Guernsey Trip 2010: The North Thames Gull Group undertook a trip to Guernsey in May 2010 to assist Paul Veron of La Société Guernesiaise with catching gulls on Chouet Landfill on the Northern end of Guernsey. Seven members of the group made the trip to assist with the operation over what was planned to be four days of intensive catching. Sadly, the weather prevented any catches on two of the days, but an excellent total of 1008 birds were caught in 6 catches on the other two days. Over 300 colour-ring sightings were also made. Thanks to Paul Veron for organising the trip and undertaking all the hard work to gain access to the tip and arrange a great team to work with. Read more details 14-Jun-2010
RE-SIGHTING NEWS: This week we received details of two of our birds re-sighted at sea. Andreas Buchheim was in the German Bight working on offshore windfarm planning when he was able to read the colour rings on a Lesser Black-backed Gull ringed at Rainham in September 2009 and a Great Black-backed Gull ringed at Pitsea in January 2010. 30-Apr-2010
TRIP - Pitsea - 27/03/2010: A day with few gulls on site, so clearly many had moved back out to their breeding grounds in the last few weeks. With the threat of showers we took a quick early catch of only Black-headed Gulls and re-set to see what the weather did. We were lucky enough for it to hold off and a small second catch was possible. A few Mediterranean Gulls were seen but none in the catching area. 27-Mar-2010
TRIP - Pitsea - 06/03/2010: A large team went to Pitsea today and we were lucky to get a really good load of waste from the first dustcart in. Birds were quickly down but the compactor driver running over the cable meant the spare cable had to be deployed. Luckily there was lots of food and an excellent catch of 449 birds was soon in the bag. We elected to re-set for a second attempt and after a couple of hours with a single Mediterranean Gull in the catching area we took a second catch. It was still early so we re-set for a third attempt but ended up with too many birds in the catching area so did not fire. The day total ended up at 722 new birds. Highlights were also a control Common Gull from Finland and a Black-headed Gull from Denmark.06-Mar-2010
TRIP - Pitsea - 20/02/2010: A day that started with the threat of rain and snow turned out fine and we were able to take two really nice catches. A large catch of small gulls first with a splattering of other gulls. The second catch was very respectable but the best thing was the groups second Caspian Gull. 20-Feb-2010
TRIP - Pitsea - 06/02/2010: Yet another tough day with problems before getting to the tip with the head gasket going on the Land Rover on Thursday! Alternative arrangements were made to get the kit to the tip and a session looked possible. The set was OK apart from the fact we had to run the cable accross the road with arctics and compactors running over it. We got the rubbish rolled at first break and we had taken a catch within ten minutes. This was a good catch of 300 plus birds and we should have been happy. However, we re-set and tried for a second catch - with at least one Mediterranean Gull in the catching area - but the firing cable had been damaged making it impossible to fire. All in all a good day.06-Feb-2010
TRIP - Pitsea - 23/01/2010: A tricky day with mild weather, fox and Starling problems making taking a catch very difficult. Excellent perseverance from the compactor drivers allowed us to take a catch of just over 100 birds. A quick re-set attracted birds including over 1000 Starlings, which we just could not fire on. However, 76 birds were colour ringed out of the catch and there was a Belgian control Herring Gull.23-Jan-2010
TRIP - Pitsea - 09/01/2010: A really good start to 2010 after a poor first half to the winter. The tip was full of birds and due to the cold conditions they were hungry. At first there were too many birds and safety was a problem. However, after about half an hour birds settled down and we were able to take a catch. We did not realise quite how big it was until we ran out of sacks with about 20 Herring Gulls still under the net. We ringed these birds direct from the net and took everything else off the tip and into the workshop to process. After processing we were really pleased with the number of big gulls in the catch.09-Jan-2010
