At Shawell the light was just beginning to fade when I noticed a Herring Gull with a yellow colour ring. The day had been a good one, as I'd already read 16 colour rings. I couldn't make out the code, so I fitted my camera and switched to live view and zoomed in. This doesn't work that well most of the time, but in between gusts of wind the image focused and the code C02CN was read.
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| Herring Gull C02CN |
Checking the colour ringing website, I found just one scheme that appeared to fit and that one was based in Finland. I emailed the Ringing Centre at the Finnish Museum of Natural History and the next day I received a reply confirming that it had been ringed as a breeding female in 2007 - see map below for location.
Last February I volunteered to drive down to Fareham to pick up some important bits for work and I also took time out to see the nearby wintering Ring-billed Gull. The job needed doing again today, so I stepped forward once more.
The RBG had returned to Walpole Park, Gosport again and although it wasn't quite so happy to pose this time, I still got some reasonable images. The light wasn't great for flight shots, so I might just have to volunteer again next year!
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| Ring-billed Gull |
Things have been a little quiet for me over the last couple of weeks. I tried a local site that looked like it might attract a Siberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita tristis. So far I've not located a Siberian one, but there are at least two ordinary Chiffchaffs wintering at the site and also a male and female Blackcap. I've also seen a Green Sandpiper there, so the site looks like it will be worth further attention.
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Female Blackcap
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