British Sea Birds

by Charles Dixon

Very similar in appearance, but much smaller in size—it is only about half the weight—this pretty Gull, the Larus fuscus of Linnæus, is one of the most familiar birds of the coast, especially in the more northerly portions of the British Islands. It is a more trustful species than its larger ally, admits man to approach it with less show of fear or wariness, and may often be seen on the meadows and ploughed fields near the sea, seeking for its food as familiarly as a Rook or a Daw. Singularly enough, the east and south coasts of England are not resorted to by this Gull for breeding purposes. It is not known to breed south of the coast of Northumberland, or east of that of Devonshire; and this is all the more remarkable, seeing that one of its most important colonies in our area is situated upon the Farne Islands. It breeds locally from Cornwall to the Solway, but further northwards becomes more generally dispersed, right up to the Orkneys and the Shetlands. In Ireland, again, this Gull is a very local breeder, and is only known to nest in one or two localities. During the non-breeding season it wanders far from home, and may then be met with on and off most of the British coasts: young and immature birds do not resort much to the nesting colonies, but roam widely at all seasons. It is a very remarkable fact that adult Gulls of this species are so rarely seen near Heligoland, as the species breeds commonly on the Baltic and Scandinavian coasts, and yet its average appearance at the island is about once in ten years! The Heligolandish name for this Gull is very appropriate, signifying “little mantle wearer,” and refers to the dark slate-gray mantle. Unlike its larger ally the present species is very gregarious, and socially inclined at all seasons, mixing freely not only with its own kind, but with the Herring Gull and the smaller forms, such as the Kittiwake, and the Common Gull. These latter birds, however, must too often prefer its room to its company, for it repeatedly robs them of their prey, and is, Gull-like, ever ready to profit by the labours of its weaker congeners. Like the preceding species it is almost omnivorous in its tastes, and will as readily make a meal from stranded garbage on the shore, as from the living fish it deftly swoops upon as they swim near the surface. On the Lincolnshire coasts it visits the flight nets, in company with the Hooded Crows, and preys upon any birds that may be entangled in them. It is also a persistent follower of ships, attending the trawlers, and feeding upon the refuse fish cast overboard when the trawl net is emptied. It swims lightly enough even on a rough sea, riding like a cork on the wave-crests, and sleeps upon the water, when roaming far from land. Flocks of this Gull may often be seen standing upon the mud-flats or level sandy reaches, preening their plumage, and waiting, it may be, for a turn of the tide that may bring some particular food of which they are in quest. It will be remarked that these larger Gulls, especially, often run for a short distance before taking flight, and that when alighting they frequently keep their long wings unfolded and erect for a moment or two before finally closing them. Great numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and other species collect in Tor Bay during the herring and sprat seasons, and at these times they will wait and watch about the harbours and quays in fluttering hosts for the odd fish and offal. The note of this Gull very closely resembles that of the Herring Gull, so closely, in fact, that no symbol can denote the difference. It may be syllabled as klĭ-ou-klĭ-ou, and during the breeding season is very persistently uttered. Owing to its relatively longer wings, this Gull looks more graceful in the air than its larger and heavier congener: its flight is remarkably easy and buoyant, and on occasion rapid.

