Winter is here and the gulls are coming

 It's always a good sign that winter must be here when we start seeing returning gulls from elsewhere. We know these aren't local birds as many are ringed, so it's just a case of getting out there and reading some rings and colour rings.

Yellow 2PRB was ringed as an adult at Pitsea Landfill, Essex in March 2016
and this is the third winter it's been seen in Cornwall

In just a couple of days this week, we've managed to read several metal rings and also seen some regular colour-ringed birds at Swanpool, Mylor Creek and Stithians Reservoir. The map below shows where some of the British-ringed birds originate from, most of which were ringed as chicks (from as long ago as 2013). We also recorded a bird ringed as an adult in Dorset in 2011, but still have a long way to go to beat the national longevity record of 32 years!

We're also waiting on details of a Belgian-ringed bird which will add another nice dot to the map, along with the regular Danish-ringed bird at Helston Boating Lake. So if you are lucky enough to see a common-or-garden gull wearing a colour ring do get in touch!

Danish-ringed White 8LZ at Helston Boating Lake