Leucistic Great Black-backed Gull

A leucistic Great Black-backed Gull was present at Chouet on Friday morning. Although I've seen a handful of Lesser Black-backed Gulls with varying degrees of leucism, this is the first GBBG I've seen with this condition.

Leucistic GBBG Chouet Landfill Beach - 18 March 2011 - PKV

Amongst the 400+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the beach were 54 of my colour ringed birds, including several more back from winterng in Iberia and France.

There was also evidence of further movement of Great Black-backed Gulls with two more of Gilles Le Guillou's colour ringed birds from Seine-Maritime, France - 57H Black (new) and 28E Black (seen previously in Guernsey).











LBBG Black 2.N9 Returns from Morocco!

Today is a very special day for me. What started as a slow post-dawn session at Chouet, turned into a "golden" day when, on Pembroke Beach, I saw Lesser Black-backed Gull Black 2.N9. This is the gull I have been waiting for more than any other this spring, because the last time I saw him was on 21 December 2010 at Anza, Agadir, MOROCCO - some 2,200 km south of Guernsey! It is hard to describe the sense of wonder I have of such birds. It is so easy to take birds' ability to migrate for granted...but when you follow the route south...and then north again...it really makes you appreciate the amazing spectacle of life on earth!

For today there is nothing else to write...I am a happy man!

LBBG Black 2.N9 Chouet July 2010 - before his migration to Africa - PKV

Anza, Agadir, Morocco - LBBG Black 2.N9 seen here on 20/21 December 2010 - PKV

LBBG Black 2.N9 Pembroke Beach - 17 March 2011 - After his return from Africa! - PKV

More Excitements at Chouet!

Mid way through March and I now have half of my colour ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls back in Guernsey. Interestingly in 2010 (on a smaller sample) 50% of the LBBGs were back by 10 March (almost one week earlier). Perhaps this is not a surprise, given the long run of cold easterly winds that we have had recently.

A very pleasant surprise yesterday was the re-appearance of Great Black-backed Gull Orange GC9.T. This gull was ringed at Pitsea landfill, Essex, England by the North Thames Gull Group on 9th January 2010. It was seen from 17 -27 March 2010 at Chouet, Guernsey before heading north to be seen at Brennevinsmyra, Mandal, Vest-Agder, NORWAY at the end of April. It is amazing that this GBBG has re-appeared in Guernsey at the same time of year for the past two years. There is obviously a small passage of GBBGs at the moment, with several French colour ringed birds from both Seb Provost’s project based in the Chausey Islands, Manche and Gilles Le Guillou’s based at Le Havre, Seine-Maritime. Some of these birds have been seen in Guernsey several months earlier, while others have been seen for the first time.

Two foreign-ringed Herring Gulls were also observed on 12 March at Chouet Beach. Blue JVC was a typical sighting, having been ringed in winter (January 2010) at the landfills in Gloucestershire by the Severn Estuary Gull Group. However, Red YZB was much more unusual, being a 1st winter bird, which was ringed as a chick in July 2010 on Havergate Island, Orford, Suffolk by Mike Marsh. Mike’s project is a large one that has been running for many years, but this is the first Herring Gull from this project to be reported from the Channel Islands.

 

 GBBG Orange GC9.T CLB - PKV

 GBBG Black 86H CLB - PKV

 LBBG Black 2.F1 - PKV

 LBBG Black 2.T6 CLB - PKV

LBBG White 8.Z0 CLB - PKV

50 Colour Ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls Sighted at Chouet this Morning

I was thrilled this morning to record 50 of my cr Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Chouet. This included 10 birds which were newly back for the year, together with White 1.T4 – which was already back from its winter wanderings by 26 February 2011, but which sometime after 3rd March moved 270 km north to be at Bishop’s Cleeve Landfill, Cheltenham and then nearby Gloucester Landfill, England on 9th March. Interestingly this bird did much the same thing in 2010 – arriving back at Chouet, Guernsey by 2nd March (from its autumn/winter in Portugal ), where it remained until at least the 6th March – before being seen at Gloucester Landfill, England on 8th March and Bishop’s Cleeve Landfill on 11th March. Only four days later (on 15th March 2010) it was back at Chouet, Guernsey. Why some of our breeding Lesser Black-backed Gulls deliberately make this northwards (apparent) over-shoot in spring before returning to Chouet is not understood.


