Skuas, Gulls and Terns
Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus
The Pomarine Skua, known as the Pomatorhine Skua until the middle of the 20th Century, is a rare autumn passage migrant along the Humber off the Hull area. The first documented occurrence was of an unseasonal bird that hung around off Hessle during early January 1979. The autumn of 1985 was the best of the century for this species in the Hull area, with incredible numbers recorded off Saltend. The first was a lone bird flying upstream on 25th September, followed by another on 6th October, before 15 moved upstream on the morning of 18th November alone. The following day saw an amazing 45 being logged off Saltend, with singles lingering over the next few days until 24th. Three went upstream again on 30th November and were followed by another on 2nd December before the last on 8th. Most of the birds seen that autumn were immatures and they were usually first noticed arriving high from the east, circling over the Humber and, according to S. L. James, looking like Buzzards before dropping down to head upstream. Some also hung around to chase gulls, the parasitic urge being strong in all Skuas.
No more Pomarine Skuas were reported in the Hull area until 1993, however, when one was near the Humber Bridge after easterly gales that had also brought in a couple of Long-tailed Skuas, three Arctic Skuas and around 30 Great Skuas! The autumn of 2000 was better than most and produced a Pomarine Skua at the Humber Bridge on 6th November and an immature flying east there on 27th, all providing further evidence that a November vigil over the Humber offers the best chance of finding one of these birds around Hull.
Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus
The most frequently sighted Skua in the Hull area, most Arctic Skuas have occurred on autumn passage and all have been on the Humber. The first documented record was in 1962 when one passed upstream at Hull on the typical date of 9th September. Boylan (1967) gave two more passage records for Hull between 1960 and 1966 but provided no further details. One was at Hessle Haven on the very strange date of 7th January in 1979 with another slightly odd record being one heading inland at Saltend on 23rd May 1985. As with the Pomarine Skua, however, the autumn of 1985 was probably the best ever for Arctic Skuas around Hull and a whopping 33 were logged at Saltend on 14th September, while around 10 were present throughout the month. Most of these birds were feeding on the Humber and not actively migrating, though 16 were moving upstream on 7th September and five followed them the next day. Six were still at Saltend on 6th October with up to three stragglers being seen on and off until late November. There were more unusual records in 1986, in terms of date rather than numbers, with three heading east at Saltend on 21st June and another couple of birds the same month being decidedly unseasonal. A light autumn passage that year lasted from 26th August until 1st November and usually involved just one or two birds on most dates, though nine flew downstream on 26th August. The following autumn, in 1987, was all but a washout and just one was seen at Paull on the rather early date of 4th July. On 27th August 1988 an observer at Sunk Island, several miles downstream of Hull, counted over a hundred Arctic Skuas flying upstream but only 23 later flew back towards the open sea, suggesting that the other 85 all continued upstream and probably passed Hull.
A decrease in observers looking over the Humber since the mid 1980s led to a subsequent decline in the number and frequency of Arctic Skuas reported off Hull and the adjoining waterfronts. Three seen heading upstream past Hessle on 13th September 1993 showed that Arctic Skuas were still occurring on passage but were probably just not being recorded, though things improved a little towards the end of the decade. In 1997 a juvenile was seen off Victoria Dock on 19th August and two were at Sammy's Point, now home to ‘The Deep’, at the mouth of the River Hull on 20th September. Records from 2000 were a little later, with three at the Humber Bridge during an easterly blow on 6th November and a late bird at St. Andrew's Quay on 22nd December.
Long-tailed Skua Stercorarius longicaudus
This member of the Skua tribe breeds in the high Arctic and winters in the Atlantic Ocean, being only a rather scarce and irregular autumn passage migrant on the Yorkshire coast. Large numbers can pass the coastal watchpoints in some years, such as 1988 and 1991, after good breeding seasons in the far north and the vast majority move through between August and late October. There are just two records for the Hull area, however, both on the Humber. The first was of two juveniles at the Humber Bridge after easterly gales on 13th September 1993. The only other record came on 19th September 1997 when a single, unaged, bird flew northwest at Victoria Dock and inland towards the River Hull.
Great Skua Catharacta Skua
The old Shetland Isles name for the Great Skua, 'Bonxie', is in fairly common use among birdwatchers along the Yorkshire coast and is the name I usually call it by, being somewhat less clumsy than the 'standard' one and a little more informal. Not that the Bonxie is a friendly bird, however, as it is a powerful and formidable predator and harasser of all other smaller seabirds, regularly forcing gulls to disgorge their catch of fish. A visit to the breeding colonies in northern Scotland will soon show their vicious streak as they will readily dive bomb you, even striking your head, if you wander too close to their nest. In the Hull area, however, they are merely uncommon and irregular passage migrants on the Humber between late August and early November, sometimes after being blown upstream by strong easterlies.
