Herring Gull - 1894

Larus argentatus

A common resident.

The Herring Gull may be seen on our coasts all the year, and nests in great numbers upon the various islands, and also on many of the cliffs on the coasts. Since the Sea Birds' Preservation Act this Gull has greatly increased in numbers, and on Skomer Island devours so many of the young rabbits, as to occasion serious loss, as we were informed by Mr. Vaughan Davies, the tenant. One of the sights of St. David's is the number of Herring Gulls that may always be seen in the fields surrounding that romantic little cathedral city. In the spring our fields at Stone Hall were visited by flocks of Herring Gulls, and, at all times of the year, in rough weather, numbers of the birds forsaking the shores would be seen searching the fields for food far inland.

We have received from Mr. C. Jefferys, of Tenby, a very pretty photograph of a Herring Gull's nest, taken in situ, with the three speckled eggs clearly visible. The nest is a large, untidy structure of grass.

Mathew M.A. 1894, Birds of Pembrokeshire and it's Islands