The first BTO Winter Gull survey in twenty year looking for volunteers

The British Trust of Ornithology (BTO) is organising, for the first time in 20 years, a winter gull survey around the UK. They are actively looking for volunteers in County Derry.
The aim of the survey is to understand and conserve gulls with a decreasing breeding population throughout the UK.
In winter, gulls roost together in loughs, reservoirs and estuaries in small or larger groups from hundreds to thousands of individuals.
“There are areas where overwintering gulls spend their time and evenings, they do this kind of roosting behaviour when it starts getting dark where they aggregate together on water bodies,” said Emma Caulfield, BTO WinGS Survey Organiser.
“So it's a great opportunity for monitoring because they're all together in one place.”
There are around 23 sites waiting for volunteers solely in County Derry such as coastal areas in Castlerock or Lough Foyle or even a few inland zones not far from Coleraine or Bovevagh.
Understanding where the birds roost during winter and how many they are is key in this conservation project.
First started in 1953, the survey runs every ten years. However, due to a lack of funding the last survey was 20 years ago in 2003.
“It wasn't that the goals were less important over the 20 years, but I believe that it was just funding into other projects at the time.
“But I think, especially with the birds coming out at the moment and highlighting the very dramatic decrease in goals in some areas. It's a very important time to be relaunching the survey.
“This is particularly important given that gulls have been impacted by the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), and we are still seeking to understand the full implications of this.”
The project’s goal is to provide information on the numbers and distributions of wintering gulls.
Many gulls have a conservation concern list and others are even on the Birds of Conservation Concern Red or Amber List.
"Many of our gull species are experiencing significant declines in their breeding populations, hence their conservation status, and we urgently need to improve our understanding of where and in what numbers they winter,” said Dawn Balmer, BTO Head of Surveys.

The survey will run this winter but also in the winter of 2024-2025.
“We're hoping to get around 50% this year and then 50% of the sites next year. So we'll have those two years to cover those sites and hopefully get a good estimate of our gull population.”
Six key species are of interest for the BTO: Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Mediterranean Gull and Great Black-backed Gull.
“Essentially, what we'd be looking for is thresholds where if the count of the species exceeds one percent of the national population, we can say this is a very important site for them for the winter and we can recommend that maybe there'll be some kind of protective measures put on this area,” said Emma.
“But that's kind of up to the authorities to decide.”
People interested in taking part in the survey will need to count large numbers of birds accurately and know how to identify the six most abundant gull species in the UK listed above.
As birds change their plumage after the breeding season, recognising gulls during winter can be challenging. However, with a bit of practice it is not an impossible task.
“I would encourage anyone who's interested to get involved and not be scared,” said Emma.
“We recommend that volunteers arrive at their site about two hours before dusk. And then count the gulls up until dusk when the sun starts setting when the survey finishes.”
The survey date is set on Sunday, January 21 however, BTO is flexible.
“We're giving people a week before and a week after that date to complete their count,” said Emma.
For people interested in participating a birding scope is not necessary and binoculars are enough to identify the birds.
“A scope would definitely help them but I wouldn't. I wouldn't want anyone to feel like they can't get involved if they don't have that kind of equipment.”