The first record comes from Boylan (1967) who mentions one passage record between 1960 and 1966 but gives no further details, though this was probably the bird seen off Hull in October 1992 and reported in the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Ornithological Report for that year. The next were not until 1985 when a dedicated group of birdwatchers, none more so than S. L. James, put in many hours of observation at Saltend and the eastern docks. Single Bonxies were seen on five dates between September and November that year, with three on 11th September. Another was seen flying upstream the following year, on 26th August, this being the earliest Bonxie recorded in the area.
13th September 1993 was something of a red letter day for Skuas at the Humber Bridge, not least for Bonxies, as easterly gales had encouraged all four regular British species well upstream to be seen by a lucky few observers. This bonanza included at least 30 Bonxies, heading a cast of three Arctic Skuas, a couple of Long-tailed Skuas and a Pomarine Skua, with nothing like this number of Bonxies having been reported before or since. The only other reported sighting of Bonxies in the Hull area was a muted echo of 1993, when two were watched at the Humber Bridge after easterly gales on 6th November 2000.
It is highly likely that a small number of Bonxies wander up the Humber in most autumns, being either unseen or unreported, though if a strong easterly blow has been a feature of the previous day or two then expectations may justifiably be raised.
Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus
The 'Med' Gull used to be an extreme rarity in Britain until a range expansion in Europe fuelled an increase in British sightings from the 1960s onwards. A pair bred in southern England in 1968, creeping up to 31 pairs in 1992 and by 2000 at least 70 pairs were nesting in English gull colonies. This change in status was reflected in sightings in East Yorkshire, these being rare but annual by the 1970s at well-watched sites such as Spurn before increasingly rapidly since then. The first record for Hull did not occur until 1984 when one was spotted at Saltend. The Saltend mudflats were, and still are, the best place to find Med Gulls in the Hull area and have regularly produced birds since the mid 1980s, when people started looking. The build up in records there and elsewhere in the Hull area is worth documenting and is outlined below:1984: an adult in full summer plumage at Saltend on 7th July.
1985 (all Saltend): an adult with a partial hood on 20th August; a first-winter and a second-winter in the gull roost 22nd October; presumably the same first-winter on 23rd and 26th October; an adult in the gull roost on 1st and 3rd December; probably the same adult at nearby West Wharf on 18th and 28th December.
1986: a first-winter at Saltend on 26th February; an adult at Saltend on 22nd March; maybe the same adult over a Kirk Ella garden on 28th March.
1988: a first-summer at Saltend on 18th May.
1990: one "in Hull" in late August and again on 26th October.
1991: one at Hessle on 24th September.
1993: one at Hedon on 9th February.
A definite increase in records during the late 1990s coincided with an upsurge in the British breeding population. Regular watching at Saltend produced at least seven birds in 1996, five in 1997, six in 1998, at least three in 1999 (a bad recording year) and five in 2000 (though, again, not a good recording year):
1996 (all Saltend): a second-summer on 3rd July; an adult from 11th to 17th July and 8th to 13th August; two adults and a second-winter on 17th September; a phenomenal six adults in the roost on 19th September with one again on 25th; a first-winter on 30th September; an adult on 12th December.
1997: an adult at Saltend on 16th July; two adults and two first-summers at Saltend on 23rd July; three still at Saltend on 25th July; an adult at Saltend on 30th July; three adults at Saltend on 8th, 15th and 26th August with one adult from 11th to 13th; one adult at Saltend on 3rd September and 7th November; an adult in East Park on 7th and 17th November, and again on 17th December.
1998 (all Saltend): a first-summer on 24th and 29th June; a second-summer on 28th July; an adult on 5th, 16th and 26th August and 2nd, 14th and 16th September; two second-winters on 8th September; four adults on 2nd October; one adult on 19th October.
1999: an adult at Bransholme Sewage Works on 22nd January; an adult at Saltend on 20th August and another on 21st November.
2000: an adult west past Hessle foreshore on 4th March; an adult at Hedon foreshore on 10th August; a first-winter at Hessle on 18th November; an adult at St Andrew's Quay on Christmas Eve; a second-winter at St Andrew's Quay on 28th December.
