Sturmmöwe Schleswig-Holstein

Although the common gull (Larus canus) is formally listed as a huntable species under German federal hunting law, the federal and state hunting season regulations protect the species year-round. For hunters in the DACH region, the species is therefore primarily relevant for safe identification, particularly to avoid confusion with huntable waterfowl and to correctly assess its protected status.

Habitat on the coast and inland: The common gull occurs along both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea coasts as well as widely across the Central European inland. On the Baltic, it breeds mainly on offshore islands, peninsulas and spits. On the North Sea, it nests in dunes, on salt marshes and Halligen, and less frequently on flushed flats. Inland, it has adapted as a cultural follower, using gravel pits, former lignite mining areas, fish ponds and dredged lakes. The species is highly adaptable and can also be encountered along rivers, on lakes, in moors and around harbours. The diet includes small fish, insects, worms and snails as well as plant matter and refuse; on farmland, larger flocks frequently follow the plough.

Breeding colonies: Common gulls are colonial breeders. Typical colonies contain up to about 50 pairs, but along favourable coastal sites colonies of several thousand pairs may form. The nest is built on the ground, often on a slightly raised spot, and occasionally on rock ledges or in trees. The species prefers undisturbed islands, for example in worked-out gravel pits and subsidence lakes.

Distinction from the herring gull and the black-headed gull: In flight, the common gull looks like a miniature herring gull. It is, however, clearly smaller and more slender, with a thinner yellow-green bill that lacks the typical red spot found on the herring gull. Its voice is much higher and shriller, almost piercing. Compared with the black-headed gull, the common gull is noticeably larger and longer-winged. Black-headed gulls show a dark hood in breeding plumage that is entirely absent in the common gull; in winter plumage their head is white with a dark ear spot. The legs and bill of the black-headed gull are reddish rather than the yellow-green of the common gull.

Protection status: The common gull is specially protected under the federal Nature Conservation Act. Although it is listed as huntable under the Federal Hunting Act, both federal and state hunting season regulations protect it year-round. Please note that the respective state law takes precedence over the federal regulation; in practice, no hunting take is permitted.