First Guernsey-Ringed LBBG back a Bit early in 2014

The first Guernsey cr LBBG of 2014 has recently been seen in Guernsey! Julian Medland recorded Black 8AN0 at Banque Imbert, St Sampson’s on 4^th January. This is a very interesting record, because the gull was originally ringed as an adult female in our garden on 08 July 2012. I assumed this to be a breeding adult, but apart from a single observation at Chouet on 02 August 2012, this bird has only been recorded once more in Guernsey and that was on 25 January 2013 at Perelle. I would not expect any the LBBGs that have wintered in NW France or Iberia to be back in Guernsey until around the 3^rd week of January…so whether this is an early returning breeder, or a bird which belongs to a population further north remains a mystery. I hope further sightings in the months and years ahead enable us to answer such questions, and to understand the ecology of our gulls very much better than we do at present!