Don’t write off seagulls just because they steal your chips
IWAS asked by Sefton Council to give them a few words and pictures to celebrate the Big Garden Birdwatch recently.
Happy to oblige and I didn’t have to think too long about what species to include...Blackcap (check), Robin (obvs), Goldcrest (tiny but superb), Sparrowhawk (these killers get the pulse racing) and... Herring Gull.
No-one can yodel like a Herring Gull, and this family of birds gets such an unfairly bad press, so in it went.
To write off such a fascinating group just because of the odd mislaid chip or liberated ice cream is a travesty, and a worrying shorthand for the way wildlife is portrayed as a “threat” in some circles, rather than something to be celebrated.
Jellyfish are referred to as appearing in “swarms” (the correct collective is “blooms”) and foxes will scamper off with your music system as soon as look at you. This is nonsense.
Luckily, despite worrying declines in breeding success in the UK, we are well placed in Sefton to enjoy wonderful encounters with gulls (and jellyfish and foxes too if you’re lucky), from Crosby Coastal Park to Southport Marine Lake and beyond.
When conditions are right, we sometimes get treated to genuine “seagulls” including Kittiwakes, Little Gulls and even Sabine’s Gulls, although the commoner coast-loving species are interesting enough.
There are rarer visitors too – sorting out your gulls is a world of challenge, with moult, structure and call all giving clues to identification.
I was reminded of this during a recent walk, post Splashworld lateral flow test, as I strolled beside a bitterly cold Southport Marine Lake.
Despite the frozen surface, a fine Mediterranean Gull flew off an open stretch and dropped onto nearby grass.
This stunning long-staying bird boasts a jet-black hood, white goggles, crisp snowy wingtips, and coral red eye-lids.
All set off with a big red bill and legs.
Look for it around the Marine Lake Cafe, just to the south of the pier and bridge.
There are few birds to equal this gull as adults enter summer plumage.
Once a real scarcity, they are now regulars on the coast, especially at Crosby and Southport, although you can encounter one anywhere.
They attempt to breed here most years.
A young Great BlackBacked Gull was patrolling the water’s edge, bringing with it all the menace of the world’s largest gull - if one of these things asked for a chip, I’d give it the whole bag.
Nearby, daintier Black Headed Gulls shivered in the cold. A few had blue colour rings with white lettering. The colour combination marks them out as birds trapped and ringed in the UK, but one bird had a white ring with black lettering on.
This veteran of many winters on the lake was ringed in Oslo in 1998 as a threeyear-old female and commutes to Norway each summer.
At least 25 years old, long may “J1N5” make the trip across the North Sea and back.
And if that doesn’t deserve a beakful of your sandwich, I don’t know what does.
John Dempsey works for Green Sefton, the Sefton Council service which brings together the Coast & Countryside, Parks & Greenspaces, Flooding &
Coastal Erosion, Risk Management and Grounds Maintenance teams for a joined-up approach to the vital management, development and oversight of
John works for Green Sefton, the Sefton Council service that brings together the coast & countryside, parks & green spaces, flooding & coastal erosion, risk management and grounds maintenance teams for a joined-up approach to the vital management, development and oversight of Sefton’s beautiful coastline, parks and green spaces. This column looks at the flora, fauna and history of the coastline, and the work carried out to protect it.
Sefton’s beautiful coastline, parks and green spaces.
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