Lack of data means population fears could be unfounded

Conservation concerns surrounding gulls could be misplaced due to a lack of historical data, it has been claimed.

Herring gulls have been on the RSPB’s red list, meaning they are of the “highest conservation concern” among the UK’s bird species.

Nine other species are graded amber suggesting concern over their future.

However, it has been suggested base figures used to track populations may be inflated because of a mid-20th Century boom.

Viola Ross-Smith of the British Trust for Ornithology said: “Gull numbers are declining in rural areas and we don’t know whether an increase in urban areas is outweighing the drop in rural.

“But perhaps the conservation status isn’t as concerning as we think.

“There has been a massive decline in populations, dropping from a very high number.

“When egg hunting was outlawed, more food was also being sent to landfill. Gulls started nesting on roofs without the risk of predators.

A study of herring gulls in 1969-70 counted 285,929 birds, a figure which plummeted to 149,197 by 1985-88. It dropped to 132,190 by 1998-2002. James Reynolds of the RSPB said: “A national seabird census is now long overdue and urban populations have never been comprehensively counted. However, we do know that at many non-urban sites herring gull numbers have declined significantly and this is a serious cause for concern.”

Anational seabird census is now long overdue JAMES REYNOLDS RSPB