The usual breeding places of the Lesser Black-backed Gull are low rocky islands—these larger Gulls always prefer an island, covered with coarse marine grass, sea campion, and the like—but in some localities a rock stack, an island in an inland lake, on grassy downs, in mosses, and flows. This Gull usually breeds in colonies, and some of these are very large. One of the most extensive, within the present writer’s experience, is situated on the Farne Islands. The entire group of islands may be regarded as one vast colony of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, if we except a few of the outlying rocks, where the Cormorants breed. It is more than likely that this Gull pairs for life, seeing that it resorts to the same nesting places, year by year, for time out of mind. The nest, even in the same colony, varies a good deal in size and general completeness. Some birds are content merely to line a hollow in the rocks with a little dry grass; others are more bulky yet slovenly structures, rude heaps of turf, heather stems, sea campions, or dry grass and sea-weed, the lining being composed of finer grasses, many of them often semi-green. Occasionally a feather or two are seen, but these may be due more to accident than to design. Few sights in the bird-world are prettier than a colony of disturbed Gulls during the breeding season. As their haunts are invaded, the frightened birds rise in fluttering thousands, drifting to and fro like a snowstorm, in which each flake is a startled bird. The noisy din, the rush of wings, the swooping, soaring, fluttering Gulls, the ground strewn with nests—all combine to form a picture in the mind that time can never efface! The eggs of this Gull are usually three in number, sometimes as many as four. They vary to an almost incredible degree. The ground colour varies from pale green to dark olive-brown and gray, spotted, blotched, or streaked with dark liver-brown, pale brown and gray. Vast numbers of the eggs of this Gull are collected for food, especially at the Farne Islands. The birds do not appear to suffer in any way by this systematic pillage, for they are always allowed to rear a brood from a second clutch at the Farnes, and most rigorously protected whilst doing so.

HERRING-GULL.

Of all the gulls that frequent the British coasts, this, the well-known Larus argentatus (i.e. “silver-winged”), is certainly the most common and widely dispersed. It is no exaggeration to say that the Herring-Gull may be met with on every part of the British coasts, from the Orkney and Shetland Islands on the north, to Cornwall and the Scilly Islands in the south; from the Blasquets in the wild west of Ireland, to the mouth of the Thames and the Bass Rock in the east. It is the Gull par excellence associated in the popular mind with the sea shore—the “Sea Gull” of the visitor to marine resorts, ubiquitous, well-known from the Land’s End to John-o’-Groat’s. For its size, it is certainly the tamest and least suspecting Gull found on British waters. It may be readily recognised, when adult, by the pale grey colour of its mantle, but the young and immature birds are less easily identified. During the non-breeding season it wanders far and wide like the rest of its kind, and is a very frequent visitor to the fields, not only adjoining the sea, but at some distance inland. Whilst tilling operations are in progress, especially in spring, it passes regularly from the coast to the fields, following the plough, or collecting upon the newly-manured pastures, in quest of food. Wild, stormy weather, I have repeatedly noticed, will also drive this Gull landwards sooner, perhaps, than any other species. Like its congeners, it is practically omnivorous. Carrion is sought after as readily as living fish and other marine creatures. I have also known this species regularly to visit a slaughter-house near the coast, to feed upon the offal thrown upon the pastures for manure; and I have repeatedly watched the pure-plumaged birds fighting with the Rooks and Crows for a share of the feast. This Gull will also feed on grain, grubs, and worms, is a constant follower of vessels, and congregates in unusual numbers at fishing harbours during the sprat and herring seasons. In its flight it is graceful in the extreme, and it may often be seen soaring at a vast altitude like a Vulture. Writing on the flight of this Gull, Gätke (in his fascinating work, Heligoland, as an Ornithological Observatory) says: “Not only are these Gulls able to soar in a calm atmosphere in a direction straight forwards, or sideways, on calmly outspread wings, but, as has been more fully discussed in the case of Buzzards, they can also, in a manner similar to theirs, soar upwards to any desirable altitude. The Gulls are able to perform their soaring movements on the same plane in all phases of the weather, during the most violent storm, as well as in a perfect calm, progressing forwards or sideways at the most variable rates of velocity; now darting along with the swiftness of an arrow, now merely gliding, as it were, at the slowest pace imaginable. In the latter case, indeed, we are frequently, even against our will, forced to the conclusion that these birds must have at their command some unknown means or mechanism which prevents their sinking; for neither is the surface-area of their wings large enough, nor are these organs sufficiently concave in form, to allow of their supporting the bird after the manner of a parachute.” I can endorse these remarks fully from my own observations (Conf. Idle Hours with Nature, pp. 261, 262). That these flights are accompanied with any vibratory movements of the feathers is erroneous, as I have had many opportunities of satisfying myself, especially when observing the flight of the Fulmar at St. Kilda, the birds then not being more than six feet away from me, when I am positive every individual feather was in perfect rest.