RE-SIGHTING NEWS: From the two trips to Rainham in August and September we colour-ringed 127 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. As expected, some of these are now showing up in Iberia and this week we received a report of a bird seen in Morocco. This was one of 148 colour-ring sightings of this species obtained by Italian ringers Adriano Talamelli and Alessio Farioli on a two week trip to north Africa. They also managed an amazing 580 colour-ring readings of Audouins Gulls. View map 24-Dec-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 12/12/2009: A very quick and efficient set by an experienced team saw us set by 8am adjacent to two loads of rubbish that had been dumped the previous day. Birds were quickly down when the compactor flattened the rubbish and after a couple of lifts a catch of mainly Black-headed Gulls was taken with a few large gulls and a couple of Common Gulls mixed in. Although we reset to attempt a second, catch birds did not come back onto our waste and showers eventually forced us to pack up without a second catch. 12-Dec-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 21/11/2009: After cancelling last Saturday due to weather, we elected to attempt a catch today as weather forecasts are not looking good for the next month. With a quick early set we were in position by 8am. Lots of birds came down but were spooked and we then had a long wait. Eventually a dust cart came in and although there was not a lot of food waste, it had enough to attract the gulls and after some excellent persistence by the compactor driver we were able to take a good catch of 219 birds.21-Nov-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 31/10/2009: A small team arrived to difficult looking weather conditions. Although not raining on arrival, rain looked possible but it was unclear just when it would arrive. We elected to set and see what happened. Birds came down quickly on the first push of rubbish but there were two chairs in the wrong place that would have snagged the net. Birds took a while to settle again and only through the persistence of the compactor driver were we able to get them back. Due to the threat of rain a small catch was taken and quickly got under cover to process. One Lithuanian Black-headed Gull was the highlight.31-Oct-2009
WEBSITE NEWS: New functionality has been added to this website to show a map of all the recovery and resighting locations of birds from each catch. Just click on the Ringing Date on any of the birds on the Recoveries page. With the permissions of the photographers, we are now also providing images of re-sightings. Individual photos are accessible from tne Recoveries page or the Map pages if the recovery date is clickable. The entire collection is available from the Gallery page. 23-Oct-2009
RE-SIGHTING NEWS: We have just received details of a colour-ring sighting of a Herring Gull from northern Russia, near Murmansk. The bird was ringed at Pitsea in January 2009 and re-sighted at the end of August. View map View photograph 23-Oct-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 17/10/2009: A good day at Pitsea today. Lots of Herring Gulls and good numbers of Great Black-backs on the tip. Black-headed Gull numbers are starting to build up. One Mediterranean Gull was seen but there was nothing else unusual. With a good early set, birds were onto the rubbish quickly. After not wanting to settle to start with and the wind keeping birds in the air a chance opened up and a catch or mainly Herring Gulls was taken. The birds were dealt with efficiently and we were packing up by 12:30.17-Oct-2009
TRIP - Rainham - 12/09/2009: Again at Rainham, a small team set efficiently and birds were quickly down on the rubbish. Initial safety problems meant we had to wait about half an hour for a clear window to fire. However, when we did it was worth the wait with a record catch of 71 Lesser Black-backed and 8 Yellow-legged Gulls. 12-Sep-2009
TRIP - Rainham - 29/08/2009: Today saw us back at Rainham for the first time since January 2008. On arrival it was clear that the predominant species was Lesser Black-backed Gull. A small but experienced team set quickly and efficiently. After a long and frustrating wait we eventually had enough birds down and a respectable catch of 77 was taken. 29-Aug-2009
Guernsey Trip 2009: The North Thames Gull Group undertook a trip to Guernsey in June 2009 to assist Paul Veron of La Société Guernesiaise with catching gulls on Chouet Landfill on the Northern end of Guernsey. Six members of the group made the trip to assist with the operation over three days of intensive catching. Over the three days we took seven catches with a grand total of 744 birds caught. The Guernsey team were absolutely delighted with this result and the trip was declared a success. Thanks to Paul Veron for organising the trip and undertaking all the hard work to gain access to the tip and arrange a great team to work with. Read more details 08-Jun-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 21/03/2009: Today saw another visit for training from Jez Blackburn and some of his team from Norfolk. Three catches were taken today with Jez taking two of the three. Highlights were a Med Gull in the second catch. Also seen on the tip were Iceland, Glaucous, Yellow-legged and Caspian Gull all just outside the catching area! The total of 549 (including retraps and controls) was good and takes the winter total to over 4000 gulls. 22-Mar-2009
