Barbara Król-Kogus, Michał Polakowski, Krzysztof Dudzik
Ornis Polonica 2015, 56: 88–98
https://doi.org/10.12657/ornis.2015.2.2
Abstract: The paper describes species composition and numbers of gulls foraging and roosting on the rubbish dump “Hryniewicze” near Białystok (north-eastern Poland) during spring migration. During 86 field visits a total of 83 752 individuals from eight gull species were recorded. The Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus was the most frequently recorded (97.1% of all observed birds). The percentage shares of the subdominant species, i.e. the Common Gull Larus canus and the Lesser Black-backed Gull L. fuscus, amounted to 2.2% and 0.5%, respectively. The Herring Gull L. argentatus, the Mediterranean Gull L. melanocephalus, the Caspian Gull L. cachinnans, the Yellow-legged Gull L. michahellis were observed occasionally, while only single Great Black-backed Gull L. marinus and a hybrid Black-headed × Mediterranean Gull were recorded. The results indicate the selection of a migration corridor through northeastern Poland by the Black-headed Gull and to a lesser extent by both the Common and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The importance of this flyway during spring migration for other gull species was marginal.
Keywords: gull community, Laridae, northeast Poland, rubbish dump, spring migration
