OUWENEEL G. & R.J. BUIJS (2015) Lesser Black-backed gull and Herring gulls feeding on glass. LIMOSA 88 (3): 128-130.

This short note describes how Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus and Herring Gulls Larus argentatus regularly feed at a glass-processing plant near their colonies. The factory is situated in the northern part of the Dutch Delta, in the southwest of the Netherlands, in an area where almost 5500 pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls were found breeding in 2013, divided over several island colonies (Fig. 1). The factory mainly processes used glass jars with leftover food. The gulls take glass fragments, with a preference for glass with remnants of peanut butter and pasta sauce. Some gulls damage their crop or tongue when they regurgitate pellets of glass fragments. However, these wounds seem to heal quickly and the birds are in good condition.

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