International bling

Today I took Peter A around locally, as for some reason he was wanting to see a patch that was worse than his. And on this line, we succeeded royally by failing to see much. 11 Yellow-legged Gulls on the River Thames and nearby flooded fields and the most confiding Shoveler Peter had ever seen - on the lake at Southwark Park - were the highlights. However, the company brightened up the day and it was good to show someone around while talking about way out west.

So back to yesterday, where I've just managed to send all my rings to the relevant ringing scheme coordinators. Loads of bling, mainly red (NTGG birds), but there was also an international contingent including a brute from Norway, a newbie from Belgium and a familiar Dutch guy.

Great Black-backed Gull - ringed as a chick at Ryvingen, Karmøy, Rogaland, Norway on 25th June 2009 then seen at Oostende, Belgium on 9th ovember 2009 and then Koksijde Strand, Belgium two days later. Since then though, this is the first report. Note that as a 5th calendar year bird, it's not quite in adult plumage by way of a dark gonys

Belgian ringed Herring Gull - birds of this ringing scheme are relatively regular in southeast England

Herring Gull '1A' was born in Zeeland, The Netherlands back in July 2007 - and nice to bump into it again. Same time, same place! Full history details on this previous post 

So with yesterday and today's ring reading, the 2013 score of rings I've read goes from 0 to 12. There'll be plenty more for sure.