Black 27M is a French first

A good stormy Cornish day meant that the only thing to do (other than work!) was chase a few colour-ringed gulls. Having been evaded by a French-ringed Med Gull at Men-Aver beach last week I thought I'd have another look this afternoon. Just after low tide on a good day, up to 60 Med Gulls congregate on the 'reef' here, but today wasn't a good day, with a paltry three present, none of which were colour-ringed.

But the larid redeemed themselves with a Great Black-backed Gull sporting an unfamiliar black colour ring. OK, so you can't see its legs in this dodgy iPhone-scoped photo, so you'll have to believe me that it was 27M, a bird ringed as a chick in Normandy in 2013. We don't get many foreign-ringed Geebs in Cornwall, with records of just six; four from the Channel Islands and two from Norway, so this French bird is a bit of a first.