Gulls and Wader Chicks

This week I have my father staying and tonight I took him out on a ringing session so that he could get a close up encounter with some young birds and to meet some members of the ringing group.

The first part of the evening was just up the road from home where there was a small colony of Common Gulls. There was also a pair of Oystercatchers nesting and it was an Oystercatcher chick which was the first bird of the evening to be ringed.

There were 12 Common Gull chicks ringed as well.

Common Gulls

We then moved on to an area in the hills closer to home to take a look at a Black-headed Gull colony. On the way to the site we ringed a Lapwing chick and an Oystercatcher chick.

We also flushed a Snipe and after a quick look around the area the nest was located which held four eggs.

Snipe nest

On reaching the colony of Black-headed Gulls there didn't appear to be as many chicks as had been seen on a recce of the area yesterday. A total of 7 chicks were ringed.

Black-headed Gull

On returning home a second Blackbird nest was located in my garden which had two eggs and a newly hatched chick in it, so that will now be monitored to see when they will be ready for ringing.

Thanks to my father for the use of his photos.