Regular passage migrant, generally in small numbers, and occasional winter visitor

Little Gulls are regular visitors to the region, though numbers have been somewhat variable with peaks during the late 1980s, mid-1990s and early 2000s. An especially strong spring passage was evident during April 2005.

The annual distribution of records between 1986 and 2005 is displayed in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Annual distribution of Little Gulls in the West Midlands region, 1986 - 2005.

This period produced a grand total of over 1700 birds, while annual numbers have varied between 34 in 1992 and 200 in 2005. The latter year was also the peak year for adults (164), whereas 1989 was the peak for first-years (75).

There have been records in all months of the year but with clear peaks in the passage periods of April (May) and September. The monthly distribution of records is displayed in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Monthly distribution of Little Gulls in the West Midland Region, 1986 - 2005.

The peak for adults is conspicuously during April whereas first-years are more evenly distributed between spring and autumn, with a peak during September. Second-years are relatively scarce (though some are perhaps overlooked as adults) but, as with adults, April is the most productive month.

The spring passage now peaks somewhat earlier compared with the situation evident prior to 1978. The analysis presented in The Birds of the West Midlands (Harrison, Dean, Richards & Smallshire, 1980) revealed a peak during May for all age categories combined; however, even at that time adults peaked a little earlier, during April.

Most records involve just one or two individuals, with flocks up to half-a-dozen quite regular. Occasionally larger flocks occur. The largest flocks recorded have been as follows (8 of the 9 largest flocks occurring in Warks, and six at Draycote):

72 ('nearly all adults'), Draycote Water, Warks, April 25th 2005.

39  (36 adults, 2 second-year and 1 first-year), Coton, Warks, April 22nd 1987.

26  (4 adults and 22 first-years), Draycote Water, Warks, September 12th 1993.

21 ('nearly all adults'), Draycote Water, Warks, April 22nd 2005.

20  (adults), Draycote Water, Warks, April 28th 1995.

20  (19 adults and 1 first-year), Coton, Warks, April 28th 1995.

16  (15 adults and 1 first-year), Draycote Water, Warks, April 29th 1995.

16  (un-aged), Draycote Water, Warks, April 29th 1999.

15  (adults), Westport Lake, Staffs, November 30th 1995.