Yellow-legged Gull

The yellow-legged gull is a year-round species in Slovenia. It is common along the coast, but also occurs inland, but is not abundant anywhere in Slovenia. According to the OAS, it is a very rare breeder in Slovenia.

The Yellow-legged Gull is a year-round species in Slovenia. It is common along the coast, but also occurs inland, but is not abundant anywhere in Slovenia.

According to the OAS, it is a very rare breeder in Slovenia (Geister, 1995). The Sečovlje salt pans are its only major breeding site in Slovenia (Škornik, 2007), although it also breeds elsewhere along the sea coast and even inland, where it nests on the roofs of buildings.

It is the largest and most common gull species in the Sečovlje salt pans. The first nesting of the Yellow-legged Gull was confirmed in 1986, when 11 nesting pairs were found (Škornik, 1992). By 1991, the number of nesting pairs was increasing by almost one third per year (Škornik, 1992). Makovec, Škornik and Lipej (1998) point out that by that time the population of Yellow-legged Gulls had already exceeded the carrying capacity of the environment, and as a consequence, population pressure and intolerance increased. Cannibalism was occurring.

* In the Sečovlje salt pans, it is considered a qualifying species in unfavourable conservation status.