Black-headed Gull - Blue 2F34

I had to meet a colleague this afternoon to give him some stuff for work and as we had arranged to meet only 5-10 minutes from where I have been doing most of my catching this winter, I nipped round afterwards to see if I could see any of our study birds.

It didn't take long for birds to surround the car and I managed to take a few photos of a couple of the birds we'd ringed there earlier this winter, including 2ABL who was looking fantastic with almost her full breeding plumage.  It was also nice to see that white T35J was still around too.

My 14 month-old son was with me and we threw some bread down to keep the marauding mallards and ravenous mutes at bay.  I also managed to catch a gull whilst holding Ru at the same time, but I realised I had left my ringing gear at home, so unfortunately it was in vain!

Just as we were leaving I noticed a bird which had been fitted with a dark colour-ring.  On closer inspection I could see that it was blue 2F34. I could also just about make out the email address at the top of the ring, which told me it was a bird from the NW England Project.

Via the power of Twitter I confirmed my sighting with Kane Brides and this evening I sent off a couple of photos to Kane and Ciaran Hatsell, who coordinates the BHG c-ringing side of their study.

You can check out the Facebook page for the North West Coot and Black-headed Gull Study by clicking here.