Guernsey Gulls

First Guernsey Great Black-backed Gull Reported from Spain!

2012-03-06T20:04:00.001Z

My thanks to Antonio Gutierrez and Ricardo Rodriguez for some superb detective work in working out the code on a colour ringed GBBG in Spain. Very careful examination of photos confirmed the bird seen just over the French border at Plaiaundi, Irún, Gipuzkoa, Spain on Saturday 03 March 2012. Yellow 0.FF8 is the very first GBBG ringed in the Channel Islands to be reported from Spain. Until this record the furthest SW of any of our birds had been reported was Vendée, France. Yellow 0.FF8 was ringed as a chick on 22 June 2010 on Crevichon, Jethou. It was seen three times in Guernsey in August 2010, but then not again until its sighting in Spain.

GBBG Yellow 0.FF8 Gipuzkoa, Spain 03 March 2010

Crevichon, Jethou

A Wonderful Saturday morning at Chouet

2012-03-04T10:03:00.002Z

In a fabulous couple of hours at Chouet on Saturday I recorded 80 of my returning colour ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull, as well as one of Roland-Jan Buij's birds ringed in The Netherlands. Of course many of the 80 birds had been seen in Iberia over the winter, but Black 3AC0 was last seen by Antonio Gutierrez at Carino Beach, A Coruna, NW Spain only six days earlier!

Incredibly two of the nine cr Great Black-backed Gulls were birds colour ringed in Vest-Agder, southern Norway! Amongst all this activity it was hard to do justice to my Herring Gulls, but I did add another 62 sightings to my database. All in all a really exciting couple of hours at Chouet!

LBBG Black 3AC0 back in six days or less from NW Spain!

LBBG Red TV from The Netherlands

GBBG Black JH350 from southern Norway

27 cr LBBGs at Chouet this morning

2012-03-01T12:32:00.001Z

A steady return migration is now in full swing for our breeding LBBGs. Today, in an hour before work, I recorded 27 of my cr birds - including several that have been reported over the autumn/winter in England, France, Portugal and Spain.

Gulls at Chouet landfill Beach

LBBG Black 8F7

30 cr LBBGs before work!

2012-02-29T17:55:00.001Z

The LBBG arrivals are continuing, as expected. An hour at Chouet this morning gave 30 colour ringed LBBGs - the majority recorded for the first time this spring!

The Flood Gates are Opening

2012-02-28T17:42:00.000Z

An hour at Chouet this morning gave plenty of evidence of the continuing arrival back in the islands of Lesser Black-backed Gulls which have been absent all winter. The tide was not ideal, but I managed to record 17 of my colour ringed LBBGs, along with c 50 colour ringed Herring Gulls. I would expect the strong arrivals of LBBGs to continue now for several weeks.

Chouet Landfill in the Mist!

2012-02-26T13:45:00.003Z

Making the short drive to Chouet Landfill early on Saturday, I thought a lazy start to the day with a cup of tea in bed may have been the wiser option...as the mist was so thick it was difficult to see more than a few metres ahead. However...what a good move it turned out to be! Once inside the landfill I was able to get close enough to the hoards of gulls to make ring reading very easy. Today was the first day when Lesser Black-backed Gulls were common at the landfill, with c 150 birds in the first two hours - including 21 of my cr birds - many recorded for the first time after wintering in Iberia! It is always such a thrill to welcome the birds home for another season! In addition I recorded c 100 of my locally colour ringed Herring Gulls. The 1st winter Iceland Gull had been present on Friday, but there was no sign of it today. One Yellow-legged Gull was the only scarce gull present at the landfill.

More Guernsey Gulls in NW Africa

2012-02-24T18:51:00.004Z

In what has turned out to be a golden period for LBBG sightings, I've just received news of 14 sightings, involving seven birds, from the Norwegian Gull Group, who visited Morocco and Western Sahara for a week of intensive gull colour ring reading in the early February. Interestingly all the gulls were ringed as adults (at Chouet Landfill, Ty Coed, Vale Marais, Guernsey and on Burhou, Alderney), and three of them were observed in the same wintering area in NW Africa as in the previous winter - in fact I had even seen two of these gulls myself at Anza, Agadir, Morocco in December 2010. Last summer these gulls were observed back in the Channel Islands! My thanks to the Norwegian Team for all their hard work!

Anza, Morocco

11th International Gull Meeting in Croatia

2012-02-24T18:29:00.001Z

From 16-19 February 2012 Catherine and I attended the 11^th International Gull Meeting in Zagreb, Croatia. A few days ago I posted an article about the fieldwork sessions from the Conference where we observed a range of gulls at Zagreb Landfill on the Saturday, and then colour ringed some the following day. However, the Conference also had a very varied and informative series of presentations from a number of gull enthusiasts from around Europe. These talks covered areas as diverse as ecology and migration to identification of some very difficult races. Naturally I took the opportunity to make a presentation on the gull projects being run in the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

Our sincere thanks to the Association of Biological Research (BIOM), Croatia, and to Luka Jurinovic and his small team of colleagues who hosted such an enjoyable and successful Conference!

A full list if presentations was as follows:-

Cyril Mahaim Saunders’s Gull and Relict Gull, two specialized and threatened species
Chris Gibbins Is it possible to identify heinei Common Gulls in the field?
Risto Juvaste Sexing of gull chicks by measurements
Risto Juvaste Exciting (but yet secret) results from 127 GPS-transmitter LBBG-migration project
Peter Rock Urban gulls
Paul Roper North Thames Gull Group
Paul Veron Guernsey Gulls – An outline of the research projects being run on the three Larid species breeding in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, English Channel
Zsolt Karcza & Peter Szinai Gull colour ringing in Hungary 1994-2011
Nick Rossiter Yellow-legged Gull: Differences between Atlantic and Mediterranean populations
Ruud Altenburg Extent of post-juvenile moult in first winter michahellis
Mars Muusse ID of second calendar year Larus heuglini
Morten Helberg Were do Norwegian gulls migrate? Results from read ringing data from southern Norway 1995-present
Luka Jurinović Gulls in Croatia: species, statuses and numbers
Jelena Kralj Movements of eastern Adriatic Yellow-legged Gulls – 12 years of colour-ringing
Vladimir Savić Influenza viruses in gulls
Viola Ross-Smith Gull migration: calibrating colour ringing data with GPS telemetry
Aonghais Cook Analysis of colour-ringing data: Maximising the impact of your efforts

For Luka's view of the weekend visit his excellent blog Ringing in Croatia http://cro-ringing.blogspot.com/

Ringing Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls in Croatia

2012-02-23T13:07:00.000Z

Catherine and I have just returned from the 11th International Gull Meeting, held in Zagreb, Croatia from 16 - 19 February. The meeting was very informative and successful, as well as being most enjoyable. I will make a separate posting about the IGM, but while we were there our host Luka Jurinovik teamed up with Paul Roper of the North Thames Gull Group to cannon net some gulls in Zagreb Landfill. On Sunday in two firings of the net we caught 80 gulls, including 12 Caspian Gulls and even more Yellow-legged Gulls, as well as Croatia's first ever ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull, an argentatus Herring Gull, some Common Gulls and Black-headed Gulls. This gave us a superb opportunity to see the range of plumages related to age and geographical area in some of these gulls.

For much better photos of a range of gulls on the landfill please visit the following link created by Mars Muusse on the excellent Gull Research Organisation web site.

http://www.talk.gull-research.org/viewforum.php?f=26

Luka with 1st W Caspian Gull

Luka with 1st ever ringed LBBG in Croatia

1stW Caspian Gull

2nd W Caspian Gull

1st W Caspian Gull

PKV at Zagreb Landfill

Viola Ross-Smith with Yellow-legged Gull (michahellis)

PKV (rather happy!)_ with 1stW Caspian Gull

Luka with the LBBG

Peter Rock with Common Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull in The Gambia!

2012-02-23T06:06:00.003Z

One of the Lesser Black-backed Gull chicks ringed on Burhou in July 2010, and which was recorded by Michael Davis at Quarteira, Faro, Portugal in October of that year was reported by Clive Barlow from Tanji Bird Reserve, The Gambia on 15 February 2012 - a straight line distance of 4,256 km! Although a small minority of LBBGs from Western Europe are known to winter this far south, this is the first evidence that Channels Islands birds make such long migrations. The photos below show just how advanced this gull is in its moult...and the Clive Barlow's photo shows the gull in rather illustrious company at Tanji!
I am very very happy with this amazing report!

LBBG Black 6.T5 Tanji, The Gambia - 15 February 2012 - Clive Barlow

LBBG Black 6.T5 Quarteira, Faro, Portugal 02 October 2010 - Michael Davis

How did I miss that Iceland Gull?!

2012-02-12T11:54:00.000Z

Chris Mourant, Mish Hooper and I came so very close this morning to catching the 1st Winter Iceland Gull that has been around for the past couple of days! The bird came down in the garden with a small feeding party of Herring Gulls - it even landed in the correct area, but somehow (and I'll never know how!)...it evaded capture...and all we were left with for the morning's efforts were two re-trap Herring Gulls. After nearly four decades of bird ringing I'm well used to experiencing disappointment when the birds beat me...but for a short while it still tastes bitter!

Oh well...there's always next week...when I hope to be cannon netting gulls in Zagreb Landfill!

A Record Breaking Morning at Chouet Landfill

2012-02-11T12:35:00.000Z

With cold weather and a big high tide soon after dawn, it was always going to be a good session at Chouet landfill this morning - but I did not expect a record breaking morning. The highlights included:-

2 or 3 adult Yellow-legged Gulls - including White 1CA9, which we ringed at Chouet last May (but unfortunately it remained unrecorded again until today);
A 1st Winter Iceland Gull;
10 returning ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls; and
A staggering 234 colour ringed Herring Gulls.

All in all it was one of the most enjoyable ring reading sessions for a long time!

Yellow-legged Gull White 1CA9

Yellow-legged Gull

Chouet Landfill

LBBG White 2.T5

LBBG Black 3.H1

LBBG Black 8F7

LBBG Black 1AC0

Herring Gull White 1.DD5

HG White 1.AL2

HG White 2.AX5

HG White 2.VV9

HG White 2M5

HG White 4CT7

HG White 6.AV0

HG White 6.JJ5

HG White 6CK0

HG White 8CN0

More LBBGs returning to Guernsey

2012-02-06T17:15:00.000Z

A very quick trip to Chouet before work this morning saw me record another three colour ringed LBBGs which have returned to Guernsey – Black 7K9, 7T8 and 5AC3 (the last of which was observed at Aveiro, Portugal in December 2011 – Tim van Nus). This brings to eight the number of my colour ringed LBBGs which I have now seen back in the Island this year. An adult Yellow-legged Gull was on the beach at Chouet, while I was also very pleased to catch up with the Polish colour-ringed Black-headed Gull White TETT, originally seen in Guernsey last week by Vic and Jill Froome. All in all a very worthwhile trip to the beach this morning!

