Med Gull Update & Recent Recoveries

Perhaps the most interesting of  the latest batch of recoveries was the ringing information of three of the German ringed Med Gulls that were sighted off the Heysham Power Station outfalls in July. Interestingly two had been ringed as nestlings on the same date(16/6/12) in the roof top colony at Pionierinsel Luhe Grunendeich Germany and seen just seven days apart at Heysham. The third bird was also from the same colony but had been ringed as a nestling in 2009 and sighted at Heysham in August 2011 and again this July.Would be interesting to know where these three birds are now.

Other recoveries included four of our juvenile Reed warblers caught in August and early September at Icklesham Ringing Station in Sussux, one was caught there just four days after ringing at Leighton Moss. This brings the total of Reed Warblers from our ringing to  45 from Sussex almost all at Icklesham. But perhaps the most interesting Reed Warbler was an adult male ringed at Leighton on 19th June and caught 17 days later  38km south. We know from many other recoveries that adult Reed Warblers move south at the end of the breeding season. But this one is very early. The 2013 breeding season had a very late start due to the cold spring and few if any Reed Warblers had second broods so this bird was presumably starting its migration in early July.

Another Sand Martin in West France brings our total  of Sand Martins Recoveries from France to 44, while one from Icklesham brings our total  to a staggering 149. Three more Twite from Argyll and caught wintering at Heysham brings our total from this Scottish locality to 30.
John