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An adult Audouin's gull standing in a protected Mediterranean wetland colony
Reviewed September 2026
Bird Watching

Audouin's gull in Spain: recovery, reversal and careful watching

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Audouin's gull, Ichthyaetus audouinii, is a Mediterranean species with a dark red bill, pale grey back and clean white head as an adult. Its story is not a simple comeback. Spanish colonies grew strongly after protection, then several major sites declined or shifted as food supply, predators and habitat changed.

Identification needs more than a red bill

Adults are slimmer and longer-winged than familiar yellow-legged gulls. The bill has a black band and pale tip, while the legs are dark grey-green. Young birds are mottled brown and much harder to identify. Distance, age and light can defeat a quick photograph, so record structure and behaviour as well as colour.

Why colonies move

Audouin's gulls nest on islands, saltworks and other open ground. A colony may respond to terrestrial predators, disturbance, vegetation and access to fishery discards or natural prey. One successful season does not establish a permanent trend, and an abandoned site does not mean the whole population has vanished.

Watch without adding pressure

  • Use public hides and marked paths in wetlands and saltworks.
  • Keep well away from nesting ground, alarm-calling adults and flightless young.
  • Do not feed gulls or leave fishing line and food waste.
  • Report a ring code only when it can be read without approaching the bird.

Turn a sighting into useful information

Note date, approximate location, number of birds, age if known and whether a colour ring was read. A sequence of clear photographs is more useful than an exact nest coordinate posted publicly. Submit records through an established biodiversity platform or ringing scheme so that experts can validate them and sensitive sites are protected.

Current conservation status should be taken from the latest official assessment, not from an old headline declaring the species saved. Population recovery and continuing vulnerability can both be true.

Sources and review

This guide was reviewed in September 2026 using Spain's environment ministry bird inventory and conservation material and the Generalitat Valenciana biodiversity data bank.