The above records show that the majority of Med Gulls seen in the Hull area are adults, though this may be due to the fact that this is by far the easiest age group to identify. Birds can turn up at almost any time of year although most occur in late summer and autumn, with the ones seen between May and early July often being sub-adults - the mature birds presumably being away at the breeding colonies. While Saltend has provided the bulk of the records, anywhere that attracts gulls in the Hull area is likely to harbour a Med Gull at some point, particularly areas bordering the Humber. With the British population going from strength to strength it looks as if the very attractive Mediterranean Gull is going to become an increasingly familiar sight in the Hull area.
Laughing Gull Larus atricilla
Two, possibly three, examples of this North American gull have crossed the Atlantic Ocean to be recorded in Hull, incredibly all in the same year with none before or since. The first was found by P. Coupland on 16th April 1984 when, on a visit to photograph the waterfowl at East Park, he noticed an unusual gull swimming among the Common and Black-headed Gulls on the lake. The bird eventually settled on a log alongside three Black-headed Gulls and Coupland was able to take several pictures, revealing the bird to be a second-year Laughing Gull moulting out of first-winter plumage. Later that year, on 9th November, A. Wrightson discovered a second-winter Laughing Gull on wet playing fields off Wold Road in West Hull. Probably the same bird as the one seen at East Park that spring, this time it hung around until New Year's Day the following year, attracting many birdwatchers and twitchers throughout its stay. The bird settled into a regular pattern of arriving at Wold Road most mornings at around 7.30 am, often favouring the area around Bristol Road, before moving to the Priory Road fields with the local gulls later in the day. Interestingly, what was possibly the same bird was discovered up the coast at Filey on 23rd July that summer when a second-summer Laughing Gull, moulting into second-winter plumage, was seen among a flock of the usual gulls sat on the end of the Brigg.
The story was not over yet, however, for on 14th December 1984, while the Wold Road bird was still in residence, a second-winter Laughing Gull that was considered to be a different individual from the other one was found at William Wright Dock by S. L. James.
Little Gull Larus minutus
Little Gulls are rather scarce birds on the Humber, despite being a regular passage migrants along the Yorkshire coast as they move between their Scandinavian and Eastern European breeding grounds and wintering areas off Western Europe and in the Mediterranean. All records in the Hull area have come from the Humber, usually in autumn from September to November. The years 1960 to 1966 produced two records, sadly undated, while regular watching at Saltend in the mid 1980s revealed that a handful of Little Gulls were annual on the Humber. One or two birds were seen here on at least one day in almost every month from February to October in 1985-6, with a higher frequency in autumn. These birds were often sub-adults, though four adults passed by on 25th July 1986. Irregular coverage since then has resulted in infrequent sightings but easterly gales in September 1993 brought 15 Little Gulls well up the Humber between Hessle and North Ferriby on 13th and a first-summer bird was at Saltend on 8th July 1996. In 1998 a first-summer bird was seen at Saltend on 11th June and three were recorded on 6th October. More recently still, a further three birds were at the Humber Bridge on 6th November 2000.
An autumn vigil over the Humber therefore appears to be the only way one is likely to encounter the Little Gull in the Hull area, although the precious few appearing each year mean a certain amount of luck is required.
Sabine's Gull Larus sabini
Sabine's are highly oceanic gulls that breed in the High Arctic of Siberia and North America and winter in the southern Atlantic. Small numbers are regularly reported off British coasts when autumn storms blow them towards shore. The only record for the Hull area occurred after easterly gales blew a juvenile Sabine's Gull well up the Humber on 13th September 1993, where it was seen at the Humber Bridge.
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus
Along with the Common Gull, the Black-headed Gull is one of the most familiar birds to be seen around Hull. The name is something of a misnomer, however, as the head is not black at all but a deep chocolate-brown and even then only in the spring and summer, being reduced to a dark 'ear-like' mark behind the eye in winter. Further more, this is the real 'common gull' in the area, outnumbering the so-called Common Gull in virtually all situations. This was not always the case, however, as back in the 1960s Boylan called the Black-headed Gull "the second commonest gull in Hull", after the Common Gull. Despite large numbers gathering at the sewage outfall near St. Andrew's Dock in Boylan’s time, Black-headed Gulls were only noted visiting places such as Northern Cemetery in wet conditions during the winter months, suggesting that they were fairly infrequent and not too common at all. Despite 11,000 being counted along the Humber shore between North Ferriby and the mouth of the River Hull in January 1979 the number of Black-headed Gulls around Cottingham and northwest Hull was still being eclipsed by that of Common Gulls during the first half of the 1980s, though flocks of up to 350 could still be found in that area. Numbers roosting at Saltend during the mid 1980s told a different story, however, with Black-headed Gulls outnumbering Common Gulls by more than five to one. In late July 1984 observers counted 2,500 Black-headed Gulls coming to roost on the mudflats. This had risen to 4,000 by mid August, almost 8,000 by late October and 8,700 by mid November. By December numbers had rocketed to 20,000 and remained so well into the following year, dropping to 5,000 by March 1985, 300 in May and just 120 by mid June before returning birds took the numbers up to 500 by early July and the cycle began again. In my youth, during the 1980s, large flocks of Black-headed Gulls, intermingled with Common Gulls, could be seen flying in loose 'V' formations during late afternoons in autumn and winter as they passed south over Hull and made their way to the Saltend roost. A noticeable dwindling of the flocks in recent years suggests that many now prefer to roost elsewhere.
