Identification of Adult Gulls in Finnmark

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Identification of adult B R .

Information sheet for the project «Bird tourism in central and eastern Finnmark», a project part of «The natural heritage as a value creator (M)»

dentification of gulls in the field can be both difficult and challenging. I The reason for this is that many of the species resemble each other, and each species occurs in different plumages depending on age and time of year. Many observers are satisfied to differentiate between “small gulls” and “big gulls”. With the aid of this fact sheet you can however learn to identify adult birds of the different gull species. number of different gull species can occur in legs. The smallest species usually take a little more than A Finnmark. Some of these are common breeding a year to gain adult plumage, while the larger species birds, while others are only rare visitors. A total of can take up to 3-4 years. about 55 gull species have been described in the world, In order to facilitate identification of the gull and of these 21 have been recorded in Norway. species that occur in Finnmark, we have divided the The difficulty of identifying birds in the field is gulls into groups based on head colour, colour of the often to know what to look for. Adult gulls are upper-wing, and the wing tip. usually relatively easy to identify, as each species has Note that there can be a good deal of individual a characteristic combination of size and colour of bill, variation. Not all birds fit into this main pattern; this legs, upper-wing and wing tips. Young birds are more applies particularly to the colour of bill and feet. Note difficult. They have often spotted plumage in grey or also that females in general are smaller than males. brown. They also lack the adult’s colour of bill and Best of luck!

Adult Common Gulls in summer plumage

www.bioforsk.no/fugleturisme GullsMÅKER with MED MØRKTdark head HODE

Black-headedHettemåke Gull DvergmåkeLittle Gull Sabine’sSabinemåke Gull

GullsMÅKER with MED LYSTpale HODEhead and pale grey upper-wing OG LYSEGRÅ VINGEOVERSIDER

FiskemåkeCommon Gull Black-leggedKrykkje Kittiwake HerringGråmåke Gull

www.bioforsk.no/fugleturisme GullsMÅKER with MED LYSTpale HODEhead and DARK grey upper-side OG MØRKEGRÅ VINGEOVERSIDER

GreatSvartbak Black-backed LesserSildemåke Black-backed (fuscus) LesserSildemåke Black-backed (intermedius Gull) Gull Gull (fuscus) (intermedius)

GlaucousPolarmåke Gull IcelandGrønlandsmåke Gull

www.bioforsk.no/fugleturisme Black-headed Gull Little Gull

• Relatively small • A small gull • Dark red legs and bill • Slender, dark red bill • White underside and grey upper- • Small, round head wing • Black hood that stretches well • Chocolate-brown hood not down to the back of the neck extending down to the back of the • Short, red legs neck • Grey-black underside of the wings. • Scarce and sparse breeding bird in Lacks black on the wing tips. Finnmark. First found breeding in • Buoyant, tern-like flight. Rounded the 1960s. wing tips. • Nests rather inaccessibly on islets • An eastern species. Common or tussocks in fresh water, or on breeding bird from Finland islets along the coast. eastwards. • Often nests in small colonies that • Scarce visitor to Finnmark since loudly defend themselves against the 1970s nest predators. Other species • First found nesting in Pasvikdalen can gain advantage of nesting in in 1999. Flocks of up to 100 birds colonies of Black-headed Gulls recorded. (e.g. ducks and Little Gulls). • Nests in damp sites by fresh water. • Migrates south to Denmark, Great Often builds the nest on islets or Britain and Continental Europe in floating tussocks in vegetation-rich winter. peat bogs. Often in Black-headed Gull colonies. • A migrant that arrives in mid-May and leaves us during the summer. Winters off western Europe and in the Mediterranean. • Feeds almost entirely on insects during the breeding season.

www.bioforsk.no/fugleturisme Sabine’s Gull Common Gull

• A small gull with black bill and • A medium-sized gull. White yellow bill tip underside and pale grey upper- • Slate grey hood that stretches some wing. way down to the back of the neck • Slender, greenish-yellow bill and legs • Dark legs • Resembles a small and slim • Slightly forked, white tail. Herring Gull • An arctic breeding bird. Only a few • Evenly distributed over the whole pairs nest in Svalbard. of Finnmark. A characteristic bird • Remains mainly on the open sea along the coast. outside the breeding season • The commonest gull inland and in • Winters in the South Atlantic the mountains • A very scarce visitor along the coast • Breeds as single pairs or in small of Finnmark in summer (adult colonies on skerries and islands birds) and autumn (young birds) along the coast or on dry peat bogs, • Seen then often with Kittiwakes exceptionally in trees or on roofs etc. • Feeds mainly on small fish and • Eats many small rodents, and various small organisms including breeding success inland improves in insects. Can also take offal and years with large numbers of small birds’ eggs. rodents. • Migrant that arrives in mid-April and leaves Finnmark in August- September. Winters along the North Sea coast south to Portugal. • Some Common Gulls remain in winter, for example in the Kirkenes area. • Often forages near habitation. Feeds mainly on fish, fish offal, household refuse, mussels, insects, birds’ eggs and young, worms and berries. • Often seen on newly ploughed fields, often together with Black- headed Gulls.

