Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

Herring gull (Larus argentatus) are a large gull, widespread and common across Northern Europe. Adult breeding plumage consists of a white body with pale grey wings and black/white wing tips. They have a yellow beak with a red dot at the base and pink legs (fig. 1) (Svensson et al, 2020). Herring gull will nest in colonies and singularly along coasts on rocky shores, cliffs, and coastal islands. Their diet is varied, from fish and crustaceans, to earthworms, to human rubbish and roadkill, to other birds eggs and chicks. Herring gull typically live to around 12 years old, breeding at 4 years (Svensson et al, 2020; Harris et al, 2024).

Population & Distribution:
Herring gull are a common resident species along the East Grampian Coast. Around 44% of the global herring gull breeding population is hosted by Britain and Ireland, with 50% of the natural nesting herring  gull population found in Scotland (fig, 2). 70% of the global breeding population of the subspecies argenteus can be found in Britain and Ireland (Burnell et al, 2023; Harris et al, 2024). They breed along the East Grampian coast (fig. 3) among rocky shores as well as in urban areas, but are recorded all year round with passage migrants and winter visitors also appearing along the coast in areas such as Girdle Ness and the Ugie Estuary (fig. 4 & 5). Key breeding areas along the East Grampian Coast include Bullers of Buchan, Slains Castle, Forvie, and Stonehaven as well as on rooftops in Peterhead and Aberdeen.

Conservation Status:
Herring gull are a Red listed species, largely due to a severe decline in their non-breeding population alonside the breeding and non-breeding importance of the UK populations globally (Stanbury et al, 2024).

Factors Impacting Herring Gull:
Herring gull populations are under pressure from a number of factors. Changes in waste management and the introduction of the fishery discards ban may be reducing food availability for herring gull (Harris et al, 2024). Herring gull are deemed at high risk for collisions with wind turbines due to the amount of time they spend flying at blade height alongside the amount of night flying they do and their flight agility. Wind farms may also be displacing their foraging behaviours, expending more energy and reducing body condition (Furness et al, 2013). 

Deliberate culling of herring gull due to conflicts with human activity may be having population impacts also, with this impact increasing as a lack of suitable natural nesting habitat means more and more herring are moving into urban areas to nest (Harris et al, 2024).

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has impacted herring gull both locally and nationally, with moderate mortality rates recorded. Across Scotland, a 24% decline in the herring gull population was found when compared to pre-HPAI baseline counts - although numbers post-HPAI  in England and Wales remained similar to pre-HPAI counts (Harris et al, 2024; Tremlett et al, 2024).

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