On Wednesday we went to Shellness on Sheppey – it was a nice sunny day to be beside the sea!
However, I have got into the habit of stopping off at Leysdown to feed the gulls. So, after buying an out-of-date loaf of bread for 50p at Leysdown, we stopped by the sea wall and while the others got their cameras ready I started to feed the gulls. Within seconds we were treated to flight displays from black-headed gulls, common gulls and mediterranean gulls! The latter were very bold and made off with much of the bread but we had good views of these beautiful gulls.
We noticed that one of the mediterranean gulls had a colour ring and eventually we managed to get some good photographs that will allow us to send off the ring number and find out where the bird has come from. (Yes – I know that the answer ought to be obvious but almost certainly it didn’t!)
Don’t know your gulls? The black-headed gulls have a brown head cap and the mediterranean gulls have a black head. Easy really – but its the white wings that make the med gull special. (The other gull is a common gull – which is not really common either).
We did go on to Shellness and later we went along the track to Elmley National Nature Reserve – great views of redshanks, lapwings and yellow wagtails. Thanks to Sally for the photographs.
Malcolm
The Mediterranean gull was originally ringed in France. Currently awaiting more details. If you have a good photo the ringing project would appreciate it.
Update on the colour-ringed gull. It was ringed in Les Portal, Northern France on 2nd January 2009. At the end of April that year it was seen at Oye Plage (a few miles away). Until we saw this bird at Leysdown, it had been regularly seen in the same areasover the intervening years; the last sighting being last October. This appears to be the furthest the individual has been from its “home patch”. Keep an eye out for it if you are in Leysdown in the future.