ALAN traps Silver Gulls?

["Stephen Ambrose" <>]

Hi Peter,

 

The Silver Gulls that swirl around floodlit areas of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, especially on summer nights, are definitely hawking large aerial insects.  Whether or not there are other issues there, I don’t know.

 

Stephen Ambrose

Ryde NSW

 

 

From: Birding-Aus <> On Behalf Of Peter Shute
Sent: 16 January 2019 8:12 AM
To: New birding-aus <>
Subject: [Birding-Aus] ALAN traps Silver Gulls?

 

In the December 2018 issue of Wingspan, there's an article about the dangers of ALAN (artificial light at night) to birds because it upsets their night navigation abilities (Fatal Attraction, John Peter, p53). It offers Silver Gulls as a local example:

"Silver Gulls provide the most conspicuous examples of ALAN-related discombulation in Australia, with their white forms obvious as they swirl above floodlit city landmarks or night matches at arenas."

 

I'd always believed the story that they're feeding on flying insects, not confused and lost. Is that story wrong?

 

Peter Shute

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR> 
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>