Another interesting morning at Chouet

The highlight of an interesting early session at Chouet landfill today was the sighting of a 2nd summer Great Black-backed Gull from Essex, England. Orange GC9.T was in the thick of the action and so very hard to photograph. In the end I got the bird but not the ring! This gull is one ringed by the North Thames Gull Group in Essex.

Quite a few of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls are now courting - even in the landfill, while new arrivals continue to trickle in.

LBBGs courting at Chouet Landfill 17 March 2010 - PKV

Gulls feeding at Chouet landfill - 17 March 2010 - PKV

Chouet Landfill Tipping Face - 17 March 2010 - PKV

GBBG Orange GC9.T Chouet landfill 17 March 2010 - PKV

Amongst the 16 Guernsey cr Lesser Black-backed Gulls seen today was White 3.T4 (ringed as an adult at Chouet landfill as an adult female on 04 June 2009, and seen on 17 September 2009 at Fonte da Telha Beach, Setubal, Portugal (Rob Voesten & Stef Waasdorp).

Other cr Great Black-backed Gulls seen today included Black 64E (Le Havre, France - Gilles Le Guillou) and Green E.33 (Chausey Islands, France- Seb Provost) - both already known in Guernsey (although the Chausey bird had not been seen for six months).

GBBG E.33 Chouet Landfil Beach - 17 March 2010 - PKV

Cool weather makes for a slow Spring in Guernsey!

It is hard to believe it is mid-March, as there have been very few migrant passerines recorded in Guernsey so far this spring - only a handful of adventurous Northern Wheatears. New Lesser Black-backed Gulls are arriving back daily - but only a trickle.

Chouet Landfill was shrouded in early morning mist today before the sun broke through. The partial albino Lesser Black-backed Gull, which I have seen on Lihou Island, was again at the landfill.

LBBG - with some albinoism - at Chouet landfill 16 March 2010 - PKV

Chouet landfill in early morning mist - 16 March 2010 - PKV

The highlight of a reasonable session at the landfill was the sighting of Lesser Black-backed Gull White 9.Z7.  Not only was this gull ringed in our garden (on 24 May 2009) as an adult male, but Catherine and I saw it almost 1,500km away at Quarteira, Algarve, Portugal in December 2009. This is the first of our LBBGs that I have personally seen in Iberia and then back here in Guernsey.

LBBG White 9.Z7 Quarteira, Portugal - September 2009 - Michael Davis

LBBG White 9.Z7 Quarteira, Portugal - December 2009 - Morten Helberg

LBBG White 9.Z7 Chouet landfill, Guernsey, 16 March 2010 - PKV

19 colour ringed LBBGs were observed - all from my project. Of these only White 7.T1 (unreported over the winter) was a new arrival back.

LBBG White 3.T7 Chouet landfill 16 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 5.Z0 Chouet landfill 16 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG Jersey E 5877 Chouet Landfill 16 March 2010 (ringed as a chick on 05/07/1994 in Sark) - PKV

Signs of Lesser Black-backed Gull passage again in Guernsey

After a cold week with mostly easterly or north-westerly winds today was bright and sunny in Guernsey with a very gentle breeze from the north. Numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Chouet picked up a little today - with c 320 birds present - which included 17 of my marked birds.

Interestingly two LBBGs, which had arrived back in Guernsey early this spring only to leave the island again shortly afterwards, were seen again at Chouet landfill. White 1.T4 (an adult ringed in May 2009 in our garden) had been reported in the autumn of 2009 in Costa da Caparica, Portugal, and I recorded it back at Chouet, Guernsey on 02 March. However from 08-11 March it was recorded at Gloucester and Bishop's Cleeve landfills, Glocs, England (John Sanders).

LBBG White 1.T4 Gloucester landfill 08 March 2010 - John Sanders

LBBG White 1.T4 Chouet landfill, Guernsey 15 March 2010 - PKV

Similarly White 5.T0 (ringed at Chouet landfill as an adult on 04 June 2009) - was reported  four times from 26 August 2009 to 16 February 2010 at Champteusse-sur-Baconne, Maine-et-Loire, France (Alain Fossé).  From 23 February to 06 March I recorded this gull at Chouet landfill, then on 10 March it was back at Champteusse-sur-Baconne (Alain Fossé).

LBBG White 5.T0 back at Chouet landfill Beach 15 March 2010 - PKV

Also today at Chouet landfill Beach, Guernsey Lesser Black-backed Gull White 8.Z7 was seen for the first time this spring. Ringed as a breeding adult in one of the Sark colonies on 20 May 2009, this gull had been reported from Malaga, southern Spain five times from 04/09/09 to 30/11/09 (Miguel Moreno, Salva Garcia and Dave Murray).

