Caspian Gulls in Dartford,
17th December 2006 to 17th February 2007
Author: Andrew Lawson
During the winter of 2006/07, a combination of events lead to an influx of Caspian Gulls to Dartford. These events were:
- The partial draining of Littlebrook Pool to remove rubbish, cars etc prior to the implementation of work on the 'Bridge' Development. The exposed mud, sand and rocky islands attracted many small and large gulls.
- The increased use of a recycling centre in Crayford for separating household waste into recycling or landfill.
- A modest arrival of gulls from other parts of Europe.
At least 12 Caspian Gulls were noted and photographed between the dates of 16th December 2006 and 17th February 2007 and a link to each bird can be viewed below.
Discussion of other races/species of gull is included in some of the individual accounts in the links, below. The identification of some/all of these types is still difficult and poorly known and therefore errors are likely in these accounts. As such, all views expressed are my own unless stated.
Finally I should also add that at the time of these sightings I was a relative 'gull novice' and whilst my knowledge has improved since then, it is also fair to say that I still find gull identification difficult.
