White winged New Year's Day

Happy new year to all! The new year started really good for Urban Ringing, Bergen with our second ringed Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides). The bird was discovered by Frode Falkenberg on 30th of December at Osøyro 30 kilometres south of Bergen. There was two first winter Iceland Gulls at the site but only one of them was feeding on bread. On New Year's Eve we decided to make one of these Iceland Gulls our first ringed bird in 2012. A success would also make us the winner of the Iceland Gull bet we made the 27th of November. When we woke up the weather was really bad with heavy rain and we feared that the the catching would rain off. However in the afternoon we headed of to Osøyro when the rain seemed to stop for a moment. When we arrived we found the bird immediately and after one failed try we caught it.

Compared to the one we caught 27th of November this one was in better condition. It's body mass was 675 g and when handling the bird it felt like it had more fat because the breast bone was not particular sharp. In comparison the gull from the 27th had a body mass of only 520 g which is below the rage given in literature. Glutz von Blotzheim and Bauer (1982) give the range 620 to 735 g for first winter females. The sex is unknown for both individuals, but analysis of the blood samples will later give us an answer.

Iceland Gull J8Y5 performing long call minutes
before catching.

Wing of Iceland Gull J8Y5.

When Frode found the bird the 30th of December he noted some black spots above the eye and assumed this to be parasites. When the bird was ringed we could have a closer look and soon became quite sure that the spots was bird louse or Mallophaga. We sampled some and will take them under the stereo microscope and try to determine the species. It is interesting to see that the Ross' Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) in south western Sweden also have similar dark spots on exactly the same position above and behind the eye. When birds are infested with ecto parasites like Mallophaga they tend to be more visible in the head because this is one of the most difficult body parts to preen.

Head of Iceland Gull J8Y5. Note the black spots behind the eye. This is probably Mallophaga or bird louse which is parasites of birds.

We also found a new Iceland Gull. This second winter suddenly showed up when feeding out bread. This is the third Iceland Gull at this location in three days. We did not see the second first winter bird today.

2012 started perfect and 2011 ended with 72 gull readings on the 31st of December (most Herring and Mew Gulls) which is a new all time high for Bergen. A small ice cap on the lakes and sunny weather are the two most important reasons for this. The 31st was also the first day without rain since 7th of December and the rain have really been pouring down on the majority of these days.

Ringing summary for November 2011

In November we ringed a total of 62 gulls. Most Mew Gulls (33) but not far behind Herring Gulls (26). The highlight of the month was the 1Y Iceland Gull caught on the 27th. This Iceland Gull is the second to be equipped with a ring in Hordaland county. Another highlight was the Estonian Mew Gull controlled on the 22nd. This is the third Estonian Mew to be controlled in Norway.

Species	1Y	Sub adult	Adult
Mew Gull	25	3	5
Herring gull	20	3	3
Black-headed Gull	1	0	1
Iceland Gull	1	0	0
SUM	47	6	9

A map summarising all Estonian Mew Gulls found in Norway.
Black: Found dead in Kopervik south of Haugesund in February 1933
Red: Controlled in the city centre lake in Bergen January 1990
Blue: The one we controlled 22nd of November 2011.
All are ringed as pullus in Estonia and controlled in Norway their first winter.

Iceland Gull J8Y6 the 27th of October. Photo: Lars Ågren

Oldtimer from Neartic and Herring Gull ringed in UK

3rd of December the returning Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) was rediscovered. It was spotted by Alf Tore Mjøs who is responsible the majority of the records of this species in Bergen. The Ring-billed Gull found today has spent the last 19(!) winters in Bergen. It has not been ringed but a miscolouration on one of the primaries make it possible to recognise this individual. Our plan is of course to put a plastic ring on this beautiful bird, but experience from earlier years have shown that it can be difficult due of it's feeding habits. This individual have never been seen taking bread in the city center lake. The only observations of it outside it's resting places are at the famous fish market in Bergen (Fisketorget) outside a kebab snack bar and at an other snack bar on the other side of town. Our returning Neartic fellow may be particular in it's feeding habits and has to tempted it with a delicious (warm) Shawarma.