White 0.U4 also showed a fast movement but this time from NW Spain, where it was seen at A Frouxeira Lagoon, A Coruna on 08 March, back to Chouet landfill Beach, Guernsey this morning – almost 800 km in a maximum of six days.

Another Dozen Colour Ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls back this Weekend

The highlights of another dozen colour ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls which were seen  for the first time in 2011 back in Guernsey this weekend were Black 3.K3 which was in Madrid, Spain as recently as 06 March 2011 and Black 2.A8 which is special because Catherine and I saw this very gull ourselves in the Algarve, Portugal in November 2010.

LBBG Black 3.K3 Chouet August 2010 - PKV

LBBG Black 3.K3 Colmenar Viejo Landfill, Madrid, Spain - 23/01/11

LBBG Black 2.A8 Quarteira, Algarve, Portugal - November 2010 - PKV

More Lesser Black-backed Gulls Return

The return of the Bailiwick of Guernsey's breeding Lesser Black-backed Gulls is now very well underway, with more than a third of the adults back in the islands. Amongst the 27 locally colour ringed LBBGs seen this morning at Chouet, six were recorded for the first time this year - including birds seen over the winter in Spain and Portugal.



Perfect Tide for Gulls at Chouet

A rising tide at Chouet this morning pushed the gulls very close to my observation point, enabling wonderful views of hundreds of Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A record for the year 37 Lesser Black-backed Gull colour ring reads was taken - including 11 that were seen for the first time time this year. Of these birds six had been seen in the autumn/winter 2010 in Iberia and one in France.

LBBG White 0.U2 Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

LBBG White 7.T9Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

Herring Gull White 2.AJ9 Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

Herring Gull White 1.RR4 Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

Two Yellow-legged Gulls at Chouet

A count of 300+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls was taken at Chouet early on Tuesday morning. Amongst these gulls were several which have arrived back from wintering in Iberia. Also of interest were two Yellow-legged Gulls - and adult (probably female) and a 2nd summer bird. Just to make things a little confusing there was also a "yellow-legged" Herring Gull prersent in the landfill. I am not sure of the origin of these birds, but they do not have dark grey mantles, or red orbital rings...and I am assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that they may be hybrid Herring/Lesser Black-backed Gulls. In May 2010 we caught several 1st summer gulls which showed characteristics of both species in the wing pattern. These birds were colour ringed...and it will be fascinating to see what they look like in adult plumage!

LBBG Black 1.S7 - PKV

LBBG Black 1.Z6 - PKV

Hybrid Herring Gull/LBBG Black 1.U8 ?



Norwegian Lesser Black-backed Gull at Chouet and the Return of Blue ACE!

The highlight of an all too brief session at Chouet landfill this morning was the sighting of LBBG Pale Blue J125 - a bird ringed as a chick in July 1996 at Rauna, Vest-Agder, Norway. It has previously been seen in Suffolk, England (03/04/2003) and Buckingham, England (08/01/2006).
Equally thrilling was the return of Blue ACE - a well known LBBG which breeds in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, but which was ringed in November 2007 in Gloucestershire, England.

LBBG Blue ACE - PKV





100th Colour-Ringed Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull back in Guernsey!

Despite the week-long cold NE winds in Guernsey, adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls are continuing to arrive back in the island for the breeding season. A small but steady flow this week saw my 100th colour ringed adult back this morning. This was White 5.T5 - a bird ringed at Chouet in June 2009 and which had been seen in Spain and Portugal over the autumn/winter of 2010, but which was not recorded in Guernsey in the summer of that year.
I enjoyed trying our my new camera in the landfill - a Panasonic FS10. I haven't quite got to grips with it yet, and the lack of any sunshine did not help. Fortunately however, the closeness of many of the gulls helped to get a few reasonable photos. I'll keep trying.
Another highlight this morning was a 2nd suummer Yellow-legged Gull, clearly a different bird from the adult recorded on 3rd March.