The winter Mew Gulls are back in Bergen

J800 arrived at Tveitevatnet 08th of August.
Photo: Eirik Nydal Adolfsen

The first of our regular winter Mew gulls (Larus canus) was seen at Tveitevannet 08th of August. J800 was ringed 24th of February 2004 as a 2Y and is therefore in it's 9th year now. The bird has been seen every winter in the Bergen area except for the winter 2009/2010. It probably breeds north or east of Bergen. The arrival date this year concur with a period when the adult Mew Gulls are migrating.

The adult Mew Gulls breeding in Bergen also seems to have migrated. The adults we ringed in late May, June and to about 10th of July were not regularly seen after 25th of July. On the 10th of August we visited one of the breeding colonies north of Bergen (Kvassnesstemma in Knarvik) a locality where we have done some catching this year. Here we did not find a single adult bird, just 1Y's and a few 2Y's. They all seems to be gone south! We hope to get some sightings of these individuals this winter in Great Britain or The Netherlands.