Short abstract from the book: The common gull is a familiar breeding bird in Denmark,
breeding in colonies on small islands and on the coast. It is also
a common passage migrant and winter visitor from August
to March.
The first common gull was ringed in Denmark in 1910,
with great numbers ringed since the 1920s. Fifty-five per
cent of the recovered birds were ringed on Zealand, 26 %
in Jutland, 9 % on Funen and 4 % on Lolland-Falster. A
large proportion of the recovered birds belong to the Danish
population but many winter visitors have also been ringed
and recovered.
Most of the Danish common gulls are migrants. The first
young birds are recovered abroad in late July, and in August
more have been recovered in Germany, the Netherlands and
Britain. In September, 27 % of the young birds have been
recovered from abroad. The birds migrate along the German
and Dutch coastline to the English Channel, and some further
south to the Bay of Biscay. During winter 14 % of the Danish
common gulls have been found in Denmark. Abroad most
have been recovered in France and the British Isles but also in
the Netherlands, Belgium and northern Germany. The mean
position in winter is further west for birds ringed in Jutland
than for those ringed in eastern Denmark. Furthermore, in
general young birds in their first winter have been found
further south than older birds. Most of the mature common
gulls have returned to Denmark by the end of April, whereas
the return of immature birds seems to de delayed and many
do not return until maturity.
Migrants from populations around the Baltic Sea and
northern Russia arrive in Denmark from August. Many
Swedish and Norwegian common gulls migrate further south
to winter in northern Germany, the Netherlands and southern England, but the number of Finnish and Russian birds
remains high throughout the winter. Most migrants depart
in March.
The main known cause of death is hunting. Seventy-three
per cent have been shot in Denmark, mainly between August
and September. The proportion reported as shot has declined
since the 1960s.
Read more about the species in the chapter from The Danish Bird Migration Atlashere
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