Big gulls from points south

On the back of the Black-headed Gulls from earlier in the week (which all came from points east), this time it's Black-backed Gulls of interest (from points south). Of particular note today were two Great Black-backed Gulls sat close to each other on the island at Gothian Sands, Gwithian.

Yellow 2AA1 is a bird ringed as a chick on Herm, Channel Islands in 2013. It was first seen at Dawlish Warren in March 2014 before becoming a regular in Cornwall from January 2015.

Conversely, L:FZ3 is one of our own, ringed as a chick on Mullion Island earlier in 2021. So far it's the only of of this year's chicks to be seen abroad, seen on a beach in Guernesy on 18th September.

Incredibly though, it was back in Cornwall today, at Gothian Sands sat alongside 2AA1.

The other Black-back from the south was a Lesser seen on Hayle estuary. This is a Portuguese-ringed bird from a rehabilitation project run by RIAS.

Well-travelled Blue YM23

After a great start to the gull-watching ear, it's been a bit quiet recently for gulls on the Lizard, with colour-ring sightings drying up a bit. But the drought was broken with the very nice record of an Icelandic-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull: Blue YM23.

This bird was ringed as an adult back in May 2010 at Sandgerði in western Iceland. Since then, it's been seen in three different winters in Portugal (on the coast and at landfills) and in-between times also seen in Co Wexford (December 2012), our very own Hayle estuary (March 2015) and then at Southerly Point, Lizard a few days ago! A round-up of its trips are mapped below, but it's certainly covered many more miles than this...

This is the only Icelandic-ringed Lesser Black-back to be seen in Cornwall, so hopefully we'll see it again next spring!

T015 trades Spanish dumps for sunny Lizard Point

Our run of colour-ringed Great Black-backed Gulls has slowed down a bit, so we've had to make do with the occasional Lesser Black-backed Gull instead! But Orange T015 was an interesting one, seen at Lizard point on 17th March.

T015 at Lizard Point on 17th March (Terence Thirlaway)

It was ringed in February 2010 at a rubbish dump near Salamanca, central Spain (red marker), and is almost certainly a British breeding bird. In 2011/12 it wintered further east, seen at two other Spanish rubbish dumps (blue markers).

T015 at ringing in Salamanca, February 2010 (Miguel Blanco)

 It was seen on the same dumps again in March 2013 and February 2014 and was last seen at Colmenar Viejo on 2nd March, so made a quick two-week movement back up to Lizard Point.

T015 at Colmenar Viejo, Madrid (Delfin Gonzalez)

There have only been 15 records of Spanish-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the UK, but this is the second in Cornwall, following another colour-ringed bird seen at Gwithian in 2006.