Gulls At Home and on the Move!

This is always such an exciting time of year. After all the ringing work over the spring and summer, it is now time to enjoy watching the gulls again. Chouet landfill this morning was outstanding...such close encounters with thousands of birds. In particular I am enjoying the Lesser Black-backed Gulls before they migrate away again for the autumn./winter. Some of the birds have already left. In recent days I've had reports of ten of our colour ringed LBBGs on the beaches of NW Spain!

23 Year Old LBBG and another Yellow-legged Gull

The twin highlights of a quick visit to Pembroke and Chouet Landfill Beaches this morning were a Lesser Black-backed Gull in its 24th year (ringed by me as a chick on Burhou in July 1989) and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Guernsey LBBGs Reach Iberia Already!

I've just received an e-mail from Antonio Gutierrez with news that the first two adult LBBGs known to be in Guernsey this summer have reached the beaches of NW Spain! Black 5AL0 and Black 0AK2 (both ringed at Chouet landfill in May 2012) were on Esmelle Beach, A Coruna (in fact they are probably still on the beach as I type this entry!).

LBBG Black 5AL0 Chouet Landfill Beach 09 June 2012 - PKV

More Gulls at the Beach

Another visit to Pembroke and Chouet landfill Beaches early this morning resulted in 101 colour ring readings being taken - 50 LBBG, 47 Herring Gulls and four GBBGs. 

Back to the Beaches

With the gull ringing season behind me, it was a case of back to the beaches with the telescope this morning – and my goodness…it was very enjoyable! I was at Pembroke Beach just before 0600. I stayed for 40 minutes watching the gull flock on the sand swelling as more and more birds dropped in. 72 gull colour ring reads were taken – 47 Herring, 20 LBBG and five GBBG. The pick of the bunch were my first three juvenile cr Herring Gulls (two from Jethou and one from Lihou). It is always such a thrill to see these first youngsters on the beaches in mid-late July.

I then spent nearly an hour at Chouet Landfill Beach recording another 87 colour rings (76 LBBG, 10 Herring Gulls and one GBBG). Amongst the Herring Gulls were two more juvenile birds from Lihou Island. Although no colour ringed LBBG juveniles were seen today, there were a few fledged youngsters on the beaches, some begging from their parents as only gull juveniles can!

What a lovely morning – and all before 0800!