DRESSED FOR DINNER

A jet-black headscarf, white eyeliner and all-white wing tips make this one of our smartest breeding gulls. Male and female look alike. Larophiles (gull enthusiasts) affectionately refer to the species as the ‘Med gull’, but it is poorly named. In recent decades it has spread across continental Europe, along England’s south coast and into East Anglia. The latest UK estimate is 600–630 pairs, usually nesting among black-headed gull colonies; hotspots include the Medway, RSPB Dungeness and Rye, Poole and Chichester harbours. TOP TIP Get to grips with gull ID using the videos at www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id