The variation in the numbers at the Saltend roost in the mid 1980s reflects the annual waxing and waning of the number of Black-headed Gulls throughout the Hull area that is still apparent today. The general trend is for a build up from July throughout the autumn towards a midwinter peak, then a decline to the nadir in late spring and early summer. Indeed, Black-headed Gulls are virtually absent around Hull from mid April to June while they are away breeding in large colonies around lakes, sand dunes, marshes and moorlands throughout Britain and Europe. There are no colonies anywhere near Hull, however, and the birds roosting at Saltend between mid April and June in the mid 1980s would have been non-breeding birds that had decided to linger in the area.
The first Black-headed Gulls to return from the breeding colonies appear from mid to late June and they often have juveniles among them. Despite the growing flocks around Saltend at this time, numbers throughout most of the Hull area remain fairly low until the autumn when a big influx of Continental birds occurs in November. The Saltend roost of the 1980s probably pulled in birds from a wide area that had spent their day feeding in surrounding towns and farmland, but local feeding flocks can also be large in midwinter. Around 2,000 were feeding at St. Andrew's Dock in the early months of 1985, around 500 used to gather on the filter beds at the Bransholme Sewage Works (when they were in operation) during mid winter in the early 1990s, 250 were on Priory Road fields in February 1996 and flocks of 50 to several hundred can often be found around many of the parks, playing fields and shopping centres at this time. Many of the Black-headed Gulls that arrive in the November influx appear to hail from the Baltic, with one ringed as a chick on Lake Engure, Moskwa, in Latvia on 2nd June 1965 being found dead in Hull the following December. Another bird rung in Denmark was spotted on Hessle Foreshore in January 1997 and again the following December. Some birds have moulted into their dark hood as early as Christmas, but most do not assume breeding plumage until March and it is around then that birds start to drift away to the breeding grounds at home and abroad. On sunny spring days one can often see courting Black-headed Gulls wheeling and calling loudly overhead but by mid April most have gone, leaving just the non-breeding birds that linger around the Humber.
Black-headed Gulls often get a bad press, as many successful birds do, but they are undeniably full of character. I used to feed a small flock of Black-headed Gulls by throwing bread over my garden fence first thing in the morning and, regular as clockwork, there would a couple of birds waiting each morning. As soon as they saw me throw the first handful, the 'sentries' would give a few loud calls and within minutes a flock of 30 or more would be scrabbling for food. The mere sound of the back door closing at any time of day was sometimes enough to draw a crowd, even when I had nothing to offer! Many times in East Park, and sometimes Queen's Gardens, I have been enchanted by the antics of entirely wild Black-headed Gulls that have learnt to swoop down and take food from an outstretched hand, sometimes hovering at my fingertips for several seconds while deciding whether or not to be brave enough and take the titbit. To interact so closely with birds as wild and free as this, which may have travelled many hundreds of miles to be here, is a wonderful way to raise the spirits on a cold grey afternoon. The reputation of the Black-headed Gull as an intelligent and resourceful bird nevertheless took a battering, quite literally, after the laying down of Hull's 'Fish Trail' in 1992. For several days after shiny metal anchovies were embedded in the pavement outside the Tourist Information Centre near the City Hall, groups of determined Black-headed Gulls repeatedly swooped down to peck in vain at the tempting fish!
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
A frequent transatlantic vagrant to Britain, and a possible breeding bird in the near future, there is nevertheless just one record of Ring-billed Gull for the Hull area. On 23rd November 1985 S. L. James was observing the birds over the Humber from his vantage point on the West Wharfe, near Alexandra Dock, when he began scanning through a large flock of gulls flying upstream. James immediately noticed that the very first bird in the flock looked "decidedly odd". With a few Common and Black-headed Gulls in the field of view for comparison, James was quickly able to determine that the bird was a probable Ring-billed Gull. As the flock drew closer they banked over the water and gave excellent views, enabling James to take the detailed description of the bird that appears in the 1985 Saltend and Hull Docks Bird Report. As the bird flew out into the Humber and landed on a sand bank, James was in no doubt that it was a first-winter Ring-billed Gull. It was watched on the sand bank at some distance through a telescope before moving over to the Lincolnshire side and being disturbed by a low-flying Arctic Skua. Many of the accompanying gulls flew off inland, into Lincolnshire, and the Ring-billed Gull could not be relocated either then or the following day.
