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GREAT
BLACK-BACKED GULLS NESTING
ON SLIPPER MILLPOND, EMSWORTH
Summary
of nesting - see below for full records
Year
2012
A pair of
Great Black-backed Gulls nested for the first time
ever in Emsworth, on the centre raft on Slipper
Millpond in 2012 producing two
youngsters.
Year
2013
They nested
again on the same raft in 2013 producing three
youngsters.
Year
2014
In December
2013 the Slipper Millpond Association decided to deter
the gulls from nesting again due to their predation of
other avian inhabitants on the pond, notably Coot. To
achieve this the three rafts were covered with wires,
but this did not put the birds off and they nested
again successfully in 2014 rearing one
youngster.
Year
2015
They were back
again in 2015 and nested successfully hatching three
chicks, but all three were drowned when they fell from
the raft. So, this year's nesting was
unsuccessful.
Year
2016
They were not deterred by this experience and the two
gulls returned again to the pond in the spring of
2016. They nested on the centre raft again and
produced three chicks of which two youngsters
survived. One mature juvenile was seen dead on the
raft in July, from unknown cause.
Year
2017
They were back again in 2017, but, very surprisingly,
were ousted from their usual central nesting raft by a
pair of Canada Geese. They settled down on a smaller
raft and hatched three chicks of which two survived
and fledged by early July.
Year
2018
They are back
again on the south raft on 8th March where they nested
last year and successfully produced two youngsters. A
Canada Goose was back on the centre raft as last year.
Nest building during March. Both birds were on the
raft on Apr-11 with one bird sitting on nest. Three
chicks were hatched on or before May 16th. See Video .
. . https://youtu.be/dCZmAbgXJgE
Two chicks survived and were fledged in July.
They finally left the pond by July 17th.
YEAR
2019
The pair of
Great Black-backed Gulls was on the centre raft in
eaarly February making an early claim to their
preferred nesting site which for the past 2 years has
been occupied by Canada Geese. They were settling in
early March and on the nest in April. Two
chicks were raised and fledged in July.
YEAR
2020
9th-13th March
- Pair of Great Black-backed Gulls are back on the
pond with some nest building activity. No sign of the
Canada Geese.
02-Apr - Pair of Great Black-backed Gulls are nesting
on the south raft on Slipper Millpond with the Canada
Geese on the centre raft as in previous years.
14-May - The Great Black-backed Gulls nesting on the
south raft have hatched at least two chicks on the
south raft. There could be a third one in the nest
box.
NESTING
RECORDS for 2019 and 2020
Here are the nesting
records of the Great Black-backed Gulls with photos in
reverse chronological order.
For the years
2012 to 2018 go to . . . Early
years - 2012-2018
NESTING
RECORDS FOR 2020
.
. . in reverse chronological order . . .
THURSDAY MAY 14 - 2020
The Great
Black-backed Gulls nesting on the south raft have at
least two chicks on the raft. There could be a third
one hiding in the nest box, but I could only see two
clearly.
Thursday 2 April 2020
Pair of Great
Black-backed Gulls are nesting on the south raft on
Slipper Millpond with the Canada Geese on the centre
raft as in previous years.
Friday
13th March 2020
Great
Black-backed Gulls are now back on Slipper Millpond
for their 9th year of nesting on the rafts. When I
arrived at about 12 noon both gulls were on the south
raft where they have nested for the past 3 years.
Prior to that they nested on the larger centre raft,
but were ousted by a pair of Canada Geese which nested
there. So far, I have not seen the Canada Geese on the
pond, though there was a pair last week on Peter Pond
being pursued by the resident cob swan.
While I was present
what I assume was the female gull flew to the centre
raft to collect a beak full of twigs. She flew off
with them probably heading for the south raft to start
a nest.
Video clip of Great
Black-backed Gull collecting nest material . . .
https://youtu.be/xjKeCN9h7lc
Monday 9th March 2020
I was intrigued to see the pair of Great Black-backed
Gulls snoozing together on the centre raft on Slipper
Millpond. This will be the pair that has nested on the
pond for the last 8 years. For the past 3 years they
have been ousted from their preferred nesting site on
the centre raft by a pair of Canada Geese. It will be
interesting to see if this happens again this year.
NESTING
RECORDS FOR 2019
.
