Herring Gulls arriving back in Guernsey - from Jersey, France and Spain!

My gull news on Saturday was dominated by the return of my first cr Lesser Black-backed Gull (Black 2.X5)...but I have now realised that amongst the c 200 locally colour ringed Herring Gulls recorded were four more birds returning from wintering in France (Loire-Atlantique - two), Vendée (one) and Calvados (one). Pride of place, however, goes to White 1.XX6 which was recorded on Christmas Day 2010 at the mouth of the Castro River, Lires, A Coruna, Spain by Xabi Varela. This gull made the longest migration of any of my Herring Gulls last winter...and it is fantasic to know that it is already back - nice and early to prepare for the 2011 breeding season.

Herring Gulls at Chouet landfill 22 January 2011 - PKV