So, what’s with the seagulls?
We get many complaints about ‘seagulls’ from members of the public. It’s a bit similar to ‘the pigeon problem’ and just as unfair. So, at the risk of being unpopular, I’m going to attempt to salvage the reputation of our wonderful gulls.
First, let’s address the misnomer ‘seagull’. This is a word used to refer to the majority of our gull species, but most commonly, the Herring Gull. The usual suspect of chip stealing. None of our gulls are actually called a ‘seagull’, it just means a gull living by the sea. Which, considering they all do, is a bit like if we called ourselves ‘land-humans’! So, from now on, no more seagulls. I will be referring to different species of gulls.
Being the most versatile coastal birds, gulls are very familiar to us. We share many public spaces with them; they learned to eat our food and waste and often claim both in quite an assertive way.
Yet we know very little about them, and sadly, there are many people who view them with frustration or contempt. Those who speak admiringly about the intelligence of corvids (crows, magpies and jays) refuse to give the same credit to gulls. And yet, their adaptivity, resourcefulness and highly developed social structure is both impressive and comendable. They nest in very large colonies, where they can, and are capable to fend off large predators in coordinated attacks, using quite complex methods of communication. The larger species have even been observed using tools and baiting fish with pieces of bread!
Of course, they are very adept at stealing too, as we all know. They steal from other birds, from each other, and from us. They’ve even been known to steal from whales! This is all part of their adaptation to new spaces, new sources of food, and new challenges. We can hardly blame them for adapting to survive! Sadly, they don’t have any choice but to adapt. First overfishing and then the subsequent closure of many fisheries removed their primary food sources. Then, there was the loss of coastal breeding habitat due to development, disturbances, and climate change which has pushed even more gulls into urban areas. Pairs of Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls started nesting of roofs rather than on marshes and beaches and switched their diet from fish to… well, just about anything.
It’s not only the variety of food they are capable of adapting to, but also the versatility of obtaining it. Unlike most birds, gulls can take prey in the air, on the ground and in the water including diving under the waves for food! Unlike most seabirds, they sport long, robust legs with webbed feet which makes them adept at both walking and swimming. Their beaks are stout and hooked, especially in large gulls, and their jaws can unhinge, so large prey or items of food are not a problem.
All this combined saved the gulls from the sad fate of many wading birds, such as Curlews, who are ‘specialists’ rather than ‘generalists’. Meaning that they require very special and precise set of circumstances such as habitat, food source, and a lack of disturbances in order to exist successfully. Generalists like gulls, pigeons and corvids adapt much more easily. This doesn’t mean, however, that their new circumstances are good or healthy for them. More research needs to be done into city dwelling gulls and the effect of the new environment on their health and longevity. But swapping fresh fish for a rubbish dump can’t be healthy for anyone!
So, let’s have a closer look at some of our magnificent gull species. Whether you are walking on the beaches or visit nature reserves in Essex, you are likely to encounter one of our Fabulous Five. These are the most common gulls we have here, and they ARE fabulous. And many of them not as common as they used to be, contrary to popular belief.
The Fabulous Five
1. Herring Gull
The perceived villain of the seaside towns. Herring gull’s favourite food, if he had a choice, would not be your chips! It would be the green shore crab or any other sea food from his natural habitat. These gulls used to be confined to the coast where they would eat, sleep and raise their chicks. Unfortunately, their coastal breeding population has declined by more than half in the last 50 years for some of the reasons mentioned in this article such as loss of habitat and disturbance. We do not know how many birds have moved into urban areas to nest, but experts agree that it would not compensate for the losses in coastal areas. For this reason, the herring gull is now on the UK’s RED list of endangered species. So despite popular belief, herring gulls are not doing well, and sadly, are now facing ill informed calls for culling in some coastal areas.
2. Lesser-Black Backed Gull
Used to be thought of as a dark version of a herring gull but they have since been separated as a species. While they do look similar, the lesser black-backed gull has darker back feathers and yellow legs. Their call is harsher: sounds like a herring gull with a cold, so a perfect match for British weather! While not on the red list, they have been classified as AMBER. They are facing the same loss of marine habitat and feeding opportunities as other gulls, so they are also moving to towns and cities. Their numbers here are smaller than herring gulls’, with many wintering in southern Europe and west Africa (there are about 130,000 lesser black-backed gulls in the UK in winter versus over 700,000 of herring gulls, while the breeding numbers are similar: just over 100, 000). They occasionally interbreed.
All gulls, including these handsome fellows, are sexually monomorphic (no difference between sexes) in colour, with males being slightly bigger. They are quite faithful to their partners and frequently return to the same area to build their nests, and if they can, return to the same wintering grounds too. So, it’s likely that you are seeing the same pair nesting or roosting on your roof every year! And since large gulls can live up to 12 years, that’s quite the long term relationship in the avian world!
3. Great-Black Backed Gull
Sometimes called ‘King of Gulls’, this powerful hunter, predator and pirate of the seas is the size of a small dog (64-71cm, weighing up to 2.3 Kg) and its wingspan can be as long as I am: 1.7m (5 ft 7 in)! What a magnificent beast!
Apart from their noticeable size, they also sport distinctive fancy pink legs and have a deep, camel like call which give them away if in doubt. Great black-backed gulls are also more likely to be out on open water, further from the shore than their smaller cousins. And because of their more marine location, they are even more reliant on seafood and prey than others. Aggressive and formidable predators, these large birds would go for anything slightly smaller than themselves in a manner resembling that of a bird of prey. Sadly, this doesn’t make great black-backed gulls immune to environmental pressures, so, like herring gulls, they are now on the UK’s RED list of endangered species. It just shows that no matter how powerful an animal you are, when the cards are stacked against you, there is nothing you can do.
4. Black-Headed Gull
… or the Very Confusingly Named Gull as its head isn’t really black! These guys have a chocolate hood in the breeding season and after an autumn moult are left with just a shadow of it in the form of two darker spots on the sides of their heads which look like they’re wearing headphones! Black-headed gulls are our smallest and loudest gulls, and also the most common in Essex. In some European countries they are called ‘Laughing Gulls’, because of the cackling sound they make. They are very gregarious and can nest in colonies of hundreds or even thousands along estuarine and inland waterbodies, with the Thames Estuary and East Anglia having some of the highest densities.
Black-headed gulls are fairly easy to identify as they look quite different from the large gulls to the point of many not realising, they are actually gulls too! Their body structure is slender and more elegant with thin dark red beak and legs.
5. Common Gull
This lovely and gentle looking creature is sadly not common in Essex at all anymore. ‘Commie Gulls’ have their breeding strongholds in north and west of Britain and Ireland where around 50,000 pairs nest each year and visit us only in the Winter, joined by over half a million of birds from the Continent. They have been added to UK’s RED list for the same reason as other gulls, and substantial declines are suspected not only in coastal but even inland colonies. When describing them to our visitors, I always point out their round, dark eyes which are much less feral looking than in the relatively similar herring gull and give the ‘Commie Gull’ a more friendly look, with a rounder head too. The legs are greenish yellow, and the beak is smaller with a darker ring across the top. Common gull size is somewhere between the herring and black-headed gull.
So, these are the stories of our gulls and the Fabulous Five in more detail that you might have been aware of before. You can let us know if you changed your mind about them, even if only just a little! Or if you’d like to ask us any questions about them. For now, keep coastal birdwatching and watch your chips!
– Lea