Seabird Outing success
The Seabird Outing to Europa Point was very enjoyable, with over 20 people in attendance throughout the afternoon, including some avid photographers, among which were John Sanchez and Albert Yome who led the outing, and Tommy Finlayson, Jason Mesilio, Shane Shacaluga and Trevor Hammond; all kitted out with their telephoto lenses at the ready.
A magnificent day with mainly clear skies and a lovely sunny afternoon, although the wind was a moderate north-westerly which does not favour close passage of seabirds. There were at least over 100 Black-headed Gulls feeding and settled on the cliff below the Point, with some Mediterranean Gulls accompanying them. A trickle of Gannets moving out of the Mediterranean, with some close inshore, attracted by the fish, with some diving on the shoals and catching a few. Three Great Skuas flew by, with one turning back to attack an unwary gull, before being chased off by the Yellow-legged Gulls.
Two of the Black-headed Gulls were observed to be carrying both colour and metal rings. A quick snap by some of the photographers and a zoom-in on their viewfinders revealed the codes, with one bearing E6PT, and the other in flight bearing the code Z02C. Both black letters on a white ring. E6PT was seen at Europa Point on the 25th November and details can be seen on the November sightings page. Z02C is from Czech Republic. These codes will be sent to the respective ringers who will then provide us with details of where the birds were first caught, ringed and subsequently seen. These details will be posted on the website as soon as we receive them. E6PT was seen on the 25th November, and details of this bird can be found on the November sightings page.
Details of Z02C are now available.
A selection of some of the photos taken by the photographers, including the ringed Black-headed gulls.
