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Thursday 4 February 2010

'White 3N93'

Camille Duponcheel continues to prove HIMSELF as a very efficient MAN, as this morning I had all the details about yesterday's white colour-ringed Med '3N93'

Looking down through all 50 listed sightings it turns out she has visited us before...

White - 3N93 - 18/12/06 - Axe Estuary, Devon, GB. 50,37N 3,26W - Haig, Gavin

So I had a look back through the Backwater Birding thread on Birdforum, and on that day Gav posted this....

"Before the meeting I somehow managed a look at the estuary, where there were FOUR adult Med Gulls. Two were unringed (though one was definitely new), one had a shiny metal ring on the right leg (possibly same bird as 13th) and one had a white colour-ring, which read 3N93, and is either Belgian or Dutch (have sent off details and await reply). That was all around 13:10 - 13:30."

Then the following day, he posted this....

"The life history of the white-ringed Med Gull I had yesterday has already been emailed back to me (mega-quick!!). It was ringed in Belgium as a first year in July 1999. It is on its third colour-ring(!), and has been seen near the R. Severn four times during the intervening years (including Slimbridge), but this is its first recorded visit to the south coast. Fascinating stuff!"

Between my sighting yesterday, and Gav's in 2006 this bird has been reported 35 times!!

After the 2006 sighting she was next reported in Belguim on 17/03/07. Next stop was Holland, where she breed during the summer of 2007 and was watched feeding two chicks.

There's only one sighting for the winter of 07/08, and that was on 03/01/08 at a landfill site in Gloucester. She spent the following summer in Belguim but it doesn't state whether she bred or not. By August 2008 the guys in Gloucester had her back, she was last reported here on 09/10/08.

There was a gap in sightings from then, and wasn't seen until 28/07/09 when she was in Worcestershire. She was seen here again two days later, but after that, hasn't been reported until she made a return visit to the Axe yesterday.

It's amazing to think yesterday I was watching what I know was an 11 year old Med Gull, and just fantastic to find out the journeys that she has made. Long live 'White 3N93'!!!

2 comments:

  1. do you mind if i ask where in worcester was the 'white' med was(i have a suspition with the letters UW), i live in worcester and was just wondering
    an amazing insite
    MB

    ReplyDelete
  2. Of course I don't mind you asking! Upton Warren was where it was seen. J.S. and P.R. are the intials next to the sightings, ring any bells?

    ReplyDelete