Jaonneusse Beach, Guernsey

LBBG Black 5AC3 (back from Portugal)

More LBBGs back in Guernsey and another Polish Black-headed Gull

2012-02-04T15:21:00.001Z

It was another very rewarding early morning in the north of the Island today, with 3 more returning colour ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls seen at Chouet - Black 2.X5 and Black 2.N2 had both been recorded this winter in Portugal and Spain respectively, while Black 7F2 had been seen in Le Tanchet, Les Sables d'Olonne, Vendée, France last November. Also recorded at Chouet were c 150 of my locally colour ringed Herring Gulls - no doubt some of these will have been reported from France this past winter.
At Rousse Beach, Vale the Polish Black-headed Gull White TARM was seen again - a gull ringed at Przykona Reservoir, Radyczyny, Turek, Poland, and which has been reported in Guernsey in the autumns of 2010 and 2011.

Black-headed Gull White TARM (photo from August 2011)

LBBG Black 2.N2 Huelva Spain - August 2011 José Mendez

LBBG Black 2.X5 Chouet (2011)

Polish Black-headed Gulls in Guernsey

2012-02-03T19:47:00.001Z

During the week Vic and Jill Froome found and photographed Black-headed Gull White TETT at Jaonneusse Beach, Vale, Guernsey. This gull was ringed as a chick in June 2011 at Przykona Reservoir, Radyczyny, Turek, Poland. It had already been seen at Le Rozel Beach, Manche, France in late August 2011 by Lucien Brinkhof. While out looking for this bird, I finally managed to find a flock of 100 Black-headed Gulls at Grande Havre. Amongst these birds was a Polish metal ringed bird, but I only managed to read the address and part of the number – Gdansk FN..807. The probability is that this is the same bird that I’ve seen in Guernsey in each of the last two early autumns (FN75.807 – ringed as a chick in May 2008 at Januszkowice, Zdzieszowice, Opolski, Poland ), but I need to see the whole number to be sure.

Black-headed Gull White TETT Jaonneusse Beach 02 February 2012 - Vic Froome

The return of another LBBG

2012-01-30T17:04:00.000Z

There were still less than eight LBBGs at Chouet this morning ( a very similar number to this time last year), but amongst them was the third colour ringed bird to be recorded back in the islands this year – Black 0AA2. Ringed as an adult male on 20 May 2011 at Chouet, this gull was recorded three times in Guernsey last summer up to 12 July. It was not recorded at all over the winter…so its wintering area remains unknown.

LBBG Black 0AA2 Chouet Landfill Beach 30 January 2012 - PKV

Glaucous Gull in the Garden...but no gulls ringed!

2012-01-29T10:50:00.000Z

Chris Mourant and I had another attempt to colour ring some Herring Gulls in the garden today, but the weather was not as cold as forecast and the gulls showed remarkably little interest in the food put out for them. The highlight of the morning was a Glaucous Gull which circled over the garden and took a look at the bait, but unfortunately this northern visitor did not land! It is possible that this is the gull which Richard Keen reported landing on his fishing boat two days running last week as he entered St Peter Port Harbour.

Another Huge Session at Chouet for Colour Ringed Herring Gulls

2012-01-28T10:51:00.001Z

With high tide early in the morning today, there were several thousand Herring Gulls feeding and resting within Chouet landfill. A really enjoyable 90 minutes saw me record another 170+ locally ringed Herring Gulls, as well as Blue EXT a well-known bird which had been ringed originally as as adult bird in January 2010 at Stoke Orchard Landfill, Glocs, England. There were only two (unringed) LBBGs at the landfill this morning (perhaps the cooler weather is suppressing the return of the early birds?). Seven cr GBBGs were recorded, including three well-known French birds and one from Les Ecrehous, Jersey.

Chouet Landfill 29 January 2012

Herring Gull Blue EXT (and White 1CM1)

And now the 2nd Colour Ringed LBBG is Back in Guernsey!

2012-01-23T15:37:00.000Z

A quick look at Chouet Landfill Beach this morning was rewarded with the first sighting of LBBG White 3.T8 - the second of my colour ringed LBBGs to be recorded back in the islands this year. White 3.T8 was ringed at Chouet in June 2009. It was last seen (in Guernsey) on 07 August 2011. Its first sighting in each of the last three years has been : 15 January (2010), 09 February (2011) and 23 January (2012). I do not yet know where this gull winters.

LBBG White 3.T8 CLB 23 January 2012

LBBG White 3.T8 CLB March 2011

The First Lesser Black-backed Gull is back!

2012-01-21T10:14:00.000Z

On a very windy and damp morning at Chouet Landfill Beach, my first returning colour ringed LBBG was amongst eight LBBGs - Black 7F0. This bird had been ringed as an adult at Chouet in May 2011, and I saw it eight times during the summer up to 22 September. It was then seen in mid-October at Slapton Sands, Devon, England...but not again over the winter.

This is the first record of one of my cr LBBGs in Guernsey since 01 December - just over 7 weeks ago. This bird heralds the vanguard of the 2012 arrivals back on the breeding grounds - although based on previous years experiences it wouldn't be that surprising if Black 7F0 made several more trips to southern England before settling back onto his territory for the season.

Gulls at Chouet Landfill Beach - January 2012 - PKV

The other highlight this morning was another sighting of a splendid adult Yellow-legged Gull on the beach at Chouet.

Sunrise over the Islands

2012-01-19T08:38:00.000Z

The cooler anticyclonic weather earlier in the week, with clear cold skies, gave rise to several days of stunning sunrises over the island’s east coast. With no gulling to report in the last few days, I include a couple of photos of a January sunrise over Herm and Jethou islands (from Guernsey’s north-east coast).

Another Superb Weekend!

2012-01-15T15:03:00.000Z

High tide and hungry gulls resulted in a stunning start to the weekend at Chouet Landfill, where in 90 minutes or so on Saturday morning I recorded 178 of my cr Herring Gulls, along with 10 Great Black-backed Gulls (including the same Norwegian bird as last weekend). I have not yet had a chance to enter all the records, but I know that several of these Herring Gulls have been seen this winter in France - so the breeding birds are coming home! A superb adult Yellow-legged Gull was a nice surprise too. Only one (unringed) Lesser Black-backed Gull was recorded - maybe next weekend will see the first returning colour ringed bird. In 2011 I saw my first returning LBBG on 15 January!

On Sunday morning Chris Mourant and I took a catch of just under 50 Herring Gulls - a good test for Risto's new colour rings. The catch included a bird Chris had metal ringed as a chick at Jerbourg Cliffs, Guernsey in June 2010. Just as we were finishing a Great Black-backed Gull showed interest - so we caught him to- a huge, heavy male!

What a Wonderful Start to the Year!

2012-01-08T17:43:00.000Z

OK - it may have been a week late...but this weekend got the "Guernsey Gulls" year off to a very nice start! Firstly a 90 minute watch at Chouet on Saturday produced 17 cr GBBGs - including one Norwegian bird (Black JH617) ringed as a chick at Kristiansand, Vest-Agder in June 2011, five French birds, an English bird (Orange PF9T.) from Rainham, Great London, and 10 of my own cr birds! In addition I took 80 cr of my own Herring Gulls.

Following the recent gales, it wasn't surprising that an Iceland Gull (1st winter) and a Glaucous Gull (sub-adult) turned up (Iceland Gull see on 2nd and 6th January and Glaucous Gull seen on 6th January). Fortunately the Iceland Gull was showing very well at Chouet Landfill Beach on Saturday 7th.

GBBG Black JH617 Chouet Landfill Beach

GBBG Black 45J

GBBG Orange PF6T. Chouet

GBBG Yellow 0.HH2

Iceland Gull - 1st Winter

Gulls at Chouet Landfill Beach

And then...on Sunday Chris Mourant, Phil Alexander and I managed to catch three gulls in the garden at Ty Coed. It was hard work, with the gulls showing interest in the food, but still being very cautious. Nevertheless when an adult Great Black-backed Gull landed in the trapping area it was too good a chance to miss - so we ringed an adult GBBG and two 1st winter Herring Gulls.

PKV and GBBG Yellow 1.AA3 Ty Coed

Guernsey LBBGs watch Spanish Football?!

2012-01-05T12:17:00.000Z

In recent weeks I have received a very nice series of sightings by Mercedes Fernandez of Guernsey-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls from the Manzanares River in Madrid, Spain. I had not appreciated until Javier Marchamalo sent me photos last night just how "urban" these gulls are...as the river flows adjacent to the football stadium of Atletico Madrid. below are Javier's photos of the site, and Mercedes' photos of some of the gulls which are being seen at the river.

Guernsey Gulls Ringing Totals 2011

2012-01-01T11:29:00.001Z

In due course I will produce the usual annual report on the work of the "Guernsey Gulls" projects. However, having just competed all the ringing schedules and worked out the total of gulls ringed last year, I thought I'd post them. It is important to remember that these totals reflect the hard work of a significant number of people throughout the catching season...in Guernsey, Alderney and Sark - to them all I am most grateful for another successful and enjoyable year.

The year was characterised by a stunning start to the season at Chouet Landfill, when Paul Roper and members of the North Thames Gull Group joined the local "gull team" for another week of cannon netting in mid-May. A massive total of 1,783 gulls was caught during the week...but even more pleasing than this huge total was the unprecedented numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (my principal study species) trapped - 493! We also caught Guernsey's first Yellow-legged Gull, as well as 1,273 Herring Gulls and 16 Great Black-backed Gulls.

After such a start to the season..the prospects for the rest of the season looked positively awesome...however...such hopes were dashed by another very poor breeding season for gulls throughout the Bailiwick of Guernsey - probably caused this year by a protracted period of cool particularly wet weather just when the majority of gull chicks were hatching. Despite the usual hard work during the summer only 173 gull chicks were ringed across the islands - and it was very sad that only 18 of these were Lesser Black-backed Gulls. This species suffered another virtual complete breeding failure this year (for the third time in five years).

Full details of the ringing totals are available at http://www.paulveron.com/gullsringingtotals2011.html

And now it is another year...roll on the 2012 gull ringing season!