But to return from this digression to the general habits of the Herring Gull. The breeding season of this Gull is in May and June. Owing to its remarkable aptitude for accommodating itself to the various peculiarities of the coast, it is certainly the most widely dispersed Gull of the British species during the season of reproduction. Perhaps its favourite breeding place is a low rocky island, but failing this it is equally at home upon a range of sea cliffs, a stack of rocks, or less frequently an island in a loch, or, as at Foulshaw Moss in Westmoreland, a marsh. The nest is made on a ledge or in a hollow or chink of the cliffs; in a sheltered hollow of the grassy downs: or amongst the thick growth of sea campion, thrift, and other marine plants that often grow so luxuriantly in the bird’s haunts. I have remarked that the nest is usually larger when built on a cliff than when on the ground, and in some cases is almost dispensed with. It is composed of turf, dry sea-weed, coarse grass, and stalks of various marine plants, lined with finer grass often gathered green. The eggs are two or three in number, varying in ground colour from pale bluish-green through yellowish-brown to olive-brown, and the spots are small and few and dark brown, pale brown, and gray. This Gull will lay a second lot of eggs if the first clutch be taken, as they often are, for culinary purposes. When the nesting places are intruded upon by human visitors, the Gulls, as usual, become very noisy, the birds whose eggs are most directly threatened being filled with the greatest clamour. I have often remarked that Gulls whose nests were safe in inaccessible parts of the cliffs have remained quietly sitting on them, while their less fortunate neighbours have been filled with noisy alarm, as they watched the fate of their eggs from the air above. The note is very similar to that of the preceding species.

COMMON GULL.

This pretty Gull, the Larus canus of Linnæus, is, during the summer months especially, one of the most locally distributed of the British species. The Common Gull formerly bred in Lancashire, but at the present time is not known to do so anywhere in England. From the Solway northwards, it becomes tolerably common as a breeding species, right up to the Shetlands, in many inland localities, as well as on the coast. It is also a somewhat local bird in Ireland. The Common Gull, or “Blue Maa,” as it is locally known, is about half the size of the Herring Gull, with a mantle, in the adult, almost as dark as that of the Lesser Black-backed Gull. During the non-breeding season this Gull is fairly well distributed along the coast, and then visits localities where it is never seen in summer. It is a decided shore species, rarely wandering far out to sea, and is one of the first Gulls driven inland by stormy weather. Although popularly believed to be so inseparably associated with the sea, the Gulls, and especially the smaller kinds such as the one now under notice, often resort to fields even at some distance from the water. The Common Gull seems as much at home inland as on the shore. I have seen it on the high moorlands, and in Scotland flying about many a loch pool, or land-locked sea arm; it is equally at home on the ploughed lands and the pastures, yet its plumage seems strangely out of place in such localities, and the incongruity is further intensified should the startled birds take refuge in a neighbouring tree, as they sometimes do. There is nothing specially remarkable about the flight of this Gull; it is performed in the slow and deliberate manner of all these birds, and is equally wonderful in many of its characteristics. The food of this Gull is composed indiscriminately of marine and terrestrial creatures. The bird will follow the plough, or search the pastures for grubs, insects, and worms; it searches the shore for any stranded creature to its omnivorous taste; it hunts the wide waste of waters in quest of fish, and follows vessels to pick up any refuse that may be thrown from them. This Gull is to a great extent nocturnal in autumn and winter. Its note is a harsh and persistently uttered yak-yak-yak, most frequently heard when its breeding places are invaded by man or predaceous animals. The Common Gull is a thoroughly gregarious and social bird, often congregating in large flocks, and mingling with other species.

