The Black-headed Gull population is declining in Norway. To shed more light on the species situation, it was chosen by the Norwegian Ornithological Society to be "Species of the year 2011". The mapping of breeding birds was discouraging, uncovering a radical decline during the last decades.
In my home county, Hordaland in western Norway, Black-headed Gulls are mainly visitors outside the breeding season. During my time as a birdwatcher in Bergen the species has rapidly become a scarce wintering bird. Today I was reading the last issue of the local bird magazine, where winter counts from Bergen in the mid seventies were presented. At that time 250-300 Black-headed Gulls wintered. As recent as 2008 about 70 birds wintered in the city. So far this winter we have an all time low, with just above 20 individuals around. Are Norwegian Black-headed Gulls coming to an end?
In my home county, Hordaland in western Norway, Black-headed Gulls are mainly visitors outside the breeding season. During my time as a birdwatcher in Bergen the species has rapidly become a scarce wintering bird. Today I was reading the last issue of the local bird magazine, where winter counts from Bergen in the mid seventies were presented. At that time 250-300 Black-headed Gulls wintered. As recent as 2008 about 70 birds wintered in the city. So far this winter we have an all time low, with just above 20 individuals around. Are Norwegian Black-headed Gulls coming to an end?
This slideshow is made out of pictures taken at the best spot for wintering Black-headed Gulls in Hordaland county, Store Lungegårdsvann in Bergen, in the blue hour 3 December 2012. Photographed with 1600-2000 iso with a 400 mm lens.
RSS Feed
