Gulls on the move again

It's been too windy again this weekend to get any nets up, but it's been way more productive to get a 'scope out and look seaward at gulls. Numbers of Great Black-backs are building up again at Lizard Point and we're regularly getting birds from Looe Island and further afield now. We've even had a bizarre run of close neighbours, with colour rings LAN1, LAN3 and LAN7 all being seen over 10th to 12th July; all ringed as chicks on Looe Island on 25th June 2011.

Black 51M at Lizard Point today - another Normandy bird

Best record of the week though has been Herring Gull White 7FS7, seen on 12th July. We don't see many colour-ringed Herring Gulls at the point, and this bird had been ringed as a chick on Lihou Island, Guernsey, in June 2013. It has since spent most of its time in France, seen at Treffieux Landfill several times in January 2014.

We've also heard of some other movements of gulls we've blogged about before. Black 96N (ringed in Normandy, France in June 2013) was seen at Lizard Point back in the spring (blogged here) and was also seen on Looe Island six days later. Just recently it popped up in northern France, seen at Port-en-Bessin-Huppain on 28th June.

Black 96N at Lizard Point in the spring