Common gull

Latin Larus canus L.
Estonian Kalakajakas

Also known as: sea mew

Status in Estonia

Breeding, migratory and wintering bird.

Description

The common gull is slightly bigger than the black-headed gull. It is similar to the European herring gull but smaller in size, with a smaller and slimmer beak and a rounder head. It also flies faster and has more energetic wing beats. Adults have a white head and greenish-yellow beak and legs. The head and breast of juveniles are greyish-brown, with a brown scale pattern top side.

Size

Body length 40–46 cm, wingspan 100–115 cm, body mass 315–580 g.

Similar species

European herring gull, black-headed gull.

Distribution

It is widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere: Europe, Asia and on the coasts of northern North America. It is a common breeding and migratory bird in Estonia.

Population

Estonia has 7000–10,000 breeding pairs.

Occurrence in Estonia

This migratory bird also frequently spends its winters here; the annual population of these birds varies from 50,000 to 100,000. Birds that migrated will come back during March. Autumn migration begins in September and continues through October, but birds can also be seen during November and December.

Diet

Its diet includes fish, carrion, frogs, worms, mice, aquatic invertebrates, dragonflies and other insects caught in the air as well as berries and sprouting grains and frequently the eggs of nesting neighbours and weak chicks.

Habitat

In Estonia, it inhabits beach meadows and small islands as well as small islands in inland lakes, bogs and raised bogs. It frequently in ports and accompanies ships. During the breeding season, it looks for food in the meadows and fields.

Nesting

It nests on all types of small islands. Previously, this bird preferred the grassy middle part of the island for nesting, but for several decades, the former favourite places of the common gull have been occupied by European herring gulls, leaving the common gulls with open parts of the beach without vegetation, where their nests are frequently washed away by storms. Some birds choose the thatched roof of a beach-front house as a nesting spot, while others build nests in trees. A breeding pair stays together for life. The territory is occupied in early spring and guarded throughout the breeding season. Most nesting sites are colonial, with up to 100 pairs together. The nest is elevated and made of algae, straw, twigs, moss, small tree roots and other materials found in the nesting area. In early May, the female bird typically lays three brown, dark-spotted eggs, which she incubates for 25–26 days. After 3–5 days, the chicks leave the nest and begin roaming around their territory diligently under the watchful eyes of their mother and father. The brood remains loyal to its area for some time after the young become capable of flight, which occurs one month after hatching. Nest predators kill more than half of the chicks before they can fledge.

Conservation status and protection

Not under protection. The nests are damaged by larger species of seagulls; as their numbers have increased, the number of common gulls has recently slightly declined.

Distribution and population in Lääne County

The common gull is a common breeding and migratory bird in Lääne County. Wintering birds follow fishing vessels across the open sea and frequently rest in Port Dirhami.
Common gulls breed primarily on sea islands in Matsalu National Park, although several birds have found suitable nesting sites on the thatched roofs of old farm buildings or boathouses. One of the largest herring gull colonies is found in Kakrarahu, near Cape Puise. Since the 1970s, extensive studies of common gulls have been conducted there. That is why you may notice a white plastic ring with black letters around the leg of many common gulls in Matsalu. Those birds are from the Kakrarahu breeding colony.