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T17:03:00.000Z

With my sincere thanks to everyone who has helped with the Guernsey Gulls projects in 2011 - a record breaking year in so many ways...and my very best wishes for a happy and successful 2012!

GBBG Yellow 0.XX2 back from Cornwall and French Herring Gull

2011-12-27T16:24:00.000Z

Christmas has been spent enjoying time with the family...so there has been little time for gull watching. However...there was a very good number of Great Black-backed Gulls on Chouet on Christmas Eve (c 200) and amongst these were 13 cr birds (nine from my own project and four well known birds from France). The pick of the bunch was Yellow 0.XX2, ringed as a chick this summer on Crevichon, Jethou. It had been recorded on Guernsey a couple of times in August, but was then seen at East Looe, Cornwall, England on 08 December. On 24 December it was back at Chouet.

Amongst the 2,000+ Herring Gulls was Pale Blue B822 - a bird ringed as a chick in Le Havre, Seine-Maritime in July 2010. The bird had been reared on a roof top in the city, but was found wandering the streets...before being taken to the bird rehabilitation centre run by CHENE. It was ringed there before release.

GBBG Yellow 0.XX2 Chouet 24 December 2011

GBBG Yellow 0.XX2 Jethou June 2011

Herring Gull Pale Blue B822 Chouet

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-24T12:17:00.000Z

Dear Friends,

With many thanks for all your help making 2011 a record breaking year for Guernsey Gulls!
Very Best Wishes,

Paul

24 December 2011

Guernsey LBBGs in Morocco and the Canary Islands

2011-12-21T17:42:00.000Z

This week has yielded two very exciting reports of Lesser Black-backed Gulls ringed in Guernsey. The first was White 2.AF7 ringed as a 1st summer at Chouet Landfill in May 2010, and subsequently seen in July 2010 in Somerset, England, July 2011 in Cardiff, Wales, and Boca do Ría, A Coruna, Spain on 07 August 2011. This bird was reported from Kénitra, Morocco on 18 December 2011! The second (Black 9K5) was ringed as an adult ringed on 18 May 2011, and was recorded three times in Guernsey to 21 June 2011, before being recorded at Bocabarranco Beach, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands on 20 December 2011. This is the first LBBG from the Channel Islands Ringing Scheme to be reported from any of the Canary Islands.

LBBG Black 9K5 Chouet, Guernsey - June 2011

LBBG White 2.AF7 Chew Valley lake, Someset July 2010 - Len Ingram

A Very Blustery Morning

2011-12-17T10:32:00.000Z

With a cold NW wind blowing hard into Chouet this morning conditions for gull watching were challenging! The landscape was rather wild and beautiful, with several thousand Herring Gulls feeding at Chouet Landfill, along with 150+ Great Black-backed Gulls. Before retreating from the coast for a hot cup of coffee I logged five cr GBBGs - including two French birds (Seine-Maritime) - both well known in Guernsey. Only one LBBG was seen - which is par for the course at Chouet in the depths of winter! Not long to wait now though before my first LBBGs return - maybe 4-6 weeks!

Chouet Landfill Beach

Gulls above Chouet landfill Beach

The Success of the Guernsey LBBG Project

2011-12-13T21:35:00.000Z

Two things happened today to make me very happy about the success of the Bailiwick of Guernsey LBBG project. Firstly Antonio Gutierrez, one of the keenest gull watchers in Spain, saw LBBG Black 6T3 on Pantin Beach, A Coruna. What was very special about this sighting is that it means that Antonio has seen at least one of our "Guernsey" LBBGs in every single month of 2011. In fact in August his "peak" month he saw 33 of our LBBGs! In total this year he has recorded 58 different Guernsey LBBGs on the beaches of NW Spain. This is making a big contribution to the Guernsey LBBG project.

The other big news today was an e-mail from the legendary gull recorder Harry Vercruijsse, who has recently returned from a trip to Southern Spain and Portugal. On that trip he set a new record by recording 91 sightings of our Guernsey cr LBBGs! The previous record being held by the Peter Rock who had tallied 57 sightings in November in Portugal.

It is hard to over-estimate the massive contributions that these observers, and many others, spread across Western Europe are making to our important gull studies - a very big THANK YOU to them all!!!

LBBG Black 6T3 Pantin, A Coruna, Spain - Antonio Gutierrez

French GBBGs and a Mid-winter Trip to Herm

2011-12-11T16:18:00.000Z

The weekend proved to be very enjoyable with a very productive hour on Saturday at Chouet Landfill Beach - where I recorded 11 cr GBBGs (including four from France - two Seine-Maritime and two Chausey Islands, Manche), and 51 Herring Gulls. On Sunday Catherine and I nipped over to Herm (on the free Christmas shopping boat) and enjoyed a walk around the north end, where we recorded nine cr Herring Gulls. Conditions were far from ideal with a strong wind and frequent rain and drizzle...but that just made a fish and chip lunch all the more appreciated!

Herm Harbour

Jethou (and Crevichon) from Herm

Catherine and Rubin on Shell Beach, Herm

Gulls on Chouet Landfill Beach

GBBG Black 10J (from Seine-Maritime, France) Chouet Landfill Beach

Not Much Action Today!

2011-12-08T10:43:00.000Z

With wet and very windy weather I thought there may be a large number of GBBGs along the west coast this morning...but this did not appear to be the case. There were only 35 GBBGs and two LBBGs on Vazon. Amongst the GBBGs were three colour ringed birds - two from my own project and one (new) bird from Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France (Black 54H).

A few GBBGs on Vazon Beach - PKV

Wet and Windy Weather Brings Lots of Great Black-backed Gulls...but Few Colour Rings!

2011-12-04T10:16:00.000Z

The wet and windy weather over the weekend brought at least 500 Great Black-backed Gulls, and 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, to the Island's west coast this morning...but there were relatively few colour ringed birds amongst them. Only six cr GBBGs were recorded (although several other cr birds were too far to be able to record the code in the windy conditions). Half of the GBBGs were from my own scheme, while the others were a well-known Cornish bird, and two French GBBGs from Le Havre, Seine-Maritime.

Gulls on Vazon Beach - 04 December 2011 - PKV

First Guernsey "Breeding" LBBG Recorded Wintering in the Islands!

2011-12-01T11:51:00.000Z

Often the most exciting reports of my colour ringed gulls come from overseas...but today that was different. Although I could only find seven Lesser Black-backed Gulls on Guernsey's west coast this morning one of them was Black 9C2 - an adult male ringed on 18 May 2011 at Chouet landfill, Guernsey. This gull has now been recorded on Guernsey's west coast on 11 occasions between 8th September and 1st December - and I think it is fair to conclude that this bird is wintering in the islands. That is not to say that it may not be making feeding trips to the south coast of England, but clearly its base is here on Guernsey. This is significant because it is the very first example I have of a locally breeding gull wintering on the island. The vast majority of Guernsey's Lesser Black-backed Gulls remain migratory - with the majority wintering in Iberia or even further south in NW Africa. A minority winters in NW France and a few even winter in southern England.

LBBG Black 9C2 - a rather special LBBG - Vazon Beach 01 December 2011 - PKV

Apologies for Delay in Replying!

2011-11-22T15:14:00.000Z

I am sorry for the delay in replying to e-mails with sightings of Guernsey Gulls. I have been in the UK since Saturday 12 November with no access to Internet until today...and I cannot yet respond to e-mails.

I hope to get back to Guernsey over the coming weekend, and will then start to address the backlog of sightings. In the meantime please keep sending your records in. Thank you for your patience!

Many thanks and best wishes

Paul

An Interesting Few Days for GBBGs

2011-11-10T13:07:00.000Z

Early morning visits along the Island’s west coast are still being productive, although the number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls has, as expected, declined to less than 20 birds/day. Interestingly I can usually still find one or two of my cr birds – Black 9C2 is a regular and yesterday he was joined by Black 1.Z3 – so perhaps they are going to remain through the winter?!

Also of interest this week has been the Great Black-backed Gull flock at Perelle and Vazon Beaches , with 33 cr observations having been made on three dates involving 26 different birds as follows:-

Norway (one), Seine-Maritime, France (eight), Chausey Islands, France (six), Cornwall, England (three), south coast , England (one) and Guernsey Bailiwick (seven).

News from Morocco

2011-11-06T12:44:00.000Z

Recently I received news from Morten Helberg in Norway of some gull sightings from a couple of trips to Morocco by Norwegian gull enthusiasts earlier this year. This report included seven sightings involving five Lesser Black-backed Gulls ringed in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Three of these gulls were seen in April at the gull hotspot of Anza Beach, near Agadir, and while I had seen Black 0.L8 at this very site the previous December, the other two birds (Black 6.J0 and Black 6.K2 - both chicks from Alderney in 2010) were both 1st sightings since ringing. A Burhou chick which was only metal ringed (because it was too small to take a colour ring) in July 2009 was seen several hundred km to the north at Oualidia Rubbish Dump, Morocco.

However…pride of place went to LBBG White 6S9, which was only the 2nd LBBG to be ringed in the Guernsey project – in our garden at Ty Coed, Vale Marais, Guernsey on 26 May 2008. This gull, which had been recorded in the autumns of 2008 and 2009 at Quarteira, Algarve, Portugal, was seen on 13 February 2011 at Dakhla South in Western Sahara – some 3,108 km from its ringing place making it by far the most southerly report to date of a Guernsey-ringed LBBG! To add to this excitement I recorded this gull back in Guernsey on 21 April 2011, and then several times over the summer on Burhou, Alderney where it probably breeds.

LBBG White 6S9 May 2008

LBBG White 6S9 Chouet, Guernsey 21 April 2011

Fantastic Weekend in Malaga, Spain

2011-11-04T19:05:00.000Z

I returned this weekend from a fabulous weekend in Malaga, Spain in the very enjoyable company of fellow gull enthusiasts Salva Garcia and Gabriel Martín. Salva regularly watches the gull hotspot of Malaga Port, while Gabi who usually keeps a close watch on the gulls at Alcazar de San Juan Landfill, Cuidad Real had travelled down from Madrid for the weekend. We managed to secure permission to access Malaga Landfill and the port (where the gulls loaf), as well as visiting Benajarafe Beach to the east. On the Monday I was also able to take a look at La Carihuela Beach, Torremolinos and Caleta de Vélez Fishing Port – seeing a few more cr gulls in each location. It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend, and with more than 120 gull colour ring sightings it was a record breaking couple of days for Malaga! Of course I was particularly thrilled to see no fewer than nine different “Guernsey-ringed” Lesser Black-backed Gulls over the weekend.