This record was apparently never submitted to the British Birds Rarities Committee for adjudication, appearing in neither the accepted nor rejected records in the subsequent reports of rare birds in Britain, though it was included in the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union’s Ornithological Report for 1985.
Common Gull (Mew Gull) Larus canus
Until the 1980s the Common Gull was just that in the Hull area, the most common gull of the region. Boylan (1967) called them "really common" throughout the city and large flights of many thousands of birds regularly passed over in the late afternoon on their way to roost at Saltend. Common Gulls were familiar almost everywhere at that time, from the city centre, the parks, gardens and the cemeteries, only being absent for a short period in June and July, though a few immature birds could still be found roosting at Saltend even then. The Common Gull remained a very common bird in the Hull area into the 1980s, as it is today, and the change in status from 'commonest gull' to 'second commonest gull' is merely due to an increase in the numbers of Black-headed Gulls visiting us, rather than a decrease in Common Gulls.
Counts at the Saltend roost in the mid 1980s revealed a minimum of less than 10 during early June, though up to 100 were often present from the middle of the month and 500 could be roosting there by the end of July. Numbers slowly built up during the late summer as birds returned from their northern breeding grounds and up to 1,000 could be present by the end of August. An influx in late autumn saw the roost grow to 5,000 by December, with over 2,000 feeding around St. Andrew's Dock during the day. Common Gulls were also described as "very common" around Cottingham and northwest Hull during this period, compared to a comment of merely "common" for the Black-headed Gull, although the latter species was outnumbering Common Gulls at the Saltend roost by then.
Despite being overtaken by the Black-headed Gull in terms of numbers these days, Common Gulls still often outnumber that species in early autumn before the big influx of Black-headed Gulls arrives from the Continent, and also in late spring when the bulk of the Black-headed Gulls have left. In October and March/April large flocks composed solely of Common Gulls are often seen patrolling arable fields, sports fields and any area of short grass for slugs, snails and worms. Over 300 were observed doing just this on the Priory Road fields in October 1995.
Common Gulls showing characteristics of the eastern race, Larus canus heinei, have been reported from the Hull area in small numbers for many years, usually in midwinter. Birds were seen at Earles Road (near Alexandra Dock) on 24th November 1985, the Saltend/eastern docks area on 26th February 1986, two were at Saltend on 1st January 1997 and again at Hessle Foreshore on 5th, with three at Hessle Foreshore on 11th January and one at East Park on 10th February the same year. Plumage abnormalities are also reported on occasion, this being more common than in the Black-headed Gull, with an albino bird around the eastern docks on 13th April 1987. In the winter of 1990 I regularly saw a leucistic first-winter Common Gull at North Bransholme, this bird having the normal plumage pattern but the colours being very pale and washed out with pure white wing-tips. It looked somewhat like a small first-winter Iceland Gull. What was undoubtedly the same bird returned towards the end of 1991, by now in second-winter plumage with a dark grey mantle, scapulars, lesser and median coverts on the upperparts but very pale grey greater and primary coverts and pure white flight feathers. It was a very beautiful bird, now looking like a smaller, darker-backed version of an adult Iceland Gull, but I never saw it again. Wintering Common Gulls in Hull do show striking site fidelity, however, with recognisable birds returning to the same place year after year. One very characteristic bird that I often saw in the 1990s at the North Point Shopping centre, in the heart of Bransholme, was immediately recognisable on account of a broken leg that had healed imperfectly and was stuck out at an odd angle. I used to change buses at the North Point centre on my way to college and, from around October to March for at least three winters, this bird would usually be sat on the same lamppost near my bus stop, looking for bits of discarded sandwich or a dropped chip. I last saw the bird in 1995 when I stopped passing through the North Point centre, but it would be intriguing to know for how many years it kept returning.
