The BTO has recently published a Report on the Winter Gull survey that many of us took part in during winters 2023/24 and 2024/25. See link to the full report here.
It is quite a technical report, and we have not had much time to read through the details, but a few things stand out:
· A good proportion of sites were covered
in Pembrokeshire (reflected in the overall Welsh
total).
There have been substantial declines at the UK scale for four of the five main wintering species (Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Great Black-backed Gull), with Herring Gull being the exception. These declines are broadly consistent with declines reported in winter by the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) and during the breeding season by both the Seabird Monitoring Programme and the most recent national survey (2015-22) “Seabirds Count”.
· WinGS data for Mediterranean Gull indicated a
population increase at the UK level, although numbers are relatively small
compared with other species.
Regarding Pembrokeshire:
The total number of Mediterranean Gulls recorded in the
Cleddau Estuary, although small (59 in 2023/24) was the highest at a Welsh
WinGS site. Their total in the Cleddau exceeded the current nationally important
(GB) threshold.
The total number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Llys-y-frân
Reservoir, met (and data from other sources, e.g. WeBS, shows that it regularly
exceeds) the International threshold. However, this site is not designated as a
Special Protection Area (SPA) for this species! At least 4,900 (in winter
2023/24) was the highest at any of the listed UK sites in the WinGS Report.
The significance in Wales of Caldey Island for Herring Gulls is highlighted in the Report, with at least 7,600 there in 2023/24 and 6,600 in 2024/25. Caldey is just outside the Bae Caerfyrddin / Carmarthen Bay SPA.
Once again, a big thanks to everyone who contributed to the
WinGS in Pembs.