My sincere thanks to Salva and Gabi for their marvellous hospitality, and extremely good company!

Malaga Port

LBBGs at Malaga Port

Malaga Port

LBBG Black 3.K7 (Sark)

LBBG Black 1.N7 (Burhou, Alderney)

LBBG Black 3.K7 (Sark)

LBBG Black 7X8 (Guernsey)

LBBG Blue BL (The Netherlands)

LBBG Black JL1V (Norway)

LBBG Green K.ACM (The Netherlands)

LBBG Blue YA95 (Iceland)

LBBG Red NY (The Netherlands)

Mottled LBBG

Malaga Port

Malaga Landfill

PKV & Gabriel Martín Malaga Landfill

PKV & Salva Garcia Malaga Landfill

Caleta de Velez Fishing Port

Benajarafe Beach

Gulls at Torre del Mar Beach

Calmer Weather = Fewer Gulls

2011-10-20T10:02:00.000+01:00

Although there was still quite a breeze yesterday morning, and a heavy rain shower, the weather was less stormy than on Tuesday. My early morning trip down the west coast resulted in totals of 200 GBBGs, 150 LBBGs and an adult Yellow-legged Gull. 12 cr GBBGs were recorded (nine French – seven Chausey Islands and two Le Havre, two Cornish and one local bird).
10 of the LBBGs were colour ringed – of which the most exciting was Black 0.K0 a chick ringed on Burhou, Alderney in July 2009, and seen a dozen times in NW Spain from 05/09/09 to 27/08/11. This is another example of a 2nd summer gull moving north in the autumn! We are now more than half way through October…but I remain confident that my west coast LBBG flock is going to whittle away soon…and I will have nearly two months of winter without a sighting of any of my colour ringed LBBGs – but we will see!
The weather was calm this morning...and as a result I could only find 80 LBBGs (seven cr - all local) and 50 GBBGs (three cr - all French birds from Chausey Islands).

GBBG Green E.71 (from Chausey Islands, France) - PKV

I Love a Good Storm!

2011-10-18T17:28:00.000+01:00

Last night I was lying in bed listening to the strong wind and steady rain thinking that this bad weather may well drive good numbers of Great Black-backed Gulls to Guernsey’s west coast…so it was with a great deal of anticipation that I drove down the coast this morning. As expected there were 250+ GBBGs in small flocks on Vazon, Perelle and L’Eree beaches – and amongst these birds were no fewer than 22 colour-ringed birds – 11 from France (seven Chausey Islands, Manche and four Le Havre, Seine-Maritime), two from Cornwall, England and nine of my local birds.

Amongst 240 LBBGs were Peter Rock’s Green G:H from Bristol, England (which was at Slapton Sands, Devon only two days earlier), and eight of my locally cr birds – including Black 0.Z1 which had been ringed as a chick on Burhou, Alderney in July 2009.

Another highlight was a superbly marked adult Yellow-legged Gull on Perelle Beach and later Vazon Beach.

A very quick trip to the coast at lunchtime revealed 500+ GBBGs - but the vast majority were sitting down in the rocks some distance from the coastline. I only managed to read another two Chausey birds, but a 1st winter LBBG Black 4.P8 (Burhou, Alderney 2010) was another superb find!

Gulls on Perelle

Gulls on Vazon

GBBG Black 66G

GBBG Yellow 0.XX9

GBBG Yellow 0.XX9 when ringed

GBBG White L:AU5

GBBG White L:AJ8

Yellow-legged Gull (adult) Vazon

The LBBG flock reduces further!

2011-10-16T18:57:00.000+01:00

The weather was once again beautiful...very calm and sunny...so I did not expect to see many Great Black-backed Gulls along the west coast - and so it proved! The LBBG flock has also now dwindled to around 70-80 birds - with just two of my cr birds seen today - Black 8AC2 and Black 1AA1. There were some metal ringed LBBGs - three Channel Islands birds and one British (but I couldn't read the whole code). Interestingly I have a report that several of the LBBGs from Guernsey's late autumn flock were seen together at Slapton Sands, Devon, England on 15 October - two days after I last saw them here in Guernsey. I still believe that most (if not all) of these birds will winter further south. It will be interesting to see if I record any of them back in Guernsey before next year's breeding season commences.

There were two adult Mediterranean Gulls at Portelet Beach this morning.

With the weather so superb, Catherine and I took a trip out around Herm with my brother. It was a lovely trip, where we recorded at least six Atlantic Grey Seals.

Mediterranean Gulls on Portelet Beach - PKV

Atlantic Grey Seal - Herm - PKV

Herm 16 October 2011 - PKV

Norwegian Lesser Black-backed Gull in Guernsey

2011-10-13T18:38:00.000+01:00

A very quick trip down the Island's west coast at lunch-time was very productive. Many of the 350+ LBBGs were too distant on the low tide to be able to see their legs well, but fortunately one of only a handful of birds at closer range at Vazon was a Norwegian LBBG - Blue J3ZH. Ringed as a chick in Vest-Agder in 2007, this bird was recorded by Antonio Gutierrez on passage at Pantin Beach, A Coruna, Spain on 12/10/2010. In the meantime it was recorded back in Norway. Also still present today were LBBG Blue DHC (from Gloucester, England) and Green G:H (from Bath, England).

LBBG Blue J3ZH Vazon - PKV

Ten Foreign Colour Ringed Gulls Today!

2011-10-09T21:53:00.001+01:00

Given the very strong winds and high tide around dawn today, I was not surprised to find c 250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and c 200 Great Black-backed Gulls on the island's west coast beaches. There were still 15 of my locally cr LBBGs, along with Blue DHC from Gloucester, England. The 17 cr GBBGs today may well be a day record for me. Amongst these gulls were one from Mandal, Norway, eight from France (six from Le Havre, Seine-Maritime and two from Chausey Islands), one from Cornwall, England, one from Jersey and six of my locally cr birds from Guernsey).

Gulls on Vazon Beach 09 October 2011 - PKV

GBBG Black JP282 Vazon (from Mandal, Norway) - PKV

GBBG Black JLF Vazon (from Jersey) - PKV

GBBG Green E.46 Portelet Beach - PKV

GBBG White L:AJ8 Portelet Beach - PKV

Nine Foreign Colour-Ringed Gulls in Guernsey Today

2011-10-08T11:39:00.000+01:00

The post-dawn run along the west coast was very productive today, with c 250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls primarily on L'Eree and Portelet Beaches. This number included 17 locally colour ringed birds, as well as two British ringed birds - Blue DHC (Gloucester landfill) which was first seen in Guernsey on 4th October, and Green G:H (a bird from Peter Rock's study based in SW England). This bird was ringed as a chick in 2005 in Bristol, and it was seen in Guernsey last autumn on 19 and 20 October.

Seven foreign colour-ringed Great Black-backed Gulls were seen - six from France ( four from Chausey Islands, Manche and two from Le Havre, Seine-Maritime) and one from Cornwall, England.

LBBG Green G:H L'Eree - PKV

LBBG Blue DHC L'Eree Beach - PKV

GBBG Black 53G Portelet Beach, PKV

GBBG Green K.72 L'Eree Beach PKV

And Another British-Ringed LBBG

2011-10-07T19:38:00.000+01:00

Having been in Jersey for work for the past two days, this is a very quick posting regarding another British-colour-ringed LBBG seen in Guernsey on 05 October 2011 at Portelet Beach. This was Blue JHV, a bird ringed in its 1st summer in May 2010 (so a 2009 chick) at Gloucester landfill, England. The wintering site of this gull is not yet known.

LBBG Blue JHV Portelet Beach, Guernsey 05/10/11 - PKV

Gulls at Portelet Beach 05 October 2011 - PKV

British Ringed LBBG at L'Eree Beach

2011-10-04T16:49:00.000+01:00

A quick drive down Guernsey’s west coast this morning resulted in around 200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls being seen – c 100 at L’Eree Beach, with 60 at Perelle and 40 at Vazon. These birds included nine of my colour ringed adults, as well as Black 1AF8 the one and only juvenile LBBG from Sark seen fledged this autumn (so far!). The other main excitement was LBBG Blue DHC observed in the small flock at L’Eree Beach. This bird had been ringed at Gloucester Landfill, England in May 2008.

LBBG Blue DHC L'Eree Beach - PKV

Immature LBBGs from Burhou

2011-10-01T15:58:00.000+01:00

Some good fortune this morning enabled me to read two metal ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls at L'Eree Beach - both were immature birds which had been ringed as chicks (Jersey D4677 in July 2009) and Jersey D5504 in July 2010) on Burhou, Alderney. Both chicks had been too small when ringed to take a colour ring. It was great to record these immatures still near their natal colony in October!

Other highlights this morning included another juvenile Great Black-backed Gull from Chausey Islands, Manche, France (Green K.72), and eight of my locally colour ringed LBBGs.

Little Egrets at L'Eree Beach

LBBG Jersey D5504 L'Eree 01 October 2011 - PKV

LBBG Jersey D4677 L'Eree 01 October 2011 - PKV

GSPCA in Guernsey Cares for Gulls Following Botulism Outbreak

2011-10-01T10:10:00.000+01:00

Following the recent outbreak of avian botulism amongst Herring Gulls in Guernsey, when over 100 gulls appear to have been infected, the GSPCA has made sterling efforts to rehabilitate those gulls which had the strength to survive the initial onslaught of the food poisoning. On 18 September eight Herring Gulls were colour ringed, and seven of these birds have survived to be released back into the wild. At lunch time today Catherine and I returned to ring a second batch of seven Herring Gulls and one adult Great Black-backed Gull, which are all recovering well now, and should be due for release soon.

It is hoped that by colour ringing these gulls data will be gathered on the survival rates for these birds once released. Our thanks to Yvonne and the hard working staff at the GSPCA for the countless hours of care which they put in to rehabilitating a range of wild birds in Guernsey!

Hungarian Mediterranean Gull Now in Spain

2011-09-29T12:19:00.000+01:00

One of the most exciting colour ringed gulls seen in Guernsey this autumn was Mediterranean Gull Red HKK3, which put in a very brief appearance just after dawn at Pembroke Beach on 20 August 2011. This bird had been ringed as a chick on 21 June 2011 some 1,722 km away at Szeged, Csongrad, HUNGARY. Today I received news that this gull was seen at La Pena, Bilbao, SPAIN on 15 and 21 September.

