miracle.