Black Headed Gull project Year 2

I found this post languishing in the 'drafts' box and although it's a tad out of date--it is worth publishing because we are starting to get records of the birds we ringed at this event
 being sent to us--more details later:-

Last summer we colour ringed 125 Black Headed Gull chicks at Belvide in a relatively new colony on the island at the west end. We have had some fascinating results some of which I've mentioned here and in West Midland Bird Club newsletters. We have been especially interested in chick movements from new colonies to see if they differ from those chicks reared in established colonies. Therefore we decided to only ring chicks from two consecutive years and then stop--any longer and it would cease to be dispersion from a 'new' colony.

The lousy weather on Saturday meant a significant amount of work rearranging things for the Sunday but at least it was worth it because rain and wind were replaced by sunshine and calm air--perfect conditions. A strong team of 17 ( in 4 different teams with specific jobs)  mustered at 6 am for a detailed briefing. The first team in action were our good friends from Cannock Sea Scouts whose very important job was to keep an eye on any birds which took to the water--scooping them up and ushering them onto the shore. They did a brilliant job. This is their second year and they report thoroughly enjoying themselves carrying out a rather different set of activities than normal!!