Swiss-Ringed Yellow-legged Gull in Guernsey!

Last September I saw and photographed a 1st winter Yellow-legged Gull on L'Erée Beach, Guernsey. The gull carried a metal ring, and after almost two hours I managed to secure the complete code - M034174. However... I could not read the address for the scheme. It took us a little while, but after help from Paul Roper and Mark Grantham we finally traced the correct ringing scheme. The gull was ringed in May 2013 as a chick at Fanel Nature Reserve, Neuchatel, SWITZERLAND! This is our first gull movement involving this country, and is another indication of the origins of some of the Yellow-legged Gulls that are seen in Guernsey now each autumn.

 Yellow-legged Gull Sempach M034174 14 September 2013 L'Erée Beach, Guernsey (c) PKV

The Movement of Yellow-legged Gull Sempach M034174

More Fog...but also a German LBBG!

It's been very foggy for the past couple of days, hampering my efforts to record our returning cr LBBGs. I've still managed a decent number of ring reads in tricky conditions...including a German-ringed bird today(Yellow H14H).

LBBG Yellow H14H at Chouet Landfill Beach (c) PKV

Gulls in the Mist - Lots of Them!

With more and more Lesser Black-backed Gulls returning to the Island now from their winter travels, I'm spending a short time at Chouet most mornings to try to record lots of our colour ringed birds. 150 different cr LBBGs yesterday morning was my highest count so far this year. Earlier in the week I saw one of Peter Rock's LBBGs Red D:Y, ringed as a chick in Gloucester, England in June 2008. Yesterday a new GBBG (White L:AZ7) from Looe Island, Cornwall, England was recorded, along with long staying GBBG P:43A from Portland Harbour, Dorset, England.The cool misty weather of the last couple of days is clearly not holding back gull migration!
Today the fog is so thick I can barely see the beach!!

Gulls in the Mist on Chouet Landfill Beach (c) PKV

126 cr LBBGs Observed at Chouet Today

On what felt like a decidedly spring-like day, a very enjoyable two and a half hour watch today in Chouet landfill produced 126 observations of our locally colour-ringed LBBGs! Although not particularly easy viewing conditions at first, I eventually managed to get very close to many of these birds. It was fun to watch several of the large males bossing their small patches...clearly getting pumped up for another season.

Gulls at Chouet Landfill 08 March 2014 (c) PKV

GuernseyGulls 2013 Annual Report Published

With 2,600 new gulls colour ringed, and more than 17,650 reports of our colour ringed birds from a dozen or so countries, 2013 turned out to be a record-breaking year for GuernseyGulls. However…it wasn’t all plain sailing and champagne…you can see why in the 2013 GuernseyGulls Annual Report published on-line today at GuernseyGulls Annual Report 2013

PKV with LBBG Chicks, Burhou - July 2013 (c) Chris Bale

Two Norwegian GBBGs and another Two Yellow-legged GullS

In less than ideal conditions at Chouet landfill Beach this morning I recorded just under 100 cr Lesser Black-backed Gulls (all local birds having returned from wintering outside the Islands). Other highlights included two well-known immature Great Black-backed Gulls ringed in SW Norway, and adult and 3rd calendar year Yellow-legged Gulls.

 Chouet Landfill Beach - yes more rain and more wind!

 Returning cr LBBGs

Yellow-legged Gull (adult)

A Cheerful Story of an Old Gull

With so much depressing news of the seabird wreck in France, the Channel Islands and SW England, it was very nice last night to be able to make a Jerseyman's evening with news of an old colour-ringed Herring Gull, which has has known for many years. Andrew Syvret tells the story in his blog...with click on links to the bird's details:-

http://www.seajersey.com/blog/?p=367

Herring Gull Yellow 0A5 (re-ringed White 9HV5) ringed in 1998 in Jersey by the late Bob Burrow

Our First Black-headed Gull Report

Today was another exciting day for GuernseyGulls with a report from Lars Lindgren of Black-headed Gull Black 2A12 at Maglebaek so near Copenhagen, DENMARK. What makes this a remarkable record is the fact that we have only managed (so far) to colour ring two Black-headed Gulls in Guernsey. This bird was ringed during our regular week of cannon netting at Chouet landfill in May 2013. It is very likely to have been a non-breeding bird last summer, which has now been seen at its breeding colony in Denmark!

 Black-headed Gull Black 2A12 at Chouet landfill (c) Cristina Sellares

Little and Large! (c) Cristina Sellares

The Movement of Black-headed Gull Black 2A12

...and Another Yellow-legged Gull

The highlights of another very enjoyable couple of hours at Chouet landfill this morning were 68 cr LBBGs (including a new bird ringed in Gloucestershire, England - Blue CCE), and the third different Yellow-legged Gull in as many days. Today's bird was in 3rd calendar year+ plumage.

 Yellow-legged Gull - 3rd cy+

 Guernsey Colour-Ringed LBBGs

 LBBG Blue CCE from Gloucestershire, England

 GBBG Black 25L from Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France

Guernsey cr Herring Gull 0HX5