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Hello from the north east UK (1 Viewer)

Hello,
I'm George and I live on the north east coast of the UK .
I have a question.
I walk my dogs on the beach most days and came across something I haven't seen before.
A flock of gulls flew away as we approached and when I got to where they had been I noticed a few small round balls on the sand. These were about an inch and a half in diameter and when I broke one open it contained what looked like tightly packed, semi-digested seaweed. I did not have anything with me in which to collect some for further investigation.
I know that owls regurgitate "pellets", but can seagulls do the same thing?
 
Hi George and welcome to Bird Forum from all the Staff and Moderators

There are a number of members here from your area and I'm sure you'll come across them soon

D
 
Hi George and welcome aboard :t:

I believe gulls regurgitate pellets as well. I remember a study awhile back where regurgitated pellets from east coast and west coast Glaucous-winged Gulls were being analyzed to see the difference in diet.
 
Hi George,

Welcome to Birdforum.

Good to see another local joining BF, not sure about the Gulls and these pellets. But when you think that they might swallow quite an amount when catching or looking for food.
 
Hello George and welcome to Bird Forum from another NE member :hi:

Whereabouts are you - I'm up in Alnwick and do most of my birding along our gorgeous coastline and inland.
Can't help with the gull pellet question I'm afraid but I'm sure there'll be someone along very soon who can :cool:
 
Thank for such a warm welcome.
I'm sure I'll be visiting this site quite often.
I live in Redcar at the north eastern tip of Yorkshire.
I take my dogs out for a walk regularly in the area round the mouth of the Tees.
We had a few little terns nesting here a couple of years ago, but I didn't see any last year - perhaps this year?
I also regularly see a couple of short-eared owls hunting on the marshes. I managed to get a reasonable shot of one which I will post when I learn how.
Other regular sightings are: wheatear, stonechat, linnet.
 
The Little Tern shouldn't be long arriving now. A few have been sene on the north side of the Tees, but there was no sign of any when I checked two locations they normally breed. It's early yet though - even Common Tern and Sandwich Tern are only just starting to return still.

Redcar and South Gare are one of the best birding locations on the north-east coast so there will be plenty to see :t:
 
Have I met you Ian F?
I seem to remember talking to someone called Ian a couple of years ago when the Little Terns were nesting near the South Gare. I had found a dead bird with a ring on it and had sent it to the BTO. I thought it was a Little Tern but found that it was a Common Tern. - Ring any bells?
Incidentally, the area round the Coatham Marshes are also good for bird spotting. I saw an absolutely beautiful Kingfisher there last summer. It flashed past me and I had not seen a Kingfisher for quite a few years and had forgotten how beautiful they are when the sun catches them.
I walked a few more yards and there it was - sitting on a railing across a little bridge about fifteen feet away. Regrettably, it was a day I didn't take my camera, although I think I was too spell-bound to react in time to get a shot anyway.
 
Have I met you Ian F?
I seem to remember talking to someone called Ian a couple of years ago when the Little Terns were nesting near the South Gare. I had found a dead bird with a ring on it and had sent it to the BTO. I thought it was a Little Tern but found that it was a Common Tern. - Ring any bells?
Incidentally, the area round the Coatham Marshes are also good for bird spotting. I saw an absolutely beautiful Kingfisher there last summer. It flashed past me and I had not seen a Kingfisher for quite a few years and had forgotten how beautiful they are when the sun catches them.
I walked a few more yards and there it was - sitting on a railing across a little bridge about fifteen feet away. Regrettably, it was a day I didn't take my camera, although I think I was too spell-bound to react in time to get a shot anyway.

I pop over there every now and again so it's possible though I can't recall the inicdent. I usually call in the Winter and Spring when something interesting turns up. Coatham Marshes are very good for waders on occasion - a lot of birds drop in there.

There may be some Little Tern now as some friends saw a couple at Seaton Snook today.
 
I have an answer for my question about Gull pellets from an expert who lives on Islay:-

Yes, gulls (and of course very many other species, even robins!), produce pellets and, yes again, they usually consist of small shells, bones and sometimes the grit from the gizzard. However, gulls do eat quite a lot of plant material, both deliberately, as in the case of herring gulls eating eel-grass (Zostera) and softer seaweeds like Enteromorpha), and accidentally, when pieces of seaweed get picked up with, or are attached to, e.g., shoreline molluscs, so one would expect this to appear in the pellets, too. "
 
A pair of Lapwings have been nesting in the same area of my daily dog walk for the last five years and they managed to rear two young ones this year. Whenever I pass them they go through the same routine of dive-bombing me and the dogs until we are away from the nest site. They often land near me and pretend to have a broken wing to draw me away from the nest site.

This week I saw one of them diving onto a Barn Owl that was hunting in the area. It was really aggressive! The owl was so busy defending itself that it didn't notice me stood watching it and it passed within ten feet of me.

Earlier this week I was watching the owl trying to "mug" a Common Tern that was taking a sand eel back to its nest. The tern decided it had had enough and attacked the owl. I was just getting over the surprise of seeing this when a heron appeared and had to take evasive action to avoid the fight.
It's been a good (but wet) week on the South Gare.
 
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