. . in reverse chronological order . . .
THURSDAY
4 July 2019
It was such a
beautiful evening so I popped down to Slipper Millpond
to check on the Great Black-backed Gulls. One
of the adult birds was keeping watch on the southern
raft where the pair nested.
The two youngsters
from this year's brood were snoozing on the larger
centre raft. They presumably flew the 50 yards or so
from the nesting raft which means they have now
fledged, though are probably not confident enough as
yet to venture far from the rafts.
TUESDAY
25 JUNE - 2019
Peter
Milinets-Raby had a wander around Emsworth and
Langstone Mill Pond this morning (9am to 11:30am) and
saw the growing Great Black-backed Gull juveniles. The
adult Great Black-backed Gulls did not mind Peter's
approach, but as soon as he set up his tripod they
were up in the air and half bombing him!
WEDNESDAY
19 JUNE - 2019
The two Great
Black-backed Gull chicks on the south raft are growing
well, though they are some way off being able to fly
freely. As I was standing on Slipper Road I was
'buzzed' briefly by the parent gull who then
positioned itself on one of the chimneys.
Saturday
1 June 2019
I had a quick
look at the Great Black-backed Gulls nesting on the
south raft on Slipper Millpond this afternoon. As can
be seen from the photo the two chicks are growing, but
there's still a lot of growing to be done before they
can contemplate leaving the safety of the raft. I
think it may be 4-6 weeks before the youngsters have
developed wings to enable short flights. One of the
parents is snoozing on top of the nest box.
MONDAY
20 MAY 2019
This morning
at 9am, Peter Milinets-Raby ventured down to Peter
Pond and Slipper Mill Pond to mainly grab some photos
of the Great Black-backed Gull chicks. Peter's report
follows with some great photos . . .
"Like you reported on
your blog the female bird did some half speculative
dives at me as I walked passed, before she alighted on
one of the nearby chimneys, where she kept a very
beady eye on me. The male then came out of nowhere and
again half-heartedly dive bombed me a couple of times
before he landed on the raft, where he really did give
me the eyeball. The chicks were nowhere to be
seen.
A huge Great
Black-backed Gull diving at you initially is quite a
scary sight, especially from a great height, however
about 15 metres away they pull out of their dives to
semi hover above your head, calling aggressively. This
standoff of the female on the chimney and the male on
the raft lasted 50 minutes before eventually the male
called the chicks out from their hiding place to feed
them.
See photos and a short video
at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma2WqLWQv50
Initially the male was
just sort of controlled vomiting/emitting some juice
of his stomach contents and delicately feeding it to
the two chicks.
Then after 10 minutes
he regurgitated a hefty chuck of fish/squid to the
floor of the raft, where the chicks pecked at it. He
helped tear off bits for them. Then after about
another ten minutes he swallowed the chunk of
fish/squid and flew off. A great 20 minutes of
birding!"
FRIDAY
MAY 16 - 2019
Great
Black-backed Gull chicks
The Great
Black-backed Gulls have hatched at least two chicks on
Slipper Millpond. I was alerted to their likely
presence as I walked slowly along Slipper Road by the
somewhat frenzied activity of a guarding parent who
flew squawking over my head several times as I
approached the nest area. I have been similarly
'buzzed' by these magnificent birds in the past, a
scary experience indeed! It flew around the pond and
perched high on one of the chimneys in Slipper Road. I
could not see the chicks very well on the raft, but
could clearly make out two, but no more.
WEDNESDAY
MAY 1 - 2019
Peter
Milinets-Raby found the Great Black-backed Gull on the
nest on Slipper Millpond keeping a keen eye on a the
family of Canada Geese with 5 newly hatched goslings
sailing past.
MONDAY
APRIL 15 - 2019
All was
peaceful over on Slipper Millpond where the Canada
Goose was on its nest on the large centre raft with
its mate standing on the north raft nearby and the
pair of Great Black-backed Gulls was on the south raft
with one sitting on a nest.
THURSDAY
APRIL 11 - 2019
All was peace
and quiet when I walked round Slipper Millpond this
morning. The Canada Goose was on its nest on
the large centre raft, though not all that easy to
see.I was a little surprised to see its mate standing
on the south raft, seemingly watching over one of
Great Black-backed Gulls which was sitting on a
nest at the other end of the raft.