TRIP - Rainham - 14/03/2009: A couple of the group undertook a field session to Rainham today to look for colour rings. It was a succesfull day with 10 confirmed colour ringed sightings. Two of our own birds from Pitsea, two from the Orfordness colony, three from Sussex (released birds), a Dutch bird, a CSL bird and a LBB Gull which is currently unknown. On top of this three blue rings with orange letters (almost certainly Gloucester birds) another Orford bird and one or two Orange ones evaded reading. A first winter Iceland Gull was seen on the tip and a 2nd Winter Glaucous Gull was seen on Aveley Marshes. Thanks to Pete Budd and Rainham for allowing access. 14-Mar-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 07/03/2009: Still good numbers of gulls on the tip. With a very large team we elected for two catches. Aiming for 200 in each catch. Good numbers of Lessers were evident with 20 trapped including a Norwegian bird. The remainder of the Herring Gull colour rings were used for this winter on the first catch. A few colour ringed birds were sighted by Richard, Steve and Pete 08-Mar-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 14/02/2009: Today was a tricky day. Birds at first did not want to come on to feed on the rubbish. Phil the compactor driver did a fantastic job and when we got birds it was in abundance. Foxes then became a problem for a while but eventualy a half chance presented itself and a catch was taken.15-Feb-2009
WEBSITE NEWS: This website has now been improved to show maps for all of our recoveries and controls. Just click on the ring numbers on the Recoveries and Controls pages to see where the bird was ringed and where it has been re-captured or re-sighted. 08-Feb-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 24/01/2009: A chilly start with no wind looked perfect. Gulls at first did not want to come to feed. After about an hour birds became interested and a catch was taken with good numbers of Great Black-backed Gulls. A Glaucous Gull was seen near the catching area on a couple of occasions but evaded capture.25-Jan-2009
RE-SIGHTING NEWS: This season's colour ringed birds continue to be reported from France including, this week, a letter with details of 11 different birds seen in the Calais area in November and December. An amazing 14% of the Herring Gulls from the 10 October catch have already been re-sighted. 18-Jan-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 10/01/2009: A very large team took two catches with a superb total of 587 birds from both catches, which included 9 Starlings. The small gulls were back in force apparently frozen out of thier normal sites after the prolonged cold spell. The highlight was a Polish ringed Med Gull and a retrap Black-headed Gull which was ringed nearly 17 years ago at Pitsea by Mr Harris.11-Jan-2009
TRIP - Pitsea - 27/12/2008: The tip was only open for the morning and with little domestic waste due to arrive, we were lucky to get a large load of mixed rubbish which was atttractive to the gulls. We managed a quick fire and just about got the catch processed in time.28-Dec-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 20/12/2008: After a week of mild weather we were concerned that the gulls would not be hungry enough to come onto the waste in the catching area. The breezy conditions allowed a lot of birds to hang in the air and for those on the ground to get easily spooked - but they were hungry. With each lift-off birds returned quickly and increasing numbers of large gulls stayed in the catching area. The resulting fire included our largest ever catch of Great Black-backed Gulls.21-Dec-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 29/11/2008: Hoping for quick fire with the threat of rain, we were intially frustrated by the proximity of the catching area to the main tip face, with birds streaming in over the net. Eventually things settled and we were able to take a small catch.30-Nov-2008
Re-sighting: Our first re-sighting of a colour-ringed Great Black-backed Gull has been reported from Dungeness. 24-Nov-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 15/11/2008: The arrangement of the tip face made it difficult to select a location for the net, and when we did efforts were frustrated by operational traffic on the tip. Eventually a reasonable catch was possible, with good numbers of Great Black-backed Gulls once again.16-Nov-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 01/11/2008: With rain forecast we elected for an early start. The gulls were clearly hungry and were soon onto the rubbish. After a frustrating 20 minutes with birds in danger, on and too close to the net, we were able to fire and took a catch of predominantly Herring Gulls. The rain started just as the pack-up was complete and the birds were ringed under cover off of the tip. 02-Nov-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 11/10/2008: Armed with our new colour rings, we were fortunate to get a couple of loads of rubbish containing a lot of food and birds were quickly attracted into the catching area. Many larger gulls walked in from beyond the range of the net. What was initially thought to be just over a hundred birds turned out to be a massive catch of mostly Herring Gulls. 