Saturday 2 May 2015

Black-headed Gull - Yellow 2XCN

Way back in August, a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull was reported to me by Cameron Moore at Whitehead in Co. Antrim.

Cameron told me it was ZXCN and, after checking cr-birding.org, I reported the sighting to the appropriate project contact. I heard back that they hadn't used this code and it got me thinking, could the "Z" be a "2"?

I meant to follow up with this, but I forgot and it was only a couple of months later while deleting old emails, I remembered about it.

I contacted Cameron and he had thankfully taken a photo. It took a couple of months longer (and a bit of pestering on my part!) for him to send me the photo, but he has now sent it through and I'm delighted to confirm that it is 2XCN.

Photo by Cameron Moore

2XCN is a bird ringed in NE Scotland by Grampian Ringing Group. It was through my involvement with GRG's gull projects via Tay Ringing Group while living in Scotland that I got interested in colour-ringing gulls....so this whole thing is their fault!

Ringed as a juvenile in September 2012 on the Ythan Estuary, it was recorded twice in October 2012 at Seaton Burn in Lothian. Cameron's re-sighting in August 2014 is the first record since.

Many thanks to Cameron for the report and photo and to Calum in Grampian for the information.

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