Herring Gull 26 December 2012
There were a couple of Herring Gulls in the park yesterday. They were doing their characteristic 'paddling' which, it is thought, mimics the vibration of raindrops on the grass thus stimulating earthworms to come to the surface.
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Comment by Des Bowring on January 6, 2013 at 17:30
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Lesser Black-backed Gulls now outnumber Herring Gulls, but even they are declining apparently.
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Comment by Jo Corke on January 6, 2013 at 13:32
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Are there now fewer gulls overall, or is it just the Herring gull that is endangered? If so, what species has appropriated its ecological niche?
(Haven't seen any gulls for over a week, but there was a nuthatch this morning.)
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Comment by Simon Randolph on January 6, 2013 at 12:36 -
I hadn't realised, until I recently read it in 'While Flocks Last' * by Charlie Elder, that the Herring Gull has now been put on the endangered 'red list' of British birds. Although urban populations in cities like Bristol and Cardiff are flourishing, the overall British population of this species has plummeted by 50% in the last 25 years.
* This is a very easy to read and amusing (but also worrying) account of a relapsed bird watcher who decides to set himself the target of seeing, in one year, all 40 (as at 2008) of the British birds listed as of conservation concern, as a result of the serious decline in their populations. The more recently revised list now includes 52 species, which represents about 1 in 5 of all our British birds.
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The park's looking like a mudbath at the moment!
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Comment by Simon Randolph on December 30, 2012 at 12:34
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With all this rain, I think everyone is 'paddling in the park' at the moment, Des.
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