More French Great Black-backed Gulls

2011-09-26T18:11:00.000+01:00

An 8.9 metre tide just before dawn was always going to make gulling tricky this morning, and so it proved. However, a little perseverance eventually paid off with several hundred gulls feeding on the seaweed at Vazon Beach. Amongst this flock were Black-headed Gull White 21J0 (from Berkshire, England) first recorded in Guernsey at Vazon on 17 July 2011, four of my cr Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and three Great Black-backed Gulls from Chausey Islands, Manche, France (Green E.34, Green K.47 and K.51).

One Observer in NW Spain Reaches his Century of Guernsey Gulls!

2011-09-25T10:38:00.000+01:00

This weekend's highlight comes not from the island but from NW Spain, where on Saturday ardent gull watcher Antonio Gutierrez managed to record his 100th Guernsey colour ringed gull - Lesser Black-backed Gull White 6.U6 (which is a breeding adult from Burhou, Alderney).

Bearing in mind that 20 years of my metal ringing Lesser Black-backed Gull chicks had not resulted in a single report from Spain...I find it incredible that in just four years my colour ringing programme has yielded such rich results.

It is very encouraging too that while Antonio is one of the most proficient and prolific ring readers in Iberia (the principal wintering grunds for Guernsey's Lesser Black-backed Gulls), he is being joined by an ever increasing number of keen local enthuisiasts who take the time and the trouble to read the rings on the gulls they see and report them. The contribution they are making to gull research should not be underestimated.

While ring reading by Portuguese birders is perhaps not quite so widespread as in Spain, it is such a lovely place to take a late autumn/winter holiday for birders from further north, that we are fortunate to enjoy a very healthy series of reports from this country too.

Now all we need to do is encourage colour ring reading by the relatively few local birders in Morocco and NW Africa! Now...that would yield spectacular results!

LBBG White 6.U6 Meiras, Spain - Antonio's 100th Guernsey Gull in Spain!

Another Excellent Morning

2011-09-20T11:41:00.000+01:00

Conditions were once again good (if a little windy) for observing the gull flock at L'Eree Beach, on the Island's west coast. Almost all the gulls had their legs visible today and nearly 500 full-grown and 60 juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls were recorded. This total included 22 of my locally colour-ringed birds, as well as Orange 9V, an adult ringed in Noord Brabant, The Netherlands in May 2006 (Roland-Jan Buijs) and which was recorded on Guernsey's west coast just a couple of weeks earlier in 2010 - thus giving evidence of yet another LBBG which is faithful to its migration stop over points!

Amongst the c 150 Great Black-backed Gulls were Black JX14 (southern Norway), Black 71E and 50J (Seine-Maritime, France), White L:AS1 (Cornwall, England) and Green E.85 and J.20 (Chausey Islands, France).

Gulls at Perelle Beach - PKV

LBBG Orange 9V L'Eree Beach 20 September 2011 - PKV

LBBG Orange 9V Vazon Beach 04 September 2010 - PKV

Another new GBBG from Cornwall, England

2011-09-19T20:52:00.000+01:00

The lower tide and calmer weather this morning resulted in near perfect conditions for viewing the gull flock at L’Eree Beach just after dawn. Amongst the 350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were 19 of my birds colour-ringed in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, together with the relatively long-staying juvenile bird (White C+G) from Bath, England. The LBBGs included a 2009 chick – Black 0.F6 (from Burhou, Alderney) and a 2010 chick (Black 4.F1) from Sark. Eleven cr Great Black-backed Gulls were present in the flock of 150 birds – these included yet another new bird from Cornwall (the fourth in as many days), the Norwegian bird (Black JX14) first seen yesterday, and three French birds (all previously seen on Guernsey – Black 34H and Blue 47D from Le Havre, Seine-Maritime and Green E.41 from Chausey Islands).

GBBG White L:AS1 (from Cornwall, England) PKV

LBBGs and GBBGs L'Eree Beach - PKV

...and Another Great Black-backed Gull from Norway

2011-09-18T10:24:00.000+01:00

The weather was worse today with frequent rain showers and gale force winds around dawn. L'Eree Beach was the place to be with a flock of c100 Great Black-backed Gulls and 300+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Amongst the GBBGs were Black JX14 (ringed as a chick in Vest-Agder in June 2007 - Morten Helberg) and Green E.44 (ringed as a chick in July 2009 on Chausey Islands, Manche, France - Seb Provost).

The only foreign cr LBBG was White C+G, a juvenile ringed by Peter Rock in Bath, England , and which has been seen in Guernsey on 08 an 12 August 2011.

GBBG Black JX14 LEree Beach

Gulls on L'Eree Beach

Gulls on L'Eree Aerodrome

Norwegian GBBG Back in Guernsey!

2011-09-17T12:08:00.000+01:00

It was another superb early morning at L'Eree Beach today, although with wind and rain showers conditions for watching were less pleasant. This morning's highlight was the sighting of Great Black-backed Gull Black JH254 - a 2nd winter bird, which was ringed in Vest-Agder, Norway in July 2010, and seen in Guernsey a year ago almost to the day - so this is another gull showing site fidelity on its migration! Amongst the flock of 100 GBBGs on L'Eree Beach were four French-ringed birds (all from Le Havre, Seine-Maritime - Blue 47D, Blue 30C, Black 17E and Black 34H) and another from Cornwall, England (White L:AS2).

Amongst the 100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were Blue YH05 from Iceland, and eight locally colour-ringed birds. There was an even larger flock of GBBGs and LBBGs on L'Eree Aerodrome, but the long grass prevented any rings being read at this site.

Gulls on L'Eree Beach

GBBG Black JH254 (from Norway) L'Eree Beach

GBBG Black 34H (from France) L'Eree Beach

Icelandic LBBG Back in Guernsey!

2011-09-16T17:11:00.000+01:00

After two very disappointing post dawn trips down Guernsey’s west coast, when I failed to find more than a few Lesser or Great Black-backed Gulls, I got lucky today! The tide was better this morning, and on both L’Eree and Perelle there were decent flocks of LBBGs – in total around 200 birds. One of the first colour ringed birds seen was Blue YH05 – an Icelandic breeding bird, which used Guernsey’s west coast as a migration stop-over at this time of year in 2010. It is amazing how some of these gulls really are creatures of habit – even using the same migration stop-over locations! Not to be outshone by this exciting visitor…my own cr LBBGs soon began to appear…and I ended my session with 14 Guernsey and Alderney LBBGs recorded! The last cr LBBG seen, shortly before the flock on Perelle was flushed by a passing motorcycle, was a 1st winter bird – Red S:097 – a bird from a new project in SW England run by Mike Bailey.

As if this wasn’t enough excitement I also found two Great Black-backed Gulls from Bruce Taggart’s project running at St George’s Island, Looe, Cornwall, England – L:AJ8 (recorded in Guernsey on 31 October 2010 and 15 January 2011) and L:AS0 (a 1st winter bird recorded here for the first time).

Tim Earl also recorded a LBBG (Black SJ) at L’Eree on 15 September, which had been ringed in Bristol in 1994 by Peter Rock.

LBBG Blue YH05 from Iceland

GBBG White L:AS0 from Cornwall

GBBG Yellow 0.PP7 from Lihou, Guernsey

GBBG Yellow 0.PP7 in June 2011

Gulls on L'Eree Beach 16 September 2011

And finally…the Polish colour ringed Black-headed Gull, which spent last autumn (and this autumn so far) in Guernsey - White TARM - was on L’Ancresse Common last evening – all in all a really outstanding 24 hours for recording cr gulls in Guernsey!

On Holiday in Portugal

2011-09-11T11:15:00.000+01:00

We have just returned from a week's family holiday based at Azoia, near Sesimbra, Portugal. Each morning I was able to search the gull flocks at Sesimbra Beach and Fish Port for two hours from dawn, and also to record a few gulls at Lagoa de Albufeira. The beaches from Costa da Caparica to Fonte de Telha were very busy with people enjoying the sunshine, so the gulls were loafing during the day at Lagoa. However...they were almost always very difficult to observe here at close quarters because of disturbance from dogs and swimmers. Up to 20,000 gulls were present here at times...mostly Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

During the week I took 106 cr readings - including 98 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The most amazing thing was that although these sightings included birds from Iceland, Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, France and Spain - the most frequently recorded birds were "Guernsey Gulls" - with 21 observations of 16 different birds.

This is clearly a disproportionately high number of Channel Islands birds and it makes me wonder whether our gulls were so common because of the western geographical positioning of both the Channel Islands and western Portugal, and also because of early migration away from the islands? Whatever the reason I was absolutely thrilled to see so many of our own birds in Portugal!

Gulls at Lagoa de Albufeira

LBBG Black 4.X3 (from Burhou, Alderney) at Lagoa

Xavega (fishing) at Sesimbra Beach

Sesimbra Fish Port

Common Tern - Sesimbra

Gulls at Mouth of Lagoa

LBBG Black 8AC3 (from Burhou, Alderney) at Sesimbra

LBBG Blue DKV (From Gloucester, England) at Sesimbra. By coincidence I saw this very gull at Chouet in February 2011!

LBBG N561 (from Spain) at Sesimbra

LBBG Blue Y8 (from Belgium) at Sesimbra

LBBG Blue P+H (from Bristol, England) at Sesimbra

Yellow-legged Gulls at Sesimbra

Cormorants from France

2011-08-29T20:24:00.000+01:00

At St Saviour's Reservoir today I saw a Great Cormorant, White CI10 (red ring also) , which had been ringed on 15 May 2010 on the Chausey Islands, Manche, France (Gérard Debout). The bird has been seen several times in Guernsey since Tony Bisson first saw it at St Saviour's Reservoir in October 2010 - most recently by Vic Froome on 20 August 2011 (when he recorded a 2nd bird from this very same cr project).

The Guernsey Seabird Team is planning to begin a new ringing project on this species in the islands next year. Our rings will be black with a double alpha code.

Great Cormorant CI10 (red) St Saviour's Reservoir - PKV

English Black-headed Gull and Belgian Mediterranean Gull relocated in Guernsey

2011-08-28T16:34:00.000+01:00

I could only check about 150 of the 500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls along the west coast today, as the largest flock was resting in the long grass at L'Eree Aerodrome. The highlights of the morning were the relocation of Black-headed Gull White 21J0 (from Hosehill Lake, Berkshire, England - first seen in Guernsey at Vazon on 17 July 2011), and the regular Mediterranean Gull from Belgium (White 3E90).