LBBG White 8.Z7 Chouet landfill Beach 15 March 2010 - PKV

Other interesting news in over the past couple of days has been the sighting of LBBG Black 1.L4 at Talavera de la Reina Landfill, Toledo, Spain (Óscar Frías). Ringed as a chick on Burhou, Alderney on 10 July 2009, this well-travelled gull has been seen at Esmelle Beach, A Coruna, NW Spain on 03/09/09 (Paco Veiga), the Algarve, southern Portugal on 17/12/09 (Michael Davis) and Pinto Landfill, Madrid, Spain on 28/02/10 (Javier Marchamalo).

LBBG Black 1.L4 Talavera de la Reina, Toldeo, Spain 13/03/10 - Óscar Frías

LBBG Black 1.L4 Burhou, Alderney 10/07/09 - Catherine Veron

Migration Still Slow in Guernsey

Chouet was remarkably quiet this morning - with only c 250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and only 13 of my cr birds (all previously recorded back this spring). One of the three metal-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls read was new but it may well have arrived several days (or even weeks ago)...it is very hard to tell with metal ringed birds as I have to be at very close range to read the tiny inscriptions on the metal rings. The new bird had been ringed by me as a chick on one of the Sark colonies on 5th July 1994.

Exciting news in from NW Spain was the sighting yesterday (by Antonio Gutierrez) of Larus fuscus White 6.Z2 on Pantin Beach, Valdovino, A Coruna. This bird was ringed on 20 May 2009 as an adult female on the nest on one of the Sark colonies. It was then recorded earlier in the winter (26 November) at La Carihuelha Beach, Torremolinos, Malaga, Spain (Dave Murray).

LBBG White 6.Z2 Pantin Beach, A Coruna, Spain - Antonio Gutierrez

Lesser Black-backed Gulls Blue ACE and White 8.Z4 Return Today

Amongst the small number of arrivals of Lesser Black-backed Gulls in Guernsey in the past 24 hours has come Blue ACE - a bird ringed as an adult in November 2006 at Bishop's Cleeve landfill, Cheltenham, England by the Severn Estuary Gull Group.  It was recorded there again (or at nearby Gloucester Landfill ) in the Novembers of 2007 and 2008 (John Sanders). I then saw this bird seven times at Chouet, Guernsey between 14 February and 29 April 2009. It most probably nests in the Channel Islands and winters around the SW of England. In November and December 2009 John Sanders once again recorded Blue ACE at Bishop's Cleeve landfill.

Blue ACE Chouet landfill April 2009 - PKV

The only other new arrival seen today was White 8.Z4 which was ringed as an adult female on her nest on one of the Sark colonies in May 2009, and then recorded from 03/07/09 to 09/08/09 at Chouet, Guernsey. By 19/08/09 it was at Baldaio lagoon, Carballo, A Coruña, Spain (Xabi Varela).

Cold Easterly Winds Surpress Lesser Black-backed Gull Arrivals in Guernsey

Over the past few days we have had very strong and cold easterly winds in Guernsey. As a result there has been a noticeable slow down in arrivals of new Lesser Black-backed Gulls in Guernsey...although new birds are continuing to arrive on a daily basis.

Interestingly too four of the colour ringed birds have arrived back in Guernsey...only to leave again after a few days...one to Gloucester landfill, England and the others to landfill sites in NW France. Perhaps the cold weather is damping their enthusiasm for spring...although Lesser Black-backed Gulls can now be seen pairing and in courtship behaviour at Chouet landfill and on the beaches here.

Also of interest are reports from John Sanders that he has seen three of the foreign cr Lesser Black-backed Gulls recorded at Chouet landfill this spring only a couple of days later at Gloucester landfill, England. These were Red D.M and White B:B (both birds from Peter Rock's) project and also Y528 (from Iceland). Sightings such as this really reveal the benefits of colour ringing!

Gulls at Chouet Beach 10 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 0.U8 Chouet landfill 09 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 1.T0 Chouet landfill Beach 10 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 5.Z0 at Chouet landfill 09 March 2010 (back from Spain)

LBBG White 2.T6 Chouet landfill 09 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 7S6 Chouet lanldfill 09 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 7.Z4 Chouet Landfill Beach 10 March 2010 - PKV

Herring Gull White 2.FF9 (with partner?) Chouet landfill 09 March 2010 - PKV

Weekend trip to Alderney

For Catherine's birthday we flew up to Alderney for the weekend...to enjoy some of the peace and tranquility of this most northern of the Channel Islands. On our walks we visited the Giffoine to overlook Les Etacs gannetry and Burhou (the largest colony of Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the CIs) - at 750-1,000 pairs).

Les Etacs Gannetry, Alderney - 06 March 2010 - PKV

Gannets through the telescope - 06 March 10 - PKV

Burhou, Alderney - 08 March 10 - PKV

It was really good to see 700+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls back on Burhou. However...all could only be viewed at a huge distance by telescope. The only LBBG recorded with a colour ring was White 0.V9 - seen on Crabby Bay, Alderney on 06 March 2010. This gull was ringed as a nesting adult on Burhou on 13 June 2009.

