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What has happened to our white winged gulls ? (1 Viewer)

Birdspotter

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Does anyone have an idea as to why Iceland and particuarly Glaucous Gulls have become so scarce in Britain in recent years.
In Lothian Glaucous gull was generally recorded around 10-20 birds per year.
The 1992 Lothian bird report states that with 12 birds that year it was " a quiet year ".
However in the last few years the status of these two gulls has changed for the worst in my area,has this been noticed elsewhere ?
I think that there was 1-2 Glaucous Gulls recorded last year, with none at all this winter and only one Glaucous and no Iceland this spring which used to be the peak time of year for these species as they passed through heading north.
Has there been a shift in the wintering grounds of these species or is it tied in to the EEC policy of raping the British fishing fleet ?
Its a shame we dont see many of these superb gulls so often in Lothian now, I remember fondly of finding both species within seconds of each other at Musselburgh one day, will this happen again?
Any ideas Larid buffs ?
 
I think there was another thread about this a few months ago. I've not seen any white-winged gulls in Fife this winter (despite some searching) and I think very few were reported. I've only seen one Glaucous Gull in the last 14 years!
 
I think certainly in places like Ullapool which used to be a WW Gull mecca there is a noticable correlation with changes in fishing boat activity.
I think that less boats travel between the UK and northern waters which used to "drag" the gulls back with them.
Seems like places such as Peterhead and Fraserburgh which still have quite active ports with boats fishing northern and western waters are also still the places to see WW gulls.

My theory anyway is that it's quite possible that most of the UK's records derived from one or two small flocks which got displaced, probably by following boats in bad weather towards the UK, then just dispersed as they neared land. I remember a few years ago there was an very interesting record of just that....a flock of Glaucous and Iceland Gulls somewhere off the west of Ireland.
If that is the case then fewer instances of these flocks/groups being attracted to boats would overall significantly decrease the total birds being found in winter.

JP
 
Its the cessation of locally-based long-distance fishing fleets - Glaucs and Icelands mainly arrive in Britain following long-distance trawlers from the northwest Atlantic fishing grounds; these boats used to leave from most ports all round the British coast, bringing gulls in with them to every fishing harbour.

Now what few long-distance fishing boats there are left (all nationalities, not just British) all land their catches at Killybegs (the EU port closest to the NW Atlantic), from where the fish is sent round the whole of the EU by refrigerated truck (faster than by boat, so the end user gets it fresher; and the boats get back to the fishing grounds faster too). So nowhere other than Killybegs gets many G&I Gulls pulled in now.

Not 100% yet, some trawlers do come in to e.g. Ullapool, so some gulls still end up there.

Also older birds which have established a migration route when young tend to go on following it, even without the help of boats - I've certainly noticed a higher proportion of adults among G&I Gulls in recent years. Some of these may go on returning for 20-30 years yet.

Michael
 
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Apparently Killybegs is nothing compared to what it used to be. Locals blame this on a new "hoovering" machine that sucks all of the fish clean off the deck and leaves little if any scraps for the gulls.

What about records inland? Have they gone up? If so it would fit in with gulls in general moving more inland.
 
tom mckinney said:
Apparently Killybegs is nothing compared to what it used to be. Locals blame this on a new "hoovering" machine that sucks all of the fish clean off the deck and leaves little if any scraps for the gulls
Cleanliness regulations gone mad . . . :-C
 
tom mckinney said:
Apparently Killybegs is nothing compared to what it used to be. Locals blame this on a new "hoovering" machine that sucks all of the fish clean off the deck and leaves little if any scraps for the gulls.

That may be the case to some extent Tom but I think theres some unexplained causes still.
Perhaps its a weather thing, with no strong northerlies or north westers to push these gulls down within distance of our fishing fleets perhaps.
I was in Killybegs on three consectutive years February 2000-2002.
The first year was amazing with a estimate of some 40+ Icelands,2 Kumliens and 5 Glaucous Gulls in two days.
My notes state that on the second day there was no fishing boats in the harbour and as a result the gull flocks had halved from the previous day.
The second year recorded a minimum of 10 Icelands, 1 Kumliens and 2 Gluacous gulls.
The final year i was there produced a minimum of 26 Icelands,1 Kumliens and 7 Glaucous Gulls.
The following year 2003 I never went but by all acounts the number of white wingers was apalling compared to previous years.
So why suddenly the poor year ? surely this cant be all up to the fish hoover !
I dont know if numbers have increased since this fall in numbers but I feel we just arent getting the birds these days particuarly on the east coast.
 
Could the warming trend in the high Arctic the past few years have anything to do with the gulls not coming so far south? (asking in interest and complete ignorance of the discussed species' migratory habits)
 
Adult Iceland gull reported yesterday from Backworth flash. but i agree that white wing gulls are harder to come by 1 Glaucous and 1 med are all i have had this year.
The local Fish Quay has not had any regular winter white wings.

Cuddy
 
Katy Penland said:
Could the warming trend in the high Arctic the past few years have anything to do with the gulls not coming so far south? (asking in interest and complete ignorance of the discussed species' migratory habits)

Interesting question, Katy. No IVORY Gulls were reported this winter anywhere in Iceland and fishermen I know said they can't ever remember seeing the edge of the pack ice so far north this winter.

If you're having withdrawal symptoms for white-winged gulls just come to Iceland at the beginning of March. I remember sitting next to an experienced British birder this winter and hearing him say WOW! as he saw a group of 800 Iceland Gulls in the harbour at Grindavík. We get several thousand Icelands in the winter (I've heard a figure of 15,000 in the south-west but not sure how accurate that is) and numbes were completely normal this year as far as I could see. Of course, no EU fisheries policy to worry about here.

E
 
Plymouth used to be great for rare gulls (not just the white-wingeds), but it has plummeted since the sewage outfalls were turned off. Our beaches are cleaner, but the birding's the poorer for it.
 
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