Black-headed Gull White 21J0 Vazon 28 August 2011 - PKV

Black-headed Gull White 21J0 Vazon 17 July 2011 - PKV

A new record set for "Guernsey" LBBGs in Spain!

2011-08-27T14:28:00.000+01:00

A new record was set today by avid gull watcher Antonio Gutierrez in NW Spain! He recorded (and photographed) six "Guernsey Gulls" on the same beach in Spain (Pantín near Valdovino in A Coruna) at the same time...I am really stunned that this is possible! This beach is over 800 km from Guernsey! When I started the Lesser Black-backed Gull colour ringing project I never imagined that such results could be obtained! One of these gulls was also the 2,000th LBBG sighting in the months of July and August 2011. Of course most were taken here in Guernsey and Alderney before the birds migrated...but there is a very nice set of records from Spain, with some in France, a few in England and the first adults are also now being sighted in Portugal.

GBBGs from France

2011-08-27T12:05:00.001+01:00

Following yesterday's success with colour ringed LBBGs, it was the turn of GBBGs today - with four French birds on Guernsey's west coast. Three of these were from Seb Provost's project based on the Chausey islands, Manche (Green, B.17 (a 2008 chick last seen in Guernsey in October 2010), and Green H.12 and Green H.23 both 2010 chicks seen for the 1st time in Guernsey). There was also one GBBG from Gilles Le Guillou's project based at Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, but this was on the L'Eree Aerodrome where the grass is still too long to be able to read full rings. It was -3G (a 2010 chick). Hopefully I'll relocate this bird in the next few days.

Gulls on L'Eree Aerodrome - PKV

GBBG Green H.23 Vazon Beach - PKV

LBBGs from Wales and England

2011-08-26T21:02:00.000+01:00

About this time of year the behaviour of the LBBGs left on Guernsey changes and few seem to visit Chouet Landfill. As a result the northern beaches of Chouet and Pembroke attract relatively few LBBGs. Instead they seem to flock on the west coast (particularly Vazon, Perelle and L’Eree) - and if I time a visit well in relation to the tide (and am lucky that the beaches haven't been disturbed) this always proves to be an interesting time for as well as containing the local LBBGs which are tardy in migrating (all my birds still seem to leave the island from late October to early January), the flock clearly attracts migrant LBBGs. Today amongst 60 LBBGs at Vazon there was a juvenile bird (White 4WF) ringed on 03/07/2011 on Flat Holm Island in the Bristol Channel, Wales (Viola Ross-Smith) and an adult (Black R2LU) from the Ribble Estuary, Lancashire, England (David Sowter).

LBBG Black R2LU Vazon - PKV

LBBG White 4WF Vazon - PKV

Gulls Vazon - PKV

Vazon - PKV

Seabird Visits 2011

2011-08-25T13:05:00.000+01:00

Lesser Black-backed Gulls in a "Burhou" Sunset - PKV

With the 2011 Seabird Breeding Season now complete (from my point of view) I have uploaded brief reports on eleven visits to islands and islets in the Bailiwick of Guernsey this year. It was very much a "mixed" season with good productivity amongst early breeders such as European Shag and Great Cormorant, mediocre productivity for Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls and very poor productivity for my principal study species - Lesser Black-backed Gull. Despite this, mainly thanks to Paul Roper, and members of the North Thames Gull Group and the Guernsey Seabird Monitoring Team, the LBBG study goes from strength to strength with a very successful cannon netting operation at Chouet landfill in May. We failed (for the second consecutive year) to land in the main Gannet colonies to ring chicks, but did manage to ring a sample of European Storm petrels on Burhou - so a very mixed season, full of highs and lows...and as ever hard , but rewarding work!

The visit write-ups can be viewed at:-

http://www.paulveron.com/Seabird%20Visits%202011.html

Herring Gulls in Guernsey

2011-08-23T20:06:00.000+01:00

On 7th August 2011, Dave Murray (who lives in NW England) visited Guernsey for the day – as part of a cruise. Dave is a keen recorder of gull colour rings, and he has seen several Guernsey birds in the Malaga region of Spain. He has also been to Guernsey a couple of times for long weekends. On his most recent flying visit he managed to record 15 locally ringed Herring Gulls and one cr Great Black-backed Gull in St Peter Port Harbour. As usual Dave very kindly sent me some very nice photos of these gulls.

Hungarian Mediterranean Gull and Polish Black-headed Gull in Guernsey

2011-08-20T16:20:00.000+01:00

Immediately after a stunning sunrise at Pembroke Beach this morning I saw two juvenile Mediterranean Gulls amongst the 500+ Herring Gulls. Both were active and remained on the beach for only a minute or two. Amazingly one of these juveniles had a red colour ring. Every time it stopped moving it was blocked by a large gull so I struggled to see the ring. Then I got a clear view and recorded Red HKK3...and only a few seconds later the bird disappeared (and I could not relocate it). I'm pretty sure this is a bird ringed in HUNGARY...but will await confirmation! I looked for the bird for over an hour, including on Bellegreve Bay, where there were only two Mediterranean Gulls. The cr bird was not there...but amongst the roosting Black-headed Gulls was White TARM - a bird ringed as an adult in a colony at Przykona Reservoir, Radyczyny, Turek, POLAND on 05 June 2010 - and recorded at Bellegreve Bay, Guernsey from 14 August to 01 September 2010.

It has been a very good couple of days as yesterday I saw Lesser Black-backed Gull Red FTFA (juvenile) on Pembroke Beach. This gull had been ringed as a chick on 10 July 2011 on Havergate Island, Suffolk, England by Mike Marsh.

Pembroke Sunrise - PKV

Bellegreve Bay - PKV

Black-headed Gull White TARM - PKV

Lesser Black-backed Gull Red FTFA - PKV

Back to Burhou, Alderney

2011-08-19T11:54:00.000+01:00

Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to be able to get back to Burhou, Alderney. This visit was made at the request of the Alderney Wildlife Trust to help BBC's Coast Team film European Storm-Petrels for a new series to be shown in the spring/summer 2012.Chris Mourant came up with me and in the first three and a half hours after dark we caught 61 Stormies - 41 new birds, 19 retraps from Burhou (all at least five years old) and one British-ringed bird. Unfortunately some heavy rain showers then swept in and we had to furl the net. It was absolutely marvellous though to be handling these amazing little seabirds again - after a gap of nearly five years!

Of course while I was on Burhou I was very keen to record any of my colour ringed gulls that were still present on the island. It was fascinating to visit the colony so late in the season. As expected there were very few fledged young, but just over half the adults were still on the island (c 1,200 birds). I was surprised how attached they still were to the colony, despite their lack of success in raising young this year. No doubt they will continue to drift away over the next few days and weeks.

138 ring reads were taken on Lesser Black-backed Gulls - including one British ringed adult (Peter Rock) and one juvenile bird from Belgium (Eric Stienen).

BBC Coast Team, Burhou -PKV

Main LBBG Colony - Burhou - PKV

Roosting LBBGs - Burhou - PKV

Little Burhou - PKV

LBBGs loafing in main colony - Burhou - PKV

Crabby Bay, Alderney - PKV

LBBG Black 3.K0 Burhou - PKV

LBBG Black 3.P3 Burhou - PKV

LBBG Black 0AC6 Burhou - PKV

A Very Special Great Black-backed Gull!

2011-08-14T10:21:00.000+01:00

Sophie with GBBG Happy Birthday Cake !

More GBBG cr juveniles appearing on the beaches

Herring Gull White 8CP9 Pembroke

Herring Gull White 2CR8 Pembroke

Mediterranean Gull White 3E90 Bellegreve Bay - PKV

It has been a very enjoyable birthday weekend with a special Great Black-backed Gull cake made by Sophie! On the gulling front it is wonderful now to see more and more of my juvenile colour ringed Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls on the beaches. Although the majority of my adult cr Lesser Black-backed Gulls have now migrated south, I can still find a small selection when I search for them.

Great news in from Spain over the weekend too where Paco Veiga and Antonio Gutierrez saw nine of my Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the gull flocks on Donana and Pantin beaches respectively!

Great Black-backed Gulls from Four Schemes and Two British Lesser Black-backed Gulls

2011-08-11T13:07:00.000+01:00

After a reasonably quiet period, things have really picked up with gull movements over the last couple of days. Early morning visits to Chouet and Pembroke have resulted in sightings of Great Black-backed Gulls from Rainham, Greater London (Orange PF6T. -North Thames Gull Group), Chausey Islands, Manche, France (Green J.60 - Seb Provost), Seine-Maritime, France (Blue 47D - Gilles Le Guillou) and several of my own birds (including three cr juveniles - Yellow 0.PP0, 0.XX7 and 0.VV6).

Lesser Black-backed Gulls have not been outdone either. Today Blue JLL was seen on L'Ancresse Common. This gull was ringed at Gloucester Landfill, England (SEGG) on 22 May 2010, then seen (presumably on passage) in Guernsey at L'Ancresse on 01 August 2010. It is ten days later passing through this year! Also today on Chouet landfill Beach was LBBG White C+G - a juvenile ringed by Peter Rock this summer in one of the cities in SW England.

Finally Lesser Black-backed Gull Black 6.V4 was seen on Chouet Landfill Beach - one of my 2010 chicks from Burhou, Alderney.

LBBG White C+G Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

LBBG Blue JLL L'Ancresse Common - PKV

Gull Flock L'Ancresse Common - PKV

Gulls on Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

GBBG Orange PF6T. Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

GBBG Yellow 0.CC8 Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

LBBG Black 6.V4 Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

LBBG Black 7L0 Chouet Landfill Beach - PKV

LBBG Black 6AA6 Chouet Landfill Beach PKV

A Productive Weekend

2011-08-07T13:09:00.000+01:00

Checks of the Island's northern beaches over the past two mornings were very productive with 275 ring reads over the two days. It is very noticeable how the Lesser Black-backed Gulls are thinning out as more and more birds migrat mainly south - 45 colour ring reads of my local birds were taken. Of the 19 Great Black-backed Gulls recorded, two were well-known immature birds from France (Green J.60 from Chausey Islands - Seb Provost) and Blue 47D from Seine-Maritime (Gilles Le Guillou). Hopefully over the next few weeks we will begin to see this year's young from these two sites!

Herring Gull ring reads predominiated with 211 - all local birds. The pick of these were of course the 16 records of my 2011 born chicks! It was wonderful to see the first three of my fledged juvenile Great Black-backed Gulls too (one from Herm, one from Lihou and one from Bordeaux, Guernsey).

