Hayling Island, Hampshire: In March their ardour was dampened by the big freeze, but now courtship is in full swingLiving on the south coast, I find myself listening out for an unusual harbinger of spring - the courtship cries of amorous Mediterranean gulls. Though resident year-round, they are much less vocal than other gull species in winter, and it isn't until the beginning of the breeding season that I start noticing their distinctive mewing as they display over my garden.By mid-March there were reported to be 836 individuals in the roost at West Hayling local nature reserve, but when I visited their ardour had been dampened by plummeting temperatures, sleet and snow - the shelterless shingle bund walls abandoned by all but a dozen or so hardy individuals. Continue reading...
Country diary: as temperatures rise, Mediterranean gulls are all loved-up
20. dubna 2018 7:01
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Zdroj: The Guardian