A more interesting than usual collection,with none of the regular Gloucester landfill ringed Herring Gulls (though 3 of them turned up on Feb 2nd)
Jan 3; Med Gull white 3E71. I've mentioned this bird before & this triggered some mislaid Fishguard sightings.
It was ringed as a pullus in Belgium in June 05. There were 5 sightings in Fishguard in Oct & Dec 05, then again in Dec 07.In Sept 08 it was seen in Aberystwyth & Newport, In 2010 it was in Aberystwyth in Sept & Fishguard in Oct & Jan 11. In 2011 it was in Abertstwyth in Sept & Fishguard in Nov. Aug 12 was back to Abertstwyth, then Jan 14, 4 sightings in Newport
In the spring it returns to Belgium via Northen France, but there dont seem to have been any breeding season records.
Jan 17; Common Gull J7VR. was ringed as a pullus in southern Norway in June 2012. It was at Newport in Dec 12 & hasn't been reported in the interim. There have been huge numbers of Common Gulls at Newport this winter, but no other ringed birds.
Jan 17; Med Gull Red 6P0 was ringed as a pullus in Poland in May 04. The ringer didn't include info about inbetween sightings.
Jan 17; Lesser B B White NS was ringed as a chick on Skomer, then reringed as a breeding adult in May 07. It has returned to breed every year since. This is the only reported sighting away from Skomer, which is amazing as it has a large ring on its tibia.
Jan 19; Med Gull White 30T1. This bird gets around. Ringed as a pullus in Belgium in June 08, in April 10 it was in Brittany, July 10 Llanelli, Feb 11 Cornwall, Dec 12 Asturias (N Spain), May 13 Holland & Jan 14 Newport.
Jan 20; Lesser B B Yellow 1WF was ringed as a nestling on Flatholm in the Bristol Channel in July 07. In summer 08 there were several sightings at Gloucester landfill sites, In Nov 08 it was at La Coruna NW Spain, then disappeared till this sighting.
Unusual to get 2 ringed Lesser BBs as they are relatively infrequent at Newport - I dont think Ive ever seen more than 10 at once.