Antonio Gutierrez kindly sent me this photo (taken yesterday) of Pantin Beach on the NW corner of Spain. It isn't hard to see why Lesser Black-backed Gulls are thinning in Guernsey now - there are three of them in this photo of Antonio's!

Gulls on Pantin Beach, NW Spain - Antonio Gutierrez

LBBG Black 9F5 - Antonio Gutierrez

LBBG Black 0.K0 - Antonio Gutierrez

LBBG Black 0.H2 Antonio Gutierrez

Post-dawn Pembroke Beach, Guernsey - 07 August 2011 - PKV

Guernsey Ringed Great Black-backed Gull Seen in Vendee, France

2011-08-05T16:45:00.000+01:00

News came in recently of one of my Great Black-backed Gulls, Yellow 0.KK1, which was ringed as a chick on the islets to the north of Herm in June 2010. It was sighted at the well-known gull wintering area of Le Tanchet, Les Sables d’Olonne, Vendee, France on 03/12/2010 by Michel Fouquet. While quite a few “Guernsey-ringed” Herring Gulls have been seen on this coastline in the autumn/winter period, this is the first of our Great Black-backed Gulls to be reported from the area. Although the GBBG project is in its early stages, most sightings of chicks ringed in the islands have so far come from the south-west of England (Cornwall and Devon).

GBBG Yellow 0.KK1 The Humps, Herm - June 2010 - PKV

Gulls on the Move

2011-08-05T16:38:00.000+01:00

Having just returned from a week in France, I was eager to get out this morning to check the island’s northern beaches for gulls. In an hour and a half I recorded 165 colour ringed birds – almost all local. From the reports now coming in from NW Spain it is clear that many of the adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls which were in the islands this summer are now moving south, although there were still 350+ LBBGs on the beaches this morning (including 41 of my cr birds). It was encouraging to record 50+ juvenile Herring Gulls (including six of my 2011 chicks: three from Lihou, two from Jethou and one from Sark). I also saw my 1st fledged colour ringed juvenile Great Black-backed Gull this morning – Yellow 0.PP6 (from Lihou). There were a handful (less than 10) Lesser Black-backed Gull juveniles on the beaches too, but none were colour ringed.

Pembroke Beach - early morning - PKV

Belgian Mediterranean Gull Back in Guernsey for 6th Autumn

2011-07-24T08:11:00.000+01:00

On a largely uninspiring weekend for gull watching here in Guernsey, the highlight was the sighting on Cobo Beach of Mediterrenean Gull White 3E90, originally ringed at its nesting colony in Zandvlietsluis, Antwerpen, Belgium. This is the 6th consecutive autumn that this gull has visited Guernsey. It tends to remain in Guernsey for 6-8 weeks each autumn, before moving on (although the only current record of this bird further south was at Carcavelos, Lisbon, Portugal in January 2007).

Mediterranean Gull White 3E90 Cobo Beach 23 July 2011 - PKV

Gulls at Sea

2011-07-22T18:32:00.000+01:00

Yesterday afternoon my son (Merlin) and I went out on a boat off the east coast of Guernsey. It was a very peaceful afternoon, with a few gulls, a Northern Fulmar and a Common Tern around the back of the boat. It reminded me how lucky we are to have all these seabirds on our doorstep!

Jethou and Herm - 21 July 2011 - PKV

Another Coincidence and the first 2011 ringed adult LBBG back in Spain

2011-07-21T20:10:00.001+01:00

Hot on the heals of the report on 19 July of one of my Herring Gulls being seen in Seaton, Devon, England comes a report from the same location (different observer) of a second Herring Gull ringed at Chouet in May 2011 - White 7CF2.

Also yesterday came news from NW Spain (Antonio Gutierrez and José Vidal) of the first of the 2011 ringed adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls being seen back in NW Spain (A Coruna). Hopefully this will be the first of many such sightings this autumn!

Finally today I enclosed a peaceful hour recording gulls at Chouet. Nothing unusual, although there are still very few juvenile gulls on the beaches.

LBBG Black 8J0 Chouet Landfill Beach June 2011 - PKV

It's a Very Small World!

2011-07-20T16:37:00.000+01:00

Something incredible happened last evening. Mike Hill - my original bird ringing trainer and friend since 1974 , who emigrated to England about 20 years ago phoned me from his home in Seaton, Devon, England to tell me that he had a colour ringed Herring Gull standing on his roof. He gave me the number and said "I don't suppose it is one of yours" - well...it was!

Herring Gull White 2.AK4 was ringed as a 1st summer female at Chouet Landfill in May 2010. I have only seen it once subsequently - in December 2010 again at Chouet.

What are the chances of that - one of my Guernsey Gulls singling out Mike's house some 120 miles or so away across the English Channel?! I love it when life hands out such incredulous coincidences!

Another Cool Morning at Chouet

2011-07-19T17:15:00.000+01:00

There were a few more juvenile Herring Gulls at Chouet this morning, and a reasonable number of adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls (including 68 of my colour ringed birds), but it was still cold in the NW breeze.

The Guernsey Met Office has confirmed that June 2011 was the coolest here in Guernsey since 2002 and also the windiest for 20 years. There were also many more days of rain this year (than last) with precipitation at some stage on every day from 07 to 21 June. Guernsey Water also reports 22% more precipitation in June than the monthly average during the previous decade. Some 2.1 inches (53.3 mm) of rain fell on Guernsey during the month. This unusually wet and windy weather may well explain the widespread breeding failure of Lesser Black-backed Gulls across the Bailiwick of Guernsey this year.

Perhaps the highlight of the morning was Great Black-backed Gull Yellow 0.NN0 seen at Pembroke, as this gull was ringed as a rehabilitated bird in early June at the Guernsey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals HQ. It is testament to the care and treatment of the birds taken into care that gulls such as Yellow 0.NN0 make it back into the wild.

GBBG Yellow 0.NN0 Pembroke 19 July 2011 - PKV

GBBG Yellow 0.NN0 at GSPCA 02 June 2011 - PKV

LBBG Black 8P5 Pembroke -PKV

LBBG Black 7H7 Pembroke - PKV

LBBG Black 7A9 Pembroke - PKV

LBBG Black 7A9 when ringed at Chouet landfill 16 May 2011 - Vic Froome

Colour Ring Reading Lesser Black-backed Gulls on Burhou, Alderney

2011-07-18T20:22:00.000+01:00

On my recent gull research trip to Burhou, Alderney I was thrilled to find no fewer than 130 of my Lesser Black-backed Gulls which had original ringing details as follows:-

1992 (one), 2003 (two), 2005 (one), 2008 (one from Burhou and one from Guernsey), 2009 (43 adults plus three of the chicks ringed in 2009 which are now back prospecting Burhou for future breeding, plus three from Guernsey), 2010 (28) and 2011 (37 plus seven from Guernsey).
Just over 30 of these birds had been reported outside the Channel Islands last autumn/winter (mostly in Iberia, but some in France and England). I also recorded Black 3.N6, which is the adult Lesser Black-backed Gull ringed in June 2010 which I saw at Anza, Agadir, Morocco in December 2010! Amongst the colony again this year were the three birds seen in 2010 which had been colour ringed at Gloucester landfill, England in 2004, 2007 and 2008 respectively.

LBBG Colony Burhou - 14 July 2011 - PKV

LBBG Black 4.A0 when ringed on Burhou 13 June 2010 - PKV

Black 4.A0 on 16/08/10 at Frouxeira lagoon, A Coruna, Spain - Antonio Gutierrez

LBBG Black 3.N6 when ringed on Burhou on 12 June 2010 - PKV

In addition I recorded seven of my cr Herring Gulls (all ringed originally on Guernsey) and one Great Black-backed Gull – seen only 100 metres from where it was raised on Little Burhou in the summer of 2009!

Polish and British Black-headed Gulls at Vazon, Guernsey

2011-07-17T10:24:00.000+01:00

Amongst only 24 Black-headed Gulls at the Richmond end of Vazon today were a British colour ringed juvenile (White 21J0) and the same Polish metal-ringed adult (Gdansk FN75.807) that I saw on both the east and west coasts of Guernsey last August/September. The bird was ringed as a chick at Januszkowice,Zdzieszowice, Opolskie, POLAND on 17 May 2008 (J. Siekiera). Few other cr gulls were recorded on another wet and blustery morning in Guernsey - whatever happened to summer?!

Black-headed Gull Gdansk FN75.807 Vazon, Guernsey - 17 July 2011 - PKV

Black-headed Gull White 21J0 Vazon, Guernsey - 17 July 2011 - PKV

LBBG White 3.Z2 Pembroke 17 July 2011 - PKV

GBBG Yellow 0.FF5 Pembroke Beach17 July 2011 PKV

GBBG Yellow 0.FF5 when ringed June 2010 Bordeaux, Guernsey - PKV

GBBG Yellow 0.KK3 Pembroke - 17 July 2011 - PKV

Burhou, Alderney

2011-07-16T11:21:00.000+01:00

I've just come back from spending the past two days on Burhou, Alderney completing my gull research there for 2011. Although it was, as ever, a tremendous privilege to spend a little time on this magical island and to be very close to a strong colony of my favourite bird (Lesser Black-backed Gull), it was a disappointing trip because the gulls have had a mass failure again this year. This makes it three very bad years out of the last five - with only 2009 and 2010 being successful seasons for the 1,000+ pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls there. Lesser Black-backed Gulls have failed to breed successfully in 2011 in all the colonies I've visited on Alderney, Sark, Herm and Guernsey. I presume the cause was the very wet and windy weather just when the chicks would have been hatching.

I ringed 11 Lesser Black-backed Gull chicks, along with six Herring Gulls and one Great Black-backed Gull. On the positive side I did have plenty of time to search the colony for my colour ringed birds, and I was thrilled to record more than 140 of my gulls - including three of my 2009 chicks which are back prospecting Burhou for their future breeding attempts!

Burhou 14 July 2011 - PKV

Sunset Burhou 14 July 2011 - PKV

LBBG Colony (Les Etacs Gannetry in background) - PKV

LBBG colony -PKV

Ortac Gannetry from Burhou - PKV

LBBG chicks - PKV

LBBG Black 7AC2 - PKV

Herring Gull chicks - PKV

Great Black-backed Gull Yellow 0.XX0 - PKV

22 Year Old European Shag!

2011-07-13T08:49:00.001+01:00

One of my longest-living birds has just been recovered. A European Shag (F11228) , which was ringed as a chick in June 1989 on Jethou, was found dead in Guernsey in June 2011 - making this bird just over 22 years old! Considering that the majority of Shags die over their first winter, this bird was a real survivor.

