Gulls spotted in their over-wintering areas
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
Species: Lesser Black-backed Gull
Project: Multi-scale movements of gulls from Texel
During our short days in the Dutch winter, one might wonder where the Lesser Black-blacked Gulls are now that they have left the colony in Texel. Unfortunately, once the gulls leave the colony we do not receive any GPS data from them until they return next year. The last data points were transmitted on 9 August 2011 from logger 311 (colour ring MAMJ). This male was actually tagged in the 2010 breeding season. Luckily, these birds are also wearing a unique colour ring. Dedicated ring-readers around Europe try and read as many rings as possible and report them to the organisation that ringed them (in this case Royal NIOZ, kees.camphuysen@nioz.nl). As a result, we regularly obtain information about the whereabouts of the gulls we’ve tagged, even when we lose track of them. Reporting of colour rings also provides invaluable information about age and mortality for birds with or without GPS tags. In the last few weeks several birds tracked with UvA-BiTS have been reported alive:
MAMJ (logger 311) was sighted on 20 October 2011 at the Vilarrasa landfill area in Spain (image on left, the logger antenna is visible on the back of the bird). From our tracking data we know that this individual also spent last winter in Spain. From the last two years of tracking we have over 38,000 GPS positions of this individual. Photographed by Jose Manuel Mendez.
FAPR (previously FADA, logger 533) was sighted on 1 September 2011 at a garbage dump in Blaringhem France. On 28 November 2011 she was sighted in Chamteusse-sur-Baconne, again in a garbage treatment area (image on right). Junk food is not new in her diet; she was tracked during the last season regularly following the ferry to Texel. Photographed by Alain Fossé.
MAKM (logger 51) was tagged during the first tracking season in 2008; unfortunately the tag stopped transmitting data on 5 July 2008. Nevertheless during the last few years, thanks to its colour ring, it has been observed regularly within the colony at Texel, in France in the winter of 2008, in Spain in early spring 2010 and again in France on a landfill on 5 August 2011.
See the table below for more colour ring sightings. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all observers that report their colour ring sightings to us.
Ring | GPS | Year | Month | Day | Site | Site name | Lat | Lon | |
FABN | 373 | 2011 | 8 | 22 | 2764 | Vilarrasa landfill area | ESP | 37.500 | -6.700 |
FAKV | 355 | 2011 | 9 | 11 | 2179 | Colmenar Viejo, Vertedero, Madrid, landfill site | ESP | 40.650 | -3.767 |
FAKV | 355 | 2011 | 9 | 18 | 2179 | Colmenar Viejo, Vertedero, Madrid, landfill site | ESP | 40.650 | -3.767 |
FAPR | 533 | 2011 | 9 | 1 | 150 | Blaringhem (vuilstort), Nord | F | 50.672 | 2.410 |
FAPR | 533 | 2011 | 11 | 28 | 2263 | Champteussé-sur-Baconne, Maine-et-Loire (FR48) | F | 47.653 | -0.640 |
MACT | 121 | 2011 | 8 | 23 | 2263 | Champteussé-sur-Baconne, Maine-et-Loire (FR48) | F | 47.653 | -0.640 |
MACT | 121 | 2011 | 9 | 19 | 2065 | La Séguinière CET, Maine-et-Loire | F | 47.100 | -0.967 |
MAKM | 51 | 2011 | 8 | 5 | 2331 | Glaintain, Saint-Fraimbault de Prières, Mayenne | F | 48.340 | -0.552 |
MAMJ | 311 | 2011 | 10 | 20 | 2764 | Vilarrasa landfill area | ESP | 37.500 | -6.700 |
Latest Highlights
Overwintering and foraging areas used by a 24-year old Eurasian spoonbill
Wednesday, April 18th, 2018
Lesser Black-backed Gulls from Schiermonnikoog enjoy their winter holiday
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018
Oystercatchers returning from inland breeding grounds
Sunday, July 23rd, 2017
GPS tracker with SMS messaging
Monday, November 2nd, 2015
Ronny found back, three years after deployment of the UvA-BiTS GPS-tracker
Wednesday, July 8th, 2015
Lesser Black-backed Gulls feed on potato crisps in Moeskroen
Wednesday, November 13th, 2013
‘Vogel het uit!’ has won the 2013 Academic Year Prize
Tuesday, November 5th, 2013
Back in Europe: UvA-BiTS Honey Buzzard photographed at the Strait of Gibraltar
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
UvA-BiTS database passes 10 million record mark
Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
Gulls pouring into the Kelderhuispolder colony
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
To the Karoo and back: Mate replacement & GPS tracking study of an ousted eagle
Monday, March 25th, 2013
Meeting Montagu’s Harrier Edwin in Senegal
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
Oystercatchers: Learning how and where to survive
Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
New GPS mini-tracker facilitates investigation into movement of smaller animals
Wednesday, July 4th, 2012
Over 5 million GPS fixes in the UvA-BiTS database
Thursday, June 21st, 2012
Tagged Lesser Black-backed Gulls return to Orford Ness
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
Gulls spotted in their over-wintering areas
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
The UK a top vacation destination in 2011
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
A long way from home
Sunday, June 26th, 2011
Visiting Amsterdam for a day
Saturday, May 14th, 2011
Female deserts brood, male raises chicks
Friday, May 13th, 2011
Wintering range in Sierra Leone
Friday, May 13th, 2011
Camera watches foraging Oystercatchers day and night
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
The return of a bird presumed dead
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
Texel gulls back from wintering areas
Sunday, May 1st, 2011
First Lesser Black-backed Gull returns to the breeding colony
Monday, April 13th, 2009