Gull - tastic ......on a sunny Caldey Island

A drive from our usual north coast ringing sites to the far south today - offshore on Caldey Island
Caldey home to a monastery with thirteen monks... and 11000 nesting seabirds !

Great weather for ringing gull chicks... with Herring Gulls the target today.

With c2360 pairs this is likely to be the third largest Herring Gull colony in UK.

In the first part of the colony with c180 pairs we easily located and ringed 150+ fairly well grown young.

 

Steve who has been ringing and monitoring seabirds on the island for 45 years suggested that this was a  very good year in terms of productivity.

We completed the ringing of 176 chicks at a second part of the colony, and after this very successful work we relaxed in the sun watching Grey Seals and the more distant but successful nesting Peregrines....

Many thanks for Steve Sutcliffe (Pembs RG) for the invitation, we look forward to next year - year 46 !!