Gull watching was very quiet this morning, although Chouet Beach looked gorgeous in the early morning sunshine.

Shag Chicks June 2011 - PKV

Grande Fauconniere (ringing site for 22 year old Shag) - PKV

Chouet Beach 13 July 2011 - PKV

German Black-headed Gull in Guernsey!

2011-07-12T18:31:00.000+01:00

After a quick session at Chouet this morning, I drove down the west coast to try to find a few migrant Mediterranean Gulls. There was one at Pembroke Beach and one at Saline Beach. However, they were eclipsed by a juvenile Black-headed Gull on Saline Beach with a Yellow Colour ring. The code ACZ0 revealed that this bird had been ringed as recently as 17 June 2011 at Leese Stolzenau, Kreis Nienburg, Niedersachsen, Germany by Jorg Hadasch. It was amazing to think that such a young gull, still in very juvenile plumage should fly at least 900 km in such a short time!

Black-headed Gull Yellow ACZ0 Saline Beach, Guernsey - 12 July 2011 - PKV

Chouet with Tim and The Last Garden Gull Catch of Summer

2011-07-10T21:32:00.000+01:00

A really enjoyable, action-packed weekend saw me spend half an hour at Chouet with Tim Earl on Saturday morning. Tim had already recorded a good number of my cr Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls by the time I arrived. On Sunday morning, Chris Mourant and Phil Alexander joined me for two controlled catches of gulls in the garden. Conscious that we wanted to finish handling any gulls caught before the day warmed up too much we took a couple of small catches - finishing the 2011 summer season with 25 more Herring Gulls. And then...finally...on Sunday afternoon, Catherine, Sophie and I took our little boat to count fledged (or near fledged) Herring Gulls along the stretch of coast from the Town Harbour to St Martin's Point - perhaps a mile or so. We counted 12 very large chicks, with three more in the gull flock in Fermain Bay. All in all - a delightful weekend!

Rainbow over Chouet

2011-07-07T12:10:00.000+01:00

A very enjoyable hour at Chouet this morning was capped off with the appearance of a a beautiful rainbow over the gull flock roosting on the beach. Amongst the 70 of my colour ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls recorded on the beach were a 1st summer bird (Black 4.T0) and a 3rd summer bird (White 6.Z7). This latter gull was ringed in one of the Sark colonies in July 2008. It was recorded in Vendée, France in its 1st summer (Michel Fouquet), and then in September 2009 it was recorded in Asturias, Spain (Javier Gil Vaquero). Last year I saw it just once at Chouet, Guernsey on 22 July 2010. This bird may well make its first breeding attempt next summer - probably back in its natal colony on Sark.

As yesterday there were a couple of juvenile Herring Gulls and one juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull on the beach too. Earlier this week I checked one more small colony (c 10 pairs) of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on Lihou, but these birds too have failed in their breeding attempt this year. This is the third successive failure of this tiny colony.

1st Summer LBBG Back in Guernsey & Two Adult Yellow-legged Gulls at Chouet

2011-07-06T19:06:00.000+01:00

It proved to be an eventful hour before work at Chouet today, with a very good showing of Lesser Black-backed Gulls - including c60 of my colour ringed birds. The most exciting of these was Black 4.T0, which was ringed as a chick on Burhou, Alderney on 09 July 2010. As commented before on this blog relatively few "Guernsey" LBBGs return to the Bailiwick in their first summer. It is always exciting to see them when they do!

Other interest was provided by two adult Yellow-legged Gulls - one of which was metal-ringed (but I could not read the address or the code). One final highlight from yesterday was a single juvenile Mediterranean Gull at Rousse, seen while Catherine was swimming.

Mystery Lesser Black-backed Gull at Chouet, Guernsey

2011-07-04T17:37:00.000+01:00

On what seemed like an exceptionally quiet Monday morning at Chouet today, the main surprise was an adult metal-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull from a scheme unknown to me. Unfortunately the gull was just a bit distant, and it never showed the full ring, but the address was a puzzle to me with the letters “…CRETA…” in the top line and “….ECA” at the bottom of the 2nd line. The ring number ended 027829 (possibly the “0” was a “D”). I realise that it is very unlikely that we can trace such an incomplete code…but if anyone has any idea of which ringing scheme this could be I’d be very interested to know! I see plenty of metal rings that I cannot read the full codes on…but usually I can at least work out the scheme…but not with this LBBG!

The other notable event today was my first sighting at Chouet this summer of a fully fledged juvenile Herring Gull.

Mystery Metal-ringed LBBG - PKV

First Fledged Juvenile Herring Gull of the year at Chouet - PKV

Looking like a poor season for Lesser Black-backed Gull productivity

2011-07-03T16:55:00.000+01:00

The major disappointment of the weekend was the visit on Saturday to my second-most important colony for Lesser Black-backed Gulls. From the 150 or so pairs of gulls Catherine and I could only find six chicks to colour ring! The gulls were all on full clutches of eggs in late May, so I had hoped that we might repeat last year's success in this colony with 60+ chicks ringed. I do not know what the problem is, but I have seen a similar situation this summer in several very small LBBG colonies. I suspect that the few days of torrential rain that we had in early summer came at just the wrong time for these gulls, when the majority of chicks would have been very small. I can but hope, at this stage, that Burhou, Alderney, which is the Channel Islands' most important breeding site for Lesser Black-backed Gull (1,000+ pairs) will fare better. The birds in this colony tend to nest up to two weeks later than here in Guernsey, Herm and Sark...so it might just be possible that they have been successful. It will be another couple of weeks before I visit to find out!

Very early this morning Chris Mourant, Phil Alexander and I took a very small controlled catch of 16 Herring Gulls in the garden. These birds included one of Jamie Hooper's colour ringed birds ringed as a chick at Pleinmont Cliffs in 2002.

Another Successful early Morning at Chouet

2011-07-01T18:25:00.000+01:00

I spent a very enjoyable hour before work yesterday at Chouet. I didn't record anything unusual, but it was very peaceful watching the gulls bathing and resting on the beach after feeding in the landfill. With the tide high the birds were also nice and close.

Alderney Colour Ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull seen again in The Netherlands

2011-06-30T23:05:00.000+01:00

I received very exciting news today from Herman Bouman of Lesser Black-backed Gull Black 0.S7 being seen in Barneveld, Gelderland, The Netherlands on 28 June 2011. This bird was ringed as a chick on Burhou, Alderney on 10 July 2009, and was seen on 23 September 2010 at Westkepelle, Zeeland, The Netherlands by Theo Muusse. Over the intervening winter (14/11/10) it was seen at Pinto Landfill, Madrid, Spain by Miguel Juan. This is my only Lesser Black-backed Gull chick to date to be reported from The Netherlands, and it is very interesting that this bird appears to be faithful to The Netherlands in summer - raising the possibility that it will recruit into one of the Dutch colonies when it reaches breeding age in 2013 or 2014. I only hope the bird continues to survive, be seen and be reported so that we may be able to confirm this suspicion!

LBBG Black 0.S7 Westkapelle, The Netherlands - 23/09/10 (c) Theo Muusse

LBBG Black 0.S7 Barneveld, Gelderland, The Netherlands 28/06/11 - (c) Herman Bouman

The Gull Breeding Season on Jethou

2011-06-29T20:48:00.000+01:00

Michelle Hooper, Sophie Veron and I went over to Jethou Island on Monday to complete the 2011 seabird monitoring there. The weather was perfect with only a gentle breeze and warm but cloudy conditions. We arrived shortly before low tide, and so had perfect conditions for the seabird work. This trip was geared around monitoring the gulls and colour ringing chicks. It was very successful with a total of 51 Herring Gulls and nine Great Black-backed Gulls being ringed (all colour ringed except one Herring Gull). We also found one large Oystercatcher chick. I was particularly pleased to see the Herring Gulls being so successful on Jethou, as in most of the other colonies I have been to in the Bailiwick this year numbers appeared to me to be rather thin with poor to modest success.

Crevichon

Grande Fauconniere

House Beach

Oystercatcher chick

PKV ringing Herring Gull 0CR8

Sophie with Herring Gull 5CR0

Great Black-backed Gulls Yellow 0.XX1 and 0.XX2

GBBG Yellow 0.XX6

Herring Gull 0CR7

20 Year Old Great Black-backed Gull

2011-06-26T20:40:00.001+01:00

Summer arrived in style today, with clear blue skies (after early morning mist) and very warm temperatures. Courtesy of Dave Perrio - Chris Mourant, Michelle Hooper and I made our second and final seabird monitoring trip of 2011 to The Humps north of Herm. Special permission is required to land on these islets during the seabird breeding season.

In the limited time available we were able to land briefly on Longue Pierre and Godin - where we were able to confirm the early and successful breeding season for European Shag and Great Cormorant. Although there were a few youngsters still in the nest (and six Shag were ringed) the vast majority of the birds had already fledged. It was also very pleasing to see that the Common Guillemot have been successful so far. We did not approach the breeding boulders as there were many adults present, and we could hear chicks communicating with the adults - but we would estimate 30+ pairs on Longue Pierre and 10+ on Godin - many of which had chicks.

For me the highlight was the ten Great Black-backed Gull chicks colour ringed. One tinge of sadness was the discovery of a dead GBBG, which carried a metal ring E4778. I later learnt that this gull had been ringed by me as a chick on this very islet in June 1991 - making the gull 20+ when it died. I can but hope that this old gull managed to breed successfully over many years - passing its genes to many young gulls over the 15 or so breeding seasons that it would have had. It is very interesting too that it was clearly breeding on its natal islet - even though it is tiny.

Longue Pierre

Godin

Herm from Godin

Chris and Mish ringing GBBG Yellow 0.VV2 Longue Pierre

GBBG Yellow 0.VV1 Longue Pierre

Adult Common Gull at Chouet in June!

2011-06-25T16:06:00.001+01:00

Quite what an adult Common Gull was doing at Chouet Landfill Beach this morning is a bit of a mystery. This species does not breed in the Channel Islands, and it is not at all common even in winter! Apart from that it was a pretty ordinary session early this morning with 69 colour ring readings of my Lesser Black-backed Gulls and seven Great Black-backed Gulls.

Adult Common Gull CLB - 25 June 2011 - PKV

LBBG Jersey E5527 Pembroke 25 June 2011 - originally rnged by PKV on 30 June 1993 on Sark - PKV