Last week Chris noted two more colour-ringed Gulls on College Rocks. One was Black-headed Gull, White 2042, ringed as a pullus on 10th June last year on Lough Ree, County Longford, Republic of Ireland to the north west of Dublin.
Here is the info. received from Brian Burke:
We're really thrilled to get this sighting - the first of our Black-headed
Gulls to be seen outside Ireland! We've had a few resightings on the east coast
of Ireland - more than we expected - so it's great to have one from across the
Irish Sea! Please pass on our thanks to Chris, and let us know if anyone sees
2042 again.
Our ringing project is based in the midlands of Ireland on Lough Ree (which translates from Irish as the ‘Lake of Kings’). Black-headed Gulls nest across several islands on Lough Ree, forming the largest breeding meta-colony in the Republic of Ireland. We colour-ringed 298 pulli across three islands in June 2019 as part of this project, which is a collaboration between local ringers and National Parks and Wildlife Service staff.
Chris' other gull was more typically a Mediterranean Gull and one with a long history. White 3E71 was ringed in its third calendar-year in June 2005 near Antwerp. Until December 2015 it was frequently seen near Antwerp and outside the breeding season in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.
The bird then lost its colour ring but wearing its original little metal ring, it was recaptured at the Antwerp colony in May 2017 and ringed as White 372A. It then continued its commuting between there and Pembrokeshire, again often seen by Sam Baxter and others and in Ceredigion by the usual suspects including myself.