European Herring Gull

Larus argentatus

The European herring gull or simply herring gull is a large gull, up to 66 cm (26 in) long. It breeds throughout the northern and western coasts of Europe. Some European herring gulls, especially those resident in colder areas, migrate farther south in winter, but many are permanent residents, such as in Ireland, Britain, Iceland, or on the North Sea shores. They have a varied diet, including fish, crustaceans, as well as some plants, and are also scavengers, consuming carrion and food left by or stolen from humans. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 212,828 times across 85 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

See the European Herring Gull on the live map

Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 14°C (typically 5 to 20°C, from 34 areas). That range is wide, so temperature alone does not explain when it turns up.

Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in Europe ranged from 52°N in October to 66°N in June, about 1,600 km apart.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

Download every area as CSV

Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.