The Whitlingham Bird Report for 2023 is now available to download from the Bird Reports page or from here

NORWICH: Ringed Herring Gull

5th April 2016

Like many birders I keep a list of birds seen in or from my house/garden. Living close to the centre of Norwich and with a small paved yard, it's not a particularly big list, but nonetheless every morning whilst waiting for the kettle to boil I stare out of the window in the hope that something a bit unusual will fly past. Usually I have to settle for whatever has been attracted by the bread thrown onto next door's shed roof - a mixture of Feral Pigeons, Magpies and occasionally gulls. 

Today I saw a couple of Herring Gulls in the mix, and noticed that one of them had a reddish ring on. I grabbed my camera and got a couple of photos before it flew off, but sadly not quite sharp enough (or at the right angle) to read the code. The ring is actually dark orange, with a black code, which previous experience suggests means that it was ringed by the North Thames Ringing Group at Pitsea Landfill site in Essex. Another example (if one were needed) that interesting birds can turn up anywhere, and I now have something in particular to look out for!


No comments:

Post a Comment