Black-headed gulls are increasingly common in urban settings year-round. Their welfare in cities depends on clean water, food access, and reduced persecution.
Urban black-headed gulls face welfare trade-offs: abundant food from human waste provides energy but contributes to nutritional imbalance and increased disease exposure. Urban colony nesting on rooftops provides predator-free nest sites but increases human-wildlife conflict and leads to control actions. Reducing food waste available to gulls while protecting nest sites on nature reserves maintains viable welfare. Lead exposure from urban soil and water contamination warrants monitoring in city gull populations.