Gull ringing project

Having a wing span of around 1.5m great black-backed gulls truly are one of Britain’s most impressive birds and now, following a proposal by Pete Kent (the Trust’s East Cornwall Reserves Manager) a ringing project has been set up to learn more about these gulls.

For many years Dave Curtis, a local ornithologist and Dave Conway, Loveny/Colliford Reservoir Nature Reserve’s Warden, have been recording the number of great black-backed gulls breeding on the Island. This new ringing project will build on their work and help us understand the great black-back's ecology and life history as well as monitor population trends. The ringing project started in June 2010 when a team of around ten volunteers visited the Island on two occasions. In the first year the team was faced with quite a challenge as the Island is also home to breeding herring gulls as well as great black-backs and many nests and young birds were well nests hidden amongst tall vegetation! Eventually 49 great black-backed gulls were caught and rung. This year, despite similar numbers of nests almost twice as many chicks were rung. We now have 140 gulls fitted with a British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) ring on the left leg and a white plastic ring engraved with a red identification code on the right leg. The code starts with the letter L, followed by a colon and then two letters and a single figure, eg L:AA1. The local ringing co-ordinator, Bruce Taggart, has requested that if you find a ringed bird to report your sighting via email. In turn you will receive a full life history of the bird.

Bruce says it’s hoped that analysis of the great black-backed gull data will allow us to investigate longevity, dispersal patterns, site fidelity and survival rates in these gulls, as well as monitor long term population trends. The ringing scheme will last for at least five years and hopefully much longer. The project is a partnership between Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Cornwall Birdwatching & Preservation Society (CBWPS). Claire Lewis, the Warden’s Assistant has long wondered what happens to the fledged gulls and she is pleased that now, with the participation of the public, this exciting new project gives us the opportunity to discover more about the gulls. This in turn assists us with management of this beautful island nature reserve.