The two gulls changed
over their nest sitting duties while I was there but
the Canada Goose remained unmoved. I continue to be
surprised at the dominance that the Canada Geese
appear to exert over the Great Black-backed Gulls.
]
MONDAY
APRIL 1 - 2019
Normal service
appears to have been resumed on Slipper Millpond.
The Canada
Goose is snug on its nest on the centre raft
and the Great
Black-backed Gulls have returned to the south
raft
where there is a good supply of nesting material.
SATURDAY MARCH 23 - 2019
I made my way
to Slipper Millpond where I found the pair of
Canada Geese on the centre raft as reported by Pat
Atkin yesterday with the Great Black-backed
Gulls relegated to the much smaller south raft. I
assume these two pair of birds will make their nest on
these two rafts as they have done for the past two
years, but there was no sign of any nest building as
yet.
Canada
Geese on the centre raft
Great
Black-backed Gulls on the south
raft
Friday
22 March 2019
Pat Atkin
reports that a pair of Canada Geese was back on
Slipper Millpond and that the Great Black-backed Gulls
have moved onto the south raft. This is not entirely
unexpected as Canada Geese have nested on the centre
raft on Slipper Millpond for the past two years,
displacing the Great Black-backed Gulls to the south
raft. Also Peter Milinets-Raby reported seeing a pair
of Canada Geese on the town millpond yesterday,
probably intending to move across town.
Tuesday
19 March 2019
From Nore Barn
I went over to Slipper Millpond to have a look at the
other star birds of Emsworth, the Great
Black-backed Gulls. These two magnificent birds,
which have been nesting on the pond for the past nine
years, were on the water while I was present keeping
well clear of the resident pair of Mute Swans
which usually nest on the adjacent Peter Pond. I know
there has been friction between these pairs of large
birds in the past, but they have always managed to
nest and bring up their youngsters without too much
bother. Interestingly, there has been no sign of the
pair of Canada Geese which for the past two
years has ousted the Gulls from their traditional
nesting site on the centre raft.
Here
are shots of the two Great Black-backed Gulls. Female
on left and male on right (I
think)
MONDAY
MARCH 4 - 2019
I had a stroll
down to Slipper Millpond this morning where I found
the regular pair of Great Black-backed Gulls
seemingly settled on the centre raft in
preparation for nesting on the pond for the 8th year
running. It will be interesting to see if the gulls
manage to remain on the centre raft for in the
previous two years they have been ousted by a pair of
Canada Geese which nested there, forcing the gulls to
nest on the smaller south raft.
From previous
experience I would expect the gulls to be nest
building towards the end of this month and sitting in
early April. They usually lay 3 eggs and, if all goes
well, we should see chicks in early May. Last year,
three gull chicks were hatched of which two survived
and fledged successfully.
This morning the gulls were accompanied on the centre
raft by a Cormorant, which is unlikely to be tolerated
once nesting begins in earnest.
FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 8 - 2019
Storm Eric
made walking quite a struggle this morning on the way
to the Hermitage Millponds. When I got to the ponds, I
had a job standing up, let alone keeping the camera
still. On Slipper Millpond, I managed to get a hazy
snap the pair of Great Black-backed Gulls, that I
first saw yesterday on the raft, riding out the storm
on the choppy waters of the pond. They are clearly
here to stay!
THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 7 - 2019
I had an
afternoon walk down to Slipper Millpond where I found
the pair of Great Black-backed Gulls on the centre
raft - making an early claim to their preferred
nesting site which for the past 2 years has been
occupied by Canada Geese.
This pair of Great Black-backed Gulls has nested on a
raft on Slipper Millpond every year since 2012 - so
this could be their 8th year. The Sussex Bird Report
for 2017 describes Great Black-backed Gulls as 'mostly
non-breeders, but very scarce breeder since 2000' Only
three pairs were confirmed to have bred in the county
in Year 2017. So, they clearly do not have the Slipper
Millpond records! This omission needs to be rectified
as Slipper Millpond is just over the border in West
Sussex. Note sent to John Newnham at SOS
Great
Black-backed Gulls return to their nesting raft on
Slipper Millpond - 7 Feb
2019
For earlier records go
to . . . Early
years - 2012-2018