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
This is one of the less common gulls around Hull but is still a regular passage migrant, especially in autumn, and uncommon winter visitor. This was much the case in the 1960s with most records coming from East Park, and occasionally Northern Cemetery, in autumn. Counts between North Ferriby and the mouth of the River Hull in 1977 revealed large numbers of Lesser Black-backs roosting and loafing on the Humber, with 100 in mid January, 52 in mid February but just 10 in mid December. Counts of adults at the Saltend roost in the mid 1980s rarely exceeded 20 or 30 birds in the peak months of September and October, while around five were present in in August and November and just one or two could be found at other times. The above counts refer to birds of the Western European race, Larus fuscus graellsii, as this was the first time that attempts had been made to sort out the racial makeup of Lesser Black-backs in the Hull area. Birds of the southwest Scandinavian race L. f. intermedius, and Baltic race L. f. fuscus, were also reported from Saltend at that time but most ornithologists are now of the opinion that L. f. fuscus has never been reliably recorded in Britain, so references to this race can be discounted or perhaps be assigned to intermedius. Birds identified as intermedius were fairly frequent at the Saltend roost in the mid 1980s, however, with 29 on 28th October 1984 and one or two between late July and December 1985. Up to 16 were also counted at the eastern docks in the closing months of that year. Counts at Saltend in 1998 provided a useful update and revealed the presence of one to four Lesser Black-backs from February to May, up to nine from June to October and one or two until December. The observer, B. Richards, estimated that roughly a quarter of the birds seen were intermedius, with the rest being graellsii.
Sightings away from the Humber are not all that uncommon in autumn and winter. Groups of up to five were occasionally seen flying over North Bransholme in the early 1990s, including three intermedius on New Year's Day 1992, and one or two turn occasionally up at the Bransholme Sewage Works and East Park, often in midwinter. Others may be picked out among the more usual gulls on any sports field or other large expanse of short grass throughout the Hull area, but they are always less common than their Herring and Great Black-backed cousins.
Herring Gull Larus argentatus
It has always been possible to find Herring Gulls around the Hull area, most notably near the Humber, but they are often present in surprisingly small numbers. Boylan (1967) lists the Herring Gull as a scarce resident and fairly common winter visitor, especially at St. Andrew's Dock, and this could be amended a little in the mid 1980s after detailed information from Saltend and the East Hull docks. Just a handful of birds, usually less than five, could be found at the Saltend roost between June and August before a slow increase as autumn turned into winter. The 10 to 15 birds of September and October 1985 had grown to 80 by late November and then very hard weather brought in a record 3,800 in late December. The number of birds feeding at St. Andrew's Dock during the day was a better indication of local numbers, however, and 200 to 300 were often present between December 1984 and February 1985 with a short-lived peak of 650 in mid January. Observers estimated that around 5% of the wintering population were of the Scandinavian race Larus argentatus argentatus, this rising to 40% during hard weather peak counts although these birds often moved on quickly. The remainder were of the Western European race L. a. argenteus. Small flocks of Herring Gulls, usually a dozen or less, can be seen passing overhead anywhere in the Hull area at virtually any time but particularly winter. They are probably passing between the Humber and the landfill tips, gravel pits and reservoirs north and east of Beverley. Smaller numbers, perhaps one to five birds, can occasionally be seen among other gulls on playing fields and the East Park and Pickering Park lakes or the Bransholme Sewage Works, with the Herring Gull being the most frequent 'large gull' inland.
Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans
As with the Yellow-legged Gull, this species was previously considered to be a race of the Herring Gull but is now considered by many to be a species in its own right. Caspian Gulls hail from the eastern Mediterranean and the species has been claimed twice in Hull, possibly involving the same bird. A bird resembling a first-winter Caspian Gull was observed at the Bransholme Sewage Works on 3rd January 2001, with a first- or second-winter bird being seen there again on 8th.
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
This is the common large gull of the western Mediterranean and it was only recently recognised as a full species (although some still deny it this status and consider it a race of the Herring Gull). They are increasingly being recorded in Britain and there are two records from Hull. The first was an adult roosting at Victoria Dock’s West Wharf on 5th November 1997 and the second was a bird at the Bransholme Sewage Works on 9th November 1998. More will undoubtedly be seen as the species becomes better known and more frequent.
Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides
Despite the name, Iceland Gulls actually breed in Greenland and northeast Canada and they are scarce winter visitors to Britain. Fewer than 20 have been reported from the Hull area, the vast majority in late December or early January, but the species is probably under-recorded and may occur annually.
The first record was of a second-year bird at Albert Dock on 20th December 1943. Boylan mentions three winter records from Hull in the 1960s, one of which was probably the near-adult at St. Andrew's Dock on New Years Eve 1962 and reported in the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union report for that year. None were reported in the 1970s, probably due to a lack of observation, but hard weather at the end of 1985 brought a rash of reports from St. Andrew's Dock. The first was a first-winter on 28th December, with two first-winters and a third-winter on 29th, a single first-winter again on 30th, a third-winter once more on 31st and an un-aged bird on 1st and 2nd January 1986. A first-winter was there again on 15th March 1987, the latest spring date reported for a Hull area bird. Another comparatively late bird, a first-winter, flew west over North Bransholme on 11th March the following year.
