bk ot s John Llewellyn Jones, 64, pictured, was visiting Weston-super-Mare when the
lesser black-backed gull flew around him, trying to reach his chips, and subsequently knocked his snack from his hand.
Such has been the effects of our wastefulness, that the
lesser black-backed gull, once very much a migrant which routinely spent its winters on Africa's west coast, has largely now become an around the year resident!
The
lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus, in Greenland.
There may be a
lesser black-backed gull standing on the shore amongst the greater black-backeds; a little gull may have joined a flock of Bonaparte's; there may be some Lapland longspurs mixed in with flocks of homed larks.
While there are at least 11 different types of gulls in the UK, the ones we are the most likely to see here in Birmingham is the
lesser black-backed gull. It's a large and elegant bird that has become increasingly common in urban habitats, even in inland locations such as the West Midlands.
The
lesser black-backed gull's numbers are similarly down and worst of all, the razorbill is down by almost 95 per cent.
Although the full extent of consequences on the marine environment are not known, discards are considered to have contributed to the growth of seabird populations such as the
lesser black-backed gull.
Key words: chick survival; clutch size; egg composition; egg number; egg quality; egg size; Larus fuscus;
Lesser Black-backed Gull; life history theory; trade-offs.
Intermittent breeding in the herring gull Larus argentatus and the
lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus.
THAT SINKING FEELING: The Prestige sank off Spain's Galician coast in November after it broke up during a violent storm; POISONED: Puffin, left, and above, a
lesser black-backed gull; HELPLESS: From left, a gannet, great skua, razorbill and guillemot