www.bioforsk.no/fugleturisme Black-legged Kittiwake Herring Gull

• Size about that of Common Gull • A large gull. Resembles a large and • Grey upper-side, white underside powerful Common Gull. and entirely black wing tips. • Grey upper-side and white • Yellow bill and black legs underside • The most numerous species in • Powerful yellow bill and pink legs our bird cliffs. Large colonies on, (exceptionally yellow legs) for example, Hjelmsøy, Sværholt, • A common breeding bird along the Omgangsstauran, Syltefjord and coast, sometimes in large colonies Store Ekkerøy. of up to 5000 pairs. • In some places the Kittiwake nests • Less common inland, but seen on buildings, but never far from regularly e.g. in Pasvik the sea. • Most Herring Gulls migrate south • 65% of the Norwegian Kittiwake along the coast. Those that stay the population breeds in Finnmark winter in Finnmark mainly come • Winters on the open sea in the from further east, e.g. the Murman North Atlantic coast. • Return to the colony where they • Can make long foraging flights were born when they are 2-3 years to find food. Seen then in the old. Begin breeding when they are morning flying in V-formations 4-5 years that can remind one of goose • Feed almost entirely on plankton migration in winter • Almost omnivorous. Takes fish • In the breeding season catch small offal, fish, birds’ eggs and young, fish and various small organisms in carrion, mussels etc. Often visit the sea. Follow fishing boats to try rubbish heaps. to get fish offal.

www.bioforsk.no/fugleturisme Great Black-backed Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull

• Our largest gull • A rather large gull • Breeds commonly along the coast; • Grey-black upper-side and white usually single pairs, but also in underside large colonies. • Yellow bill and yellow legs • Scarce inland, but breeds, for • The two commonest subspecies are example, in Øvre Pasvik. intermedius: black wing-tips and • Prefers to have a view, and usually slate grey upper-wing; fuscus: black nests on higher ground than the wing-tips and black upper-wing. Herring Gull. • Breeds sparsely in small colonies in • Most of our Great Black-backed western Finnmark and Porsanger Gulls are migrants that arrive in (fuscus). March-April and move south from • The population in Finnmark has September decreased greatly in recent years • Winters largely in England and • Typical migrant that migrates France south-eastwards and winters by the • Omnivorous. Can eat, for example, Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, also flatfish, young birds and fully off East Africa. grown ducks. • Intermedius winters off the coast of western Europe • Arrives at Finnmark in medio May, and migrates southwards from July to October. • The Lesser Black-backed Gull is the most marine of our gull species. Often follows boats to feed on fish offal. • Often seen on newly ploughed fields in coastal areas in spring • Feeds mainly on fish and fish offal. Often seen in large flocks when foraging.

www.bioforsk.no/fugleturisme Glaucous Gull Iceland Gull

• Large, powerful gull, the size of a • Slightly smaller than Herring Gull Great Black-backed Gull. with long, slender wings. • White underside, grey upper-side • White underside, grey upper-side and entirely white wing tips and entirely white wing tips. • Angular head shape, powerful • The wing tips extend far beyond yellow bill and long pink legs. the tail • The wings usually extend a little • Rounded head shape (as Common beyond the tail Gull). Comparatively small, yellow • Nests on Svalbard, Greenland and bill. Iceland. Often on bird cliffs and on • Nests on Greenland islands with many seabirds. • Seen annually along the Norwegian • A rather common visitor along coast, especially in Troms and the coast of northern Norway in Finnmark. winter. Scarcer in summer. • Most Iceland Gulls seen in Norway • Largest numbers are seen in Kiberg are juveniles and Vadsø • Most observations are made in • Resembles Great Black-backed Gull autumn and winter in habits. Steals eggs and young • Often seen singly, together with from other seabirds. Can also steal Glaucous and other gulls. food from eiders. • Feeds mainly on fish and fish offal • Also takes carrion, fish and fish offal

This fact sheet is prepared by Morten Günther