There was little recording from the docks in the 1990s and the next report of an Iceland Gull did not come until 1997, when a first- or second-winter was at Hessle Foreshore. The area around Hessle Foreshore and the Humber Bridge has been the most productive of recent years, since the decline of the fish dock. Two un-aged birds were there on 2nd January 2000 while a third-winter at the Humber Bridge Country Park the following day was probably one of these birds, and a first-winter was near the Humber Bridge again on 11th. There is also an undated record from East Park between 1959 and 1992.
Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus
Glaucous Gulls mostly breed within the Arctic Circle although around 350 winter in Britain in an average year, most of these birds probably coming from Greenland. As with the Iceland Gull, a bird or two probably visits the Hull area each winter but most are likely to go unrecorded.
The first record was of a bird at one of the docks on 6th March 1956 and Boylan noted that singles were regular at St. Andrew's Dock in the 1960s, usually annually, and gave a total of seven birds between 1960 and 1967. The 1970s were a washout due to a lack of recording and the next records were not until the mid 1980s, the first of that period being a first-winter at St. Andrew's Dock between 2nd and 4th February 1985. A large influx occurred at St. Andrew's Dock in the 1985/6 winter beginning with another first-winter from 27th December 1985, with two from 29th, three on 3rd January 1986, four the next day in company with a second-winter and an adult (making a record six birds), with a lone first-winter lingering until 5th February. That was not all, however, as a second-winter bird was back again on 13th February before the last one, a first-winter again, was seen departing to the east on 1st March.
On 2nd January 1989 an adult was well inland flying over North Bransholme, though no more were reported from around Hull for several years. The next was not until 1994 when an adult brought an echo of the past back to St. Andrew's Dock and another alighted there the following January, but reports from anywhere in the Hull area have been very thin on the ground in more recent years. A first-winter bird on Hessle Foreshore on 8th March 2000 raised hopes that Glaucous Gulls were still there to be found if one looked for them.
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
These huge, fierce-looking gulls are largely winter visitors to the Hull area, mainly on the Humber, though birds can usually be found somewhere along the waterfront throughout the year. Over 1,800 were logged between Hessle and Hull in late January 1980, although counts at the Saltend roost in the mid 1980s rarely exceeded 200 birds. Larger numbers could be found at St. Andrew's Dock, however, where this species had been referred to as being "common" since at least the 1960s. Up to 350 were present there in January 1985, with 150 by February and fewer than 30 throughout the summer until around 125 were back again from October onwards. Hard weather in December 1985, meanwhile, brought 1,200 into St Andrew's Dock. More recently, the largest count has been just 300 on the sandbanks off Hessle in mid October 1997. As with the other large gulls, Great Black-backs are often seen passing over Hull and the surrounding area as they commute between the Humber and feeding and roosting sites in the East Riding. I regularly saw groups of up to 15 birds flying over North Bransholme in the early 1990s, usually between November and February and often mixed with Herring or Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A few birds may drop down to rest on quiet areas of short grass, such as playing fields, or areas of water such as East Park Lake and the Bransholme Sewage Works. The flocks of several dozen that hung around the Waste Disposal Plant at the north end of Mount Pleasant are a thing of the past, however, since waste handling methods changed in the mid 1990s.
Kittiwake (Black-legged Kittiwake) Rissa tridactyla
The Kittiwake, a proper 'sea gull' that comes to land only to breed, is frequently recorded in the Humber estuary and this is no doubt a product of the enormous colonies just up the coast at Flamborough and Bempton. Most occur off Hull during spring and autumn passage but the occasional bird or two can turn up at any time of year. The Kittiwakes that enter the Humber estuary and penetrate as far as the Hull area are rather unobtrusive, however, and do not usually stray inland at all. To see them requires a dedicated river watch as the paltry three records from the 1960s, when nobody really looked at the birds moving on the Humber, clearly indicates. Regular watching off Saltend, Paull and the eastern docks in the 1980s revealed the true status of Kittiwakes in the upper Humber. One or two were frequent on the Humber or around the docks from January to April, with an increase from May to June before a midsummer lull and then another increase in numbers and frequency from September to November as autumn passage was played out. The highest count in 1985-6 was 95 passing west on 7th June 1986, with most spring and autumn day counts being less than 10, though 20 were moving downstream off Paull on 17th May 1986 and a total of 30 passed by on 27th March 1987. A total of 50 in two flocks flew west under the Humber Bridge on 26th March 1991 and 8 were west of Hessle on 13th September 1993. Lack of regular coverage in recent years has resulted in a corresponding lack of sightings, with four off Saltend on 19th March and two first-summers at the mouth of the Holderness Drain on 6th June being the only records in 1998. A lone bird was at St Andrew's Quay on Christmas Eve 2000 when most of its brethren were far out to sea, only going to show that a look out over the Humber from any vantage point is worthwhile at any time of year.
