The importance of the United Kingdom for wintering gulls: Population estimates and conservation requirements

Abstract

Capsule The UK supported over 3.8 million wintering gulls in 2003/04-2005/06. Aims To provide new winter population estimates for Great Britain, its constituent countries, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, for five species of gull. Methods Observers undertook counts of gulls at roosts across three winters. Population estimates were produced by combining counts from key inland and coastal sites and estimates derived from stratified random sampling of inland tetrads and coastal stretches. Results Over 3.8 million gulls were estimated to winter in the UK and its near-shore coastal waters, a total that, due to more comprehensive methods, adds appreciably to previous estimates. Results inform conservation listings and required site-based conservation measures. Twenty sites held internationally important numbers of individual species and 37 internationally important assemblages and provisionally could qualify as Special Protection Areas for gulls alone. Forty-nine sites held nationally important numbers of particular species and provisionally could be notified as Sites/Areas of Special Scientific Interest solely for their importance for gulls. Conclusions Given the importance of the UK for wintering gulls and the declining status of some species, there is a clear requirement to consider measures and information needs that would provide for their conservation. © 2013 Copyright British Trust for Ornithology.