Swiftly following on from the sightings in Cornwall we received four more sightings of our Great Black Backed Gulls, on this occasion seen on the Beach at West Bexington Dorset. Part of the Chesil Bank and Jurassic Coast.

All four sightings and photos sent in by Mike John Morse.

P:04D first sighting since ringing in June 2019 seen at West Bexington on the 6th July 2020.

P:91D  first sighting since ringing in June 2019 seen at West Bexington on the 15th July 2020

Mark Grantham of the West Cornwall Ringing Group passed on three sightings of our Great Black Backed Gulls.

P:41D ringed June 2019 and first sighting was in January 2020 at Lampaul Finnistre France, subsequent sightings was on the 14th & 15th July 2020 at Southerly Point Cornwall by Terry Thirlaway.

P:56D ringed June 2019 this is the first sighting since then, also seen at Southerly Point Cornwall by Terry Thirlaway on the 14th July 2020

A Great Black Gull P:73C which was ringed during June 2016 as a Pulli, was sighted by Emmanuel Martin at Saint-Paint-sur-Mer Normandy on the 3rd July 2020.

P:73C Photo Emmanuel Martin©

The first recorded sighting was at Vale on Guernsey (Channel Island) in Dec 2016 since then regular sightings around the island of Guernsey up to and including November 2019, With one recorded visit to Dawlish Warren in Devon in November 2019.

Emmanuel's is our latest sighting.

A good sighting and of a Herring Gull, which was ringed in Weymouth during July 2009  hatched that year.

Seen at New Milton Hampshire on the 18th June 2020, BTO metal ring read in the field by a none ringer.

Reading metal rings is not an easy thing to do, well done to the observer.

Not all our recoveries are happy ones. Louise Pritchard found the remains of a Great Black Backed Gull P:15C on the Beach at Sidmouth Devon some time prior to the 24th July.

It was long dead, ringed as a Pulli in July 2019 on the Portland Harbour Break Waters.

This was the first information we had received on this Gull since it was ringed. Not a long history sadly for this Gull.

As with all sightings of our Gulls they are of interest to our study.

Colour ring projects can be found on the c-r Birding web site.

Due to the restrictions of the Coronavirus sightings of our Gulls are very much reduced as would be expected under the circumstances. With the easing of restrictions they have started arriving once more.

An accidental catch of a herring Gull in a garden gave one of our team a chance to ring a Herring Gull. HG 769 was ringed as an Adult 20th May in Seaton Devon.

A  first sighting of Great Black Back Gull P:56D since it was ringed as a Pulli in June 2019 was sent in by the West Cornwall Ringing Group. Seen at Southerly Point the Lizard Cornwall on the 22nd May.

Lower Compton Landfill near to Bristol is still proving to be a magnet for Herring Gulls. Thanks to Peter Ingram we have a first sighting since ringing in June 2019 as a Pulli, of Herring Gull 816.
Seen on the 22nd may at Lower Compton.

A sighting of regular visitor Great Black Back Gull P:62A to a Reservoir and a Quarry near to Chard in Somerset, part of which is in Dorset.

The sighting on the 13th May 2020 was at Chard Jnct Quarry Dorset  seen by Dave Helliar.

 

P:62A Dave Helliar ©

Mate to P:62A Dave Helliar ©