This impressive gull can be seen at coastal locations throughout the year, but it is less commonly encountered at inland sites.
Although Great Black-backed Gulls breed at coastal sites around much of our coast, they are absent from most of the North Sea coast. The highest breeding season densities are to be found around the Northern Isles, north-west Scotland and the Atlantic coast of south-west Ireland.
The pronounced pattern of winter abundance, which is greatest in the eastern half of Britain, underlines the arrival of wintering individuals from Scandinavia. Ringing data link these birds with populations in Norway and Sweden.
Select a topic for more facts and statistics about the Great Black-backed Gull
On paper Lesser and Great Black-backed Gulls are straightforward to separate but, in reality, many of us struggle - especially as the light conditions can alter their colour and size is not always apparent. Watch our video to tell these two species apart, as well as differentiate them from Herring Gull.
Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Great Black-backed Gull, provided by xeno-canto contributors.
Flight call
Alarm call
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Numbers of Great Black-backed Gull remained relatively stable between the 1969–70 Census and Seabird 2000 (1998–2002), with a very shallow decline of 11% (JNCC 2022). Since Seabird 2000, annual monitoring suggests that this shallow decline may have continued although this is uncertain due to wide confidence limits and the recent trend may be stable: the latest Census results (2015–2021) may help clarify the trend once they are available (JNCC 2022). The Great Black-backed Gull remains almost exclusively a coastal-breeding species, although a very small number of pairs have been recorded at inland colonies (Balmer et al. 2013).
Wintering Great Black-backed Gulls occur all around the coast of Britain & Ireland, as well as at inland, lowland sites in England and Scotland. Breeding birds have a predominantly coastal distribution around both Britain and Ireland, though they are largely absent from most of the North Sea coast between Lothian and Kent.
Britain and Ireland Breeding Distribution 2008-2011. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Britain and Ireland Winter Distribution 2008-2011. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
There has been a substantial 30% range contraction in Ireland since the 1968–72 Breeding Atlas, though much of this loss occurred between 1968–72 and 1988–91. A recent contraction is apparent in western Scotland but is outweighed by gains elsewhere in Britain, especially along the English south coast. Since the 1988–91 Breeding Atlas there has been a 7% increase in the number of 10-km squares occupied in Britain & Ireland.
Britain and Ireland Breeding Distribution Change 1968–72 to 2008–11. More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Britain and Ireland Winter Distribution Change 1981–84 to 2007–11 More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Change in occupied 10-km squares in the UK
% change in range in breeding season (1968–72 to 2008–11)
Great Black-backed Gulls are recorded throughout the year.
Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells) and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.
Movement
Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.
Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland
Encountered in:
Winter (Nov-Feb); Spring (Mar-Apr); Summer (May-Jul); Autumn (Aug-Oct)
Biology
Lifecycle and body size information about Great Black-backed Gull, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.
The Great Black-backed Gull has not suffered the substantial declines in populations that have recently affected several other UK seabirds including coastal breeding Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. It has been surmised that this species out-competes other species when scavenging for fishery discards and offal and therefore may continue to be able to benefit from these resources despite reductions in availability which have affected other species (Mitchell et al. 2004).
Links to more studies from ConservationEvidence.com
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