Back to the Landfill!

It  seems like ages since I was last able to enjoy some ring reading at Chouet landfill, so it was extra special to be able to record for a couple of hours this morning. Some 220+ ring reads were taken (c 150 LBBG and 70 Herring Gull with a very few GBBG). Within a month now the adult LBBGs will start migrating south again - marking the beginning of the end of summer!

Roof Nesting Gulls Still Rare in Guernsey

I've commented several times before on this blog about how rare it still is in Guernsey for Herring Gulls to nest on roofs. At present the birds continue to nest at traditional sites on the Island's cliff coastline and offshore islands and islets...and long may it remain so! A handful of Herring Gulls (but not yet any Lesser Black-backed Gulls to my knowledge) buck this ancient trend...and have begun to nest on domestic roofs...but they are very few and far between. Each year I only get to ring one or two chicks from such nests. I'm always keen to colour ring these chicks to see if they adopt their parents nesting habits or return to the islets or cliffs when they are old enough to breed (by their 5th calendar year). Today I ringed the only chick from a roof nesting pair I've seen this year - White 2HV9. The parents are most fortunate in that their human hosts feel privileged to have the birds nesting on the roof...despite the mess and the noise!

Herring Gull White 2HV9 - a rare roof  nesting gull in Guernsey! (c) Pat Costen

Highlights of Another Good Gull Catch

With the 2013 summer gull ringing season entering its final phases, Phil, Carolyn and I took another excellent catch in the garden today. Among the highlights of the 75 gulls caught were another nine Lesser Black-backed Gulls (eight new birds) and Herring Gulls which had originally been metal-ringed as chicks on Sark in 2006 and Jethou in 2008. 

Posing LBBGs

An hour at the beach this morning was really enjoyable, with some of the gulls at Chouet roosting and preening high up the shoreline. I took about 150 colour ring reads (almost evenly split between LBBGs and Herring Gulls, with just a couple of GBBGs (including a well-known French and English bird).I could have secured more ring reads, but got easily distracted with my camera...getting some record shots of my cr birds.

A Very Busy Week!

This week has been a whirlwind of activity with the gulls. It is one of the most important weeks of the year for ringing chicks, with a number of colonies being visited. It is clear that Herring Gulls are enjoying one of the best breeding seasons in recent years, while LBBGs and GBBGs also appear to be doing well. Over the past week we've managed to ring just over 200 Herring Gull, 40 GBBG and 47 LBBG chicks. There was no rest today either, as Phil and I took a very nice catch of 46 gulls in the garden (including another 13 LBBGs)! Roll on August...and a rest!

A Pleasant Hour at the Beach

It was very good to be back at the beach this morning to read about 100 gull colour rings in an hour. Most were LBBGs loafing on Chouet Landfill Beach, after feeding at the landfill and then bathing in the sea. There were also well known English and French GBBGs present.