”The last couple of weeks have seen large numbers of Great Black-backed Gulls (and the odd Iceland and Glaucous Gull, and even a smart Kumlien’s Gull!) gathering on the reef at Lizard Point. There seems to be an endless stream of colour-ringed birds in amongst them as well, with birds from as diverse places as Norway, Wales, Channel Islands and France! So far we’ve recorded 13 different colour-ringed birds, and  the origins of some of those we’ve photographed (well Tony has photographed) are below.

JP164 was ringed as a chick at Risøy, Mandal, Norway in June 2011

White LAK2 was ringed on Looe Island, Cornwall, in June 2010 and has been seen several times in Guernsey

White LAY4 is another Looe Island bird, ringed in July 2012 and has previously only ventured as far as Camel Estuary

Black 96N was ringed in Normandy, France, in July 2013 and has been seen at Dawlish Warren, Devon, in October and December

Black 25L was ringed in Normandy in May 2012 and has been seen multiple times in Guernsey, lastly on 22nd February

P01B was ringed at Portland Breakwater, Dorset, in June 2013, and this is the first sighting since ringing

Yellow 0KK5 was ringed as a chick on Lihou Island, Guernsey, in June 2010. It has been regularly seen on the islands since ringing, and was also seen on the Plym Estuary in August 2012.

Yellow 0TT6 was too distant to photograph (and a bugger to read!), so here’s a photo of it when it was ringed on Lihou Island, Guernsey, in June 2011. It has also been seen at Dawlish Warren, Devon, in April 2012.

Yellow 1PP7 was ringed as a chick at Jethou, Guernsey, in June 2013. The only sighting since then was on Looe Island, Cornwall, on 20th January 2014.

Green M65 was ringed as a chick in June 2013 at Iles Saint-Marcouf, Manche, France. Interestingly it was also seen on Looe Island on 17th January and 25th February.

Among a few other interesting birds was Herring Gull Red S:037 which I originally saw in Newlyn Harbour in October 2011. It had been rehabilitated and released at Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, in July 2011, and was reunited with me again at Lizard Point on 11th March!