12-Oct-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 13/09/2008: Uncertain what a September catch might bring we arrived to find most birds loafing on the fields to the north of the tip. What was initially though to be a small catch was taken but our new net deploys much faster and caught more birds on the edge of the catching area than expected. We reset for a second catch and after a long wait and some encouragement from the compactor driver stirring up the rubbish, we had around 600 birds in the catching area - too many to catch safely. Suddenly most of the smaller gulls lifted leaving the Great Black-backed Gulls on thr ground. We fired almost immediately for our second ever largest catch of this species. 14-Sep-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 08/08/2008: An excursion to Pitsea was undertaken as part of the Rye Meads ringing course, to give delegates some experience of gull ringing and fitting larger ring sizes. A small catch was taken.09-Aug-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 29/03/2008: Another quick and efficient set and rubbish with plenty of food waste brought the gull in quickly. We waited a little to increase the proportion of large gulls but took an early first catch. Attempts at a second catch were frustrated by vehicle movements on the tip and the proximity of the net to where driver were closing the rear doors on their lorries. With the possibility of rain a small second catch was taken. 30-Mar-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 22/03/2008: Although it was raining with gusty winds on arrival at the tip, the forecast did predict a clearer spell in mid-morning, so we sat it out. When we could see the clearer weather arriving we set quickly and had several opportunities to fire, were it not for the Starlings all over the furled net. Eventually we were able to fire safely and removed the gulls to the relative comfort of the shed off of the tip. 23-Mar-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 15/03/2008: Buoyed up by our success on 23rd February, we were keen to return to Pitsea, but the weather forecast was not good. The first load of rubbish contained very little food and birds were moving on quickly, with the larger gulls hardly stopping. Concerned that the weather might curtail operations, we took a small token catch of mainly Black-headed Gulls. But is was still early so we reset and did get a much better load of rubbish delivered. The birds still did not seem keen to settle and after a wait were able to take a modest second catch.16-Mar-2008
TRIP - Pitsea - 23/02/2008: This was our first attempt at Pitsea for over 10 years. It was an easy set but we couldn't understand why the birds didn't want seem to want to settle, until we realised that there was a fox in the catching area. Once chased off (no easy feat) birds came back in force and a sizeable catch followed quickly. We decided to reset, but were delayed from firing again until we had emptied enough sacks from the first catch. At this time up to three Mediterranean Gulls were in the catching area, but by the time we were able to fire only one remained and was successfully caught.24-Feb-2008
TRIP - Rainham - 05/01/2008: An early start meant setting the net in the half-light. Too any birds and problems with lorries stopping in the firing line were eventaully overcome and an early catch of large gulls was taken. After resetting it was difficult to get birds to settle in tha catching area, so the second catch was mainly of Black-headed Gulls.06-Jan-2008
TRIP - Rainham - 27/12/2007: With the tip having been closed over the Christmas break expectations were high that the gulls would be hungry and easy to catch. Once we had the rubbish in th right place a catch was taken relatively quickly. 28-Dec-2007
TRIP - Rainham - 15/12/2007: A difficult set right on the edge of the tip, but once ready the gulls came into the catching area very quickly and we soon took a first catch. For the second catch we wanted to wait for more large gulls and with the wind picking up birds were hanging in the air making it difficult to find a catching window. Eventually we did take a second catch that included a good number of Herring Gulls. 16-Dec-2007
TRIP - Rainham - 11/11/2007: A quick set with catching opportunities only thwarted by Starlings walking all over the net. The resulting catch included our first Caspian Gull.12-Nov-2007
TRIP - Rainham - 27/10/2007: Two modest catches with good numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls.28-Oct-2007
TRIP - Rainham - 31/03/2007: The first trip of the re-formed North Thames Gull Group, returning to Rainham for the first time since 2004. The catch was exclusively of large gulls our primary target.01-Apr-2007
TRIP - Westmill - 06/03/2004: A small catch, as we learn how best to utilise this site.07-Mar-2004
TRIP - Westmill - 12/02/2004: An initial catch at this new site in Hertfordshire.13-Feb-2004
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