Lesser Black-backed Gull

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Lesser Black-backed Gull, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Amber listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WBD(II*)

The population of Lesser black-backed Gulls increased considerably between the 1969–70 Census and Seabird 2000 (1998–2002) with the number of coastal nesting pairs almost doubling (JNCC 2022). The full extent of this increase is unclear as inland nesting birds were not counted consistently prior to Seabird 2000, but Atlas data show that significant range increases in inland areas have occurred, suggesting that population increases have also occurred across inland colonies which are usually on rooftops. However, annual monitoring shows that substantial declines have occurred at coastal colonies since Seabird 2000 and, although increases appear to have continued at inland colonies, it is unclear how far these go towards compensating for the declines in coastal areas. The results from the Seabirds Count (2015–2021) are expected to help clarify the recent trend, although they are likely to remain subject to some uncertainty due to the difficulty in accurately counting gulls nesting on rooftops.

UK breeding population

No population change in UK (1995–2022)

As a breeding species, Lesser Black-backed Gulls are mostly coastal but an increasing tendency to nest on rooftops is allowing them to spread inland. In winter they can be found around the coast of Britain and Ireland, in the southeast interior of Ireland and throughout the lowlands of Britain.

• 

• 

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

No. occupied in breeding season	1016
% occupied in breeding season	34
No. occupied in winter	1894
% occupied in winter	63

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

Most frequent in

Estuaries, Open Shore

Relative frequency by habitat

Relative occurrence in different habitat types during the breeding season.

Since the 1980s there has been a major winter range expansion and population increase, with gains particularly notable in Ireland, where there has been a 55% expansion in range, and in Wales, southwest England and East Anglia as well as in Scotland.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls are recorded throughout the year, though more often in the breeding season.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	34 years 10 months 27 days (set in 2000)
Typical Lifespan	15 years with breeding typically at 4 year
Adult Survival	0.913±0.012   (Male: 0.918±0.016 Female: 0.907±0.018)

Wing Length	Adults	410.9±16.2 | Range 384–438mm, N=149
	Juveniles	408.9±21.3 | Range 365-440mm, N=48

Body Weight	Adults	831±103.8 | Range 686–999g, N=100
	Juveniles	785±118.2 | Range 630–1000g, N=54

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	G
Field Codes	2-letter: LB | 5-letter code: LBBGU | Euring: 5910

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

The main drivers of the population changes were reviewed by Ross-Smith et al. (2014). They suggest that the growth population growth in the second half of the twentieth century was caused by several factors including better legal protection and their ability to adapt to new feeding opportunties (fisheries discards and anthropogenic sources of food) and to make use of urban sites which are largely predator free. Recent declines particularly at rural and coastal colonies are associated with reduced breeding success resulting from reduced feeding opportunties due to closure of landfill sites and a reduction in fisheries discards.