LBBG White 0.V9 Burhou 13 June 2009 - PKV

Crabby Bay, Alderney - 08 March 10 - PKV

Six Mediterranean Gulls were recorded at Crabby Bay - but none was ringed. Four Guernsey cr Herring Gulls were recorded along with one of Seb Provost's Great Black-backed Gulls from the Chausey Islands, Manche, France.

Mediterranean Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, Crabby Bay, Alderney 08 March 10

Snowy Owl Returns to Lihou - Bad News for the Gulls!

Over the past two days Catherine and I have crossed over to Lihou Island at low tide to begin to look for the nesting sites of our colour-ringed gulls. It was not easy with yesterday's strong easterly winds and today's heat haze. Nevertheless we did make good progress finding six cr Herring Gulls and one cr Lesser Black-backed Gull (White 2.U7). We hope to keep track of these over the coming summer.

Lihou Island (from Guernsey) 05 March 2010 - PKV

Lissroy (gull nesting site), Lihou 05 March 2010 - PKV

Hanois Lighthouse from Lihou - 05 March 2010 - PKV

We were very surprised yesterday to see the gulls scatter...with the culprit landing on a rock only 30 metres in front of us. It was a Snowy Owl - presumably the same bird which wintered on the island in 2008/09. This bird remained well into June feasting on gull chicks. Fledging success for gulls on Lihou in the summer of 2009 was very poor - due in no small measure to the presence of the predatory Snowy Owl!

The surprise of today's visit was the sighting of a partial albino Lesser Black-backed Gull. I have seen this bird feeding at Chouet landfill over the past two mornings, but only managed to photograph it on Lihou this afternoon.

Partial albino Lesser Black-backed Gull - Lihou island 05 March 2010 - PKV

Meanwhile...Chouet landfill has been very productive over the past three mornings...with the return of yet more of our Guernsey cr Lesser Black-backed Gulls. So far this spring I have now tracked back 67 of our marked gulls. Several had been reported over the autumn/winter in Iberia and France.

Tipping Face Chouet landfill 05 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 2.U0 Chouet Landfill 04 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 2.U3 Chouet Landfill 04 March 10 - PKV

LBBG White 3.U0 Chouet landfill 04 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 3.U0 when ringed at Chouet landfill June 2009 - PKV

LBBG White 7S5 Chouet landfill 05 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG White 7S6 Chouet landfill 04 March 2010 - PKV

It has also been a good few days for recording some passage birds with two cr Lesser Black-backed Gulls from Peter Rock's project based in SW England - Red D.M and White B:B.

LBBG White (green code) B:B - Chouet landfill 04 March 2010 - PKV

LBBG Red D.M Chouet Landfill 04 March 2010 - PKV

I was also very pleased to see back in Guernsey Lesser Black-backed Gull Blue CHN (originally ringed in the winter at Gloucester landfill, England) (Severn Estuary Gull Group). This gull summered in Guernsey in 2009 - and is almost certainly a Channel Island nesting gull.

LBBG Blue CHN - Chouet landfill 04 March 2010 - PKV

Unusually I was also able to read several metal only ringed birds in the landfill - all Lesser Black-backed Gulls - three British, one Belgian and several Channel island-ringed birds including one of mine ringed as a chick in Sark in 1992.

Peregrine Hunting Black-headed Gulls in Guernsey

A stop for a cup of coffee on Guernsey's north-east coast provided a spectacle in the form of a large female Peregrine hunting waders and Black-headed Gulls just offshore. The falcon was continuously mobbed by a flock of c 40 Herring Gulls, but this did not stop it from chasing waders over the rocky shore, or then an immature Black-headed Gull about 100m offshore. I was quite surprised to see the falcon attacking the gull over a rough sea only a couple of metres above the waves with Herring Gulls mobbing the falcon. If the Peregrine had been knocked or forced into the sea I imagine it would have drowned quickly.

The Black-headed Gull, although a 1st winter bird, survived the attack by settling on the sea...which must have taken some nerve with a super fast Peregrine right up your tail pipes! I have seen Eurasian Teal do the same in the UK when attacked by Peregrine...the worst thing the prey can do is take to the air...and then try to outfly such a supreme aerial preadtor!

Over the past two days quite a few more Lesser Black-backed Gulls have returned to Guernsey. Yesterday I had 27 cr birds at Chouet landfill (and its adjacent beach)...and today (in stronger winds where the birds settled far less) 18. Several of these had returned from wintering in Portugal and France...and today I saw an adult with a British metal ring - London 54638 - ringed on 06/11/1993 at Gloucester Landfill Gloucester, England by the Severn Estuary Gull Group.

LBBG White 0.T9 Chouet landfill Beach 02/03/10 - PKV

LBBG White 1.T2 Chouet landfill 02/03/10 - PKV

LBBG White 2.T8 Chouet landfill Beach 02/03/10 - PKV

LBBG White 3.T8 Chouet Landfill Beach 02/03/10 - PKV

GBBG Yellow 0J2 Chouet landfill Beach 02/03/10 - PKV