A Cornish 'pirate' visits Goring

Greater-black-backed Gull - L:CT2 - Goring-on-sea - West Sussex - 25th February 2017

Checking through the gull roosts at Goring always throws something interesting up from time-to-time. Checking the gulls today, I noticed 2 of the young Greater-black-backed Gulls were colour ringed. For a change, they were close to the car, 1 had a black ring with white numbering on its right leg but unfortunatley I was unable to get the details before it departed, but did manage to get details of this individual and checking the Euring website was fortunate enough to receive the following details from Bruce Taggart from the Looe Gull Study group......

"Hi Nick

Thanks for this sighting. Not a great life history I'm afraid - yours is the first sighting of this bird. However it is a good record as not many of our birds head NE, most have a southerly bearing. Interestingly we've never had any records from the English east coast.

The project on Looe Island has colour ringed over 500 GBB Gull chicks since 2010. Last year for the first time we had ringed birds returning to the island to breed.

The project has shown that there is frequent cross Channel movements with numerous sightings in France and the Channel Islands, and birds returning to the south west. I suspect they find a working trawler and follow it back to port. The furthest movement has been a bird that flew twice to NW Spain, returning to Looe in the interim.

Any more sightings of this or any other Looe birds will be valuable.

Many thanks

Bruce"

Bruce Taggart

Co-ordinator, Looe Gull Study Group

Great Black-backed Gull Recapture History

Codes: Pull = Pullus/Nestling; 3J= hatched during calendar year in juvenile body plumage; 3= hatched during calendar year; 5= definitely hatched last year; 7= definitely hatched 2 years ago; 9= definitely hatched 3 years ago; 11= definitely hatched 4 years ago; VV=alive and probably healthy, ring or colour marks read in the field.

Metal Ring Number	MA34386	Colour Code	L:CT2	Ringing date/ Ringer	20/06/2016 Mark Grantham	Age	Pull
Place of Ringing	St George’s (Looe) Island, Looe, Cornwall. England				Co-ordinates	50º20’N, 04º 26’W

                    

Type/ Age	Capture Details	Date	Location	Co-ordinates	Distance/ Bearing	Duration
5	vv sighted Nick Bond	25/02/2017	Goring-on-Sea, nr Worthing , East Sussex	50o48’N 00o24’W	290 km 78º ENE	250 days