Where have our gulls gone? - British Trust for Ornithology

Where have our gulls gone?

Birdwatchers across the UK are being asked to get out and count gulls this autumn, as the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) continues to monitor populations of these characterful, if sometimes controversial, birds.

While they may be associated with stealing chips, and are frequently characterised as a menace to families enjoying a seaside break, the UK’s gulls are in serious trouble. Researchers from BTO are trying to get to grips with the causes of population declines in our breeding gulls and to monitor those that visit us from further afield.

In autumn and winter, gulls flock together to roost communally on lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries across the UK, in groups that can number many hundreds or even thousands of individuals. Understanding where these roosts occur, and the numbers of birds using them, is key to helping conservation organisations protect these familiar birds.

The Winter Gull Survey (WinGS) is a long-running monitoring programme, which first took place in 1953. The project’s overarching aim is to provide robust information on the numbers and distribution of wintering gulls, many of which appear on either the Birds of Conservation Concern Red or Amber List.

Now, for the first time, BTO is asking volunteers to count gulls in the autumn too as information on the whereabouts of gulls following the breeding season is limited. Some species will group in large concentrations in the autumn months, before dispersing to their wintering areas. Birdwatchers across the UK can help identify the locations of autumn aggregations and determine just how many gulls are taking advantage of each designated site.

Along with the gulls that breed here in the summertime, and pass through in the autumn, thousands more head to the relatively mild UK in the winter months too, to escape the freezing conditions further north. BTO is keen to understand where the main areas of gull activity currently are, and identify those places where these seabirds now occur in much reduced numbers.