Urban gull surveys: methods and design

Our overall objective is to develop a firm plan for surveying urban nesting gulls in the UK and Ireland. We anticipate: • A review of existing methodologies, including an evaluation of their advantages and disadvantages, with a primary focus on established land- and air-based techniques, and a secondary focus on novel and potential methodologies; • A review of current knowledge on distribution of urban nesting gulls; • Proposals for the most cost-effective ways to perform a census of urban nesting gulls, informed by the methodological review, with consideration of the trade-off between cost and effort and the point of diminishing returns; • Firm recommendations for the design and im…