An adult Kittiwake was seen at North Bransholme, four miles from the Humber, on 11th March 1988, while on 7th February 1989 I found a freshly dead adult Kittiwake in a field of winter wheat opposite Dalkeith Close on North Bransholme. Although it had been picked at a little it appeared in good condition and was probably killed by a fox or stoat as it rested after being blown inland by strong winds. Another live adult bird was inland in 1999, this time at the Bransholme Sewage Works on 18th March.
Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis
Sandwich Terns are regular passage migrants along the Humber and are quite frequent and numerous in some years. The only counts come from the mid 1980s off Saltend when up to five birds were seen on many days from mid May to late June, with fewer in July, before autumn passage brought up to 55 per day in September. Most birds had left by mid September but there was a late one on 29th October 1985. Inland Sandwich Terns are virtually unheard of around Hull, but M. Flowers tells me that their raucous call is very occasionally heard over Hedon Road.
Common Tern Sterna hirundo
Common Terns are primarily passage migrants on the Humber off Hull and large numbers are sometimes seen from the waterfronts. Boylan gave five passage records in the 1960s but, as was often the case, provided no details as to numbers or dates. It was not until the 1980s that any detailed counts were made, these being from around Saltend and the eastern waterfront. Most sightings were between mid April and mid September, with the latest one on 6th October. Spring passage was much lighter than in autumn and generally produced a maximum of five birds on any one day in April and May. Sightings were less frequent in summer as the birds were away breeding on inland lakes and coastal marshes, but birds were regular in autumn from early August. Usual counts involved less than 20 birds at this time, although up to 150 were logged on some days.
Reports have been few and far between in recent years, largely due to a lack of recording and reporting along the Humber, but counts of up nine at Saltend in autumn 1998 show that Common Terns are still present for those willing to look for them.
Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea
Arctic Terns are doubtless regular passage migrants on the Humber but occur in far fewer numbers than the very similar Common Tern. Counts off Saltend in the mid 1980s revealed up to 10 per day passing offshore between mid April and late May, with S. L. James watching 82 birds "tumble from the sky" on 12th May 1985 before flying off downstream. Autumn passage lasted from August to mid September and involved up to 25 birds per day. The only recent report is of two birds flying upstream at Saltend on 2nd July 1998, but regular observation anywhere along the Humber shore during passage periods would probably produce small numbers of Arctic Terns sooner or later.
Little Tern Sterna albifrons
Little Terns breed sparingly around the British coast, including at the mouth of the Humber, but are scarce passage migrants away from the breeding sites and are very rare inland. Despite the small breeding colonies less than 30 miles away there are very few records of Little Terns in the Hull area, all of them on the Humber during May. Regular watching at Saltend in the mid 1980s produced a few records, these beginning with one fishing in Saltend Channel on 27th May 1985 and then another on 10th, 14th and 16th May 1986. One at North Ferriby, upstream of Hull, on 7th July 1990 must have passed the Hull area at some point while the most recent record came from Saltend again on 14th May 1996. Under-watching and under-recording are likely to be factors in this scarcity of records, but the main reason is that Little Terns are genuinely rare birds in our area.
Black Tern Chlidonias niger
Now an uncommon passage migrant over the Humber, the Black Tern may have once bred on the fens and marshes of the Hull area in the dim and distant past, although the only direct evidence of breeding in the Hull valley is a comment regarding the Driffield area in the early 19th Century or before (Nelson, 1907). Birds were still common about the River Hull up towards Beverley at the beginning of the 20th Century but the first solid record for the Hull area was of three birds "at Hull" on 7th May 1954. Boylan (1967) mentions two passage records for Hull in the 1960s and large numbers were seen out in the mid Humber off Hessle in August 1979, with 76 on 17th and 14 to 19 until 21st. Observation at Saltend in 1985 and 1986 produced two spring records, both singles, in mid May and late June and eight records of one to six birds between mid August and mid September. The most recent report to reach me was of three birds flying upstream off Hessle Foreshore on 13th September 1993, but many more must have passed by unrecorded.