La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Sabine's Gulls in western France and southern Britain
Auteurs :	Norman Elkins, Auteur ; Pierre Yésou, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	British Birds (91(9) Sept., 1998)
Article en page(s) :	386-397
Résumé :	Meteorological factors determining the arrival of Sabine's Gulls Larus sabini in western France and southern Britain are described. The largest coastal and inland concentrations are associated with very deep depressions moving across or to the north of the Bay of Biscay and the western approaches of the English Channel, although flocks at sea and off coasts in western France are also recorded in settled weather. This pattern indicates a late-summer and autumn feeding area in Biscay much closer inshore than was formerly acknowledged. The majority appear to be adults. The increasing frequency of large concentrations in the last 20 years may reflect an increase in the number of competent observers and/or the gull population using the Bay of Biscay. Data also suggest that there has been an increasing incidence of deep depressions over the region, and hence of southwesterly or westerly gales. The presence of large numbers on the French coast may on some occasions, however, be linked to temporary oceanographic episodes, particularly the warming of waters which lead to planktonic blooms.

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