By the end of April most of the adult Common Gulls have left all our southern coasts and retired northwards to their breeding places. As these are visited yearly in succession, it is not improbable that this Gull pairs for life. Its nest colonies are situated both inland and on the coast. An island in a mountain lake, the marshy shore of a loch, the flat table-like summit of a rock stack, or the rolling grassy downs near the open sea, in little populated districts, may be chosen; but so far as my experience with this Gull extends, I have found the favourite site to be rocky islands in quiet secluded sea-lochs. These colonies of Common Gulls vary a good deal in size; and in some districts, perhaps where suitable sites are scarce, the bird breeds in scattered pairs only. The eggs are laid during the last half of May and the first half of June; only one brood is reared in the season, but if the first eggs are taken they are generally replaced. The nest of this Gull varies much in size; some structures are mere hollows lined with a tuft or two of grass; others are more elaborate, composed of heather stems, pieces of turf, sea-weed, and stalks of marine plants, lined with finer grass, often gathered green. They are built indiscriminately amongst the long herbage, in hollows and crevices of rocks, or on ledges of the bare cliffs. In Norway the eggs of this Gull have been taken from the deserted nest of a Hooded Crow, in a pine tree, but no instances of a similar character have occurred, so far as is known, in our islands. The Common Gull usually lays three eggs, but instances of four are not rare. They run from olive-brown to buffish-brown in ground colour, spotted and often streaked with darker brown and brownish-gray. The eggs of this Gull are extremely good eating. One often wonders why they are not gathered for the table, just as much as those of the Lapwing.

KITTIWAKE.

This charming Gull, the Larus tridactylus of scientists, so named from its entirely absent or rudimentary hind toe, is one of the best known, as it is one of the most widely distributed, British species. These remarks are however most applicable to the non-breeding season; for during the nesting time it is rather more local, owing to the conditions under which its young are reared. The Kittiwake very closely resembles the Common Gull in general appearance, but the mantle is paler, the legs and feet are dark brown, and the primaries, or longest feathers of the wings, have broad black tips: it is also a perceptibly smaller bird, the smallest in fact of the typically marine Gulls. Of all the British Gulls the Kittiwake is certainly the most maritime in its habits, and is never known to visit inland districts, unless driven from the coast by storms of exceptional violence. Save in the breeding season it may be met with on all the low-lying coasts, visiting harbours, bays, and fishing villages, and imbuing many a littoral scene with life. The Kittiwake is a much more oceanic bird than the Common Gull, and often wanders immense distances from land in quest of food. It is said that birds of this species have been known to follow vessels across the North Atlantic, but this seems almost incredible—not because the bird is physically unable to perform the feat, but because we can scarcely believe any bird would wander of its own free-will so far from the local centre of its habitat. One of the most striking characteristics of the Kittiwake is its peculiar cry, heard to the best advantage at the nesting places. This note, from which the colloquial name of the species is derived, resembles the syllables kitty-a-ake, requiring but little play upon the imagination to render as get-a-way-ah-get-away. It is only during the breeding season that this cry is heard to perfection, and after that is over the bird becomes a singularly silent one. The flight of this Gull is light and buoyant, but powerful and often long sustained. The bird may often be observed fishing at no great distance from shore, flying to and fro every now and then, poising and hovering previous to pouncing down upon a fish or other floating object. It is also an adept swimmer, and very frequently sleeps whilst sitting on the waves. The Kittiwake is perhaps more exclusively a fish-feeder than any other British Gull. It seldom searches for food on shore, and does not exhibit those omnivorous tastes that characterise so many of its congeners. It is a persistent follower of fish shoals, especially herrings and sprats, and will remain in the company of fishing fleets for weeks together. A scrap of food thrown from a ship will speedily be seized by one of these birds; whilst a few crustaceans and other marine creatures are taken from time to time.