Roost site selection by ring‐billed and herring gulls

Abstract

Gulls (Larus spp.) commonly roost in large numbers on inland and coastal waters, yet there is little information on how or where gulls choose sites for roosting. Roost site selection can lead to water quality degradation or aviation hazards when roosts are formed on water supply reservoirs or are close to airports. Harassment programs are frequently initiated to move or relocate roosting gulls but often have mixed results because gulls are reluctant to leave or keep returning. As such, knowledge of gull roost site selection and roosting ecology has applied and ecological importance. We used satellite telemetry and an information-theoretic approach to model seasonal roost selection of ring-billed (L. delawarensis) and herring gulls (L. argentatus) in Massachusetts, USA. Our results indicated that ring-billed gulls preferred freshwater roosts and will use a variety of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Herring gulls regularly roosted on fresh water but used salt water roosts more often than ring-billed gulls and also roosted on a variety of land habitats. Roost modeling showed that herring and ring-billed gulls selected inland fresh water roosts based on size of the water body and proximity to their last daytime location; they selected the largest roost closest to where they ended the day. Management strategies to reduce or eliminate roosting gulls could identify and try to eliminate other habitat variables (e.g., close-by foraging sites) that are attracting gulls before attempting to relocate or redistribute (e.g., through hazing programs) roosting birds. Ó 2016 The Wildlife Society.

Dynamic Space Use of Andalusian Rice Fields by Overwintering Lesser Black-Backed Gulls is Driven by Harvest-Related Flooding

“…Accelerometer data indicate that the gulls spend most of their overwintering time budget resting in water bodies inside and outside the rice eld complex, at similarly high proportions as gulls in the breeding season (Spelt et al, 2019). This aligns well with other observations that gulls prefer to sleep and rest in open water (Baker, 2009;Clark et al, 2016), although especially during the harvesting phase gulls also often rested on dikes in the rice eld complex.…”

Dynamic space use of Andalusian rice fields by Lesser Black‐backed Gulls (Larus fuscus) is driven by flooding pattern

“…Daily movements were low during that phase, as birds reduced commuting time by meeting all needs within the rice field complex (Fig. 4; Clark et al 2016). Mart ın-Vel ez et al…”

The influence of multiple industries on the behaviour of breeding gulls from four colonies across the eastern Gulf of Maine, Canada

“…Indeed, a study that conducted stable‐isotope analysis of blood samples from a sub‐sample of the Brier and Kent birds in the present study found that high trophic marine prey (Atlantic herring Clupea harengus , Atlantic mackerel Scomber scombrus ) and crabs ( Cancer borealis , Carcinus maenas ) sourced from known fish plants and wharfs were among the gulls' top prey categories (Shlepr et al 2021). The gregarious nature of gulls also attracts birds to spend time in the vicinity of locations like fish plants and wharfs where high concentrations of conspecifics occur, where they roost and preen communally rather than actively forage (Clark et al 2016). We cannot determine whether tracked breeding gulls were foraging or resting during visits, but it is clear that birds from each colony mainly visited the easily accessible fish plants and ports nearest to their breeding site, where both the potential availability of resources and social interactions incentivize birds to spend a great deal of their time when away from the colony.…”