Dates for the first observation of the old faithful Ring-billed Gull:

03.12.2011	12.12.2010	17.12.2009	12.12.2008
04.12.2007	06.12.2006	06.12.2005
14.11.2002	24.11.2001

Ring-billed Gull resting on the pier in Store Lungegårdsvann, Bergen

The city of Bergen have 15 records of Ring-billed Gull. The faithful one is of course counted as one. Bergen can therefore make a show of having half of all records of this species in Norway. Two individuals ringed in Bergen have also been recovered and are the only recoveries in the Norwegian ringing scheme. One of these individuals was read in a breeding colony in Newfoundland which shows that regular migration from Nearctic to Western Paleartic is possible for this species. We do not know anything about our returning individual but trans Atlantic migration is the most probable based on ringing recoveries.

The individual read in Newfoundland was ringed in Bergen January 1990 and read in field by Bruce Mactavish in Newfoundland October 1990. This is 3900 kilometers from it's ringing place! The individual recovered on Iceland was ringed in November 1983 and shot in Iceland April 1990 (The Norwegian Bird Ringing Atlas 2003). Both birds was ringed by Alf Tore Mjøs.

The 3rd of December we also found the first ever Herring Gull ringed in United Kingdom in Hordaland. It was spotted in a industrial area the first day, and on Sunday (4th of December) it was feeding on bread in the city center lake. It was ringed by North Thames Gull Group the 14th of February 2009 at Pitse Landfill in Essex UK. Since it was ringed in winter the subspecies is most certain a argentatus which was wintering in UK. A map can be seen on the website of North Thames Gull Group

Herring gull NGOT probably a male judged by it's large size in the city center lake 04th of December

Thanks to Frode Falkenberg, University of Bergen and Alf Tore Mjøs at the Norwegian Ringing Scheme, Stavanger Museum for valuable information on the occurrence of Ring-billed Gull in Bergen.

Visit from Greenland

This weekend Urbpop Bergen got visit from Morten Helberg to make future plans for the urban gull project, take a look at collected data, plan the Morocco and Western Sahara expedition in February and of course ring and read gulls. The weather forecast for the weekend was extreme weather with heavy rain and strong winds from west reaching over 20 m/s. A really promising weather that could produce a gull rarity.


Saturday was used to catch Mews and Herrings. We also got our 9th Black-headed Gull of the year, a 1Y male. On Sunday the rarity appeared in the city centre park. We had only been 5 minutes at the site when Morten Helberg shouted YES and held a very white gull in his hands. We all run towards him and had a close look at a beautiful 1Y Iceland Gull! The strange thing is that yesterday we in Bergen made a bet with Morten on who would be the first to catch and ring an Iceland Gull. Five minutes before walking into the park we ensured that this bet still was on and decided that if we found an Iceland Gull today the bet would be a draw and the next one would be valid. So we have to keep our eyes open for a new white gull.

When the bird was ringed, measured, sampled for some blood and photographed we released it and started to catch Herring gulls. In just 10 minutes or so the Iceland Gull was back and could almost be hand-feed. This Iceland Gull is the third to get a colour ring in Norway, the first was ringed in Kristiansand 22nd of January 2004, and the second in Flekkerøy an island outside Kristiansand 22nd of November 2008. There are no readings of any Norwegian ringed Iceland gulls other than on the same ringing location the days after.

Spread wing of Iceland Gull J8Y6.

Morten Helberg, Christian Pederesen and the ringed Iceland Gull 10 minutes after it was ringed.

This picture was taken after we had given the Iceland Gull supper.

Mew Gull from Estonia

Today we had a quick after work ringing session in the Bergen city center together with Finn Jørgensen. The second gull we caught had a metal ring. We did not see the ring before catching it since the ring was on tibia so it was pure luck that this individual was our next gull. The ring had the inscription Estonia Matsalu and number UA5970. The reaction was YES and a high five, because this is our first Estonian bird. We measured it and put on a plastic ring on the other tarsus. Information is sent to the Matsalu Bird Ringing Centre and we wait in excitement for ringing information and possible life history data.

The 2Y Mew from Estonia

One old Mew and our first 1Y to The Netherlands

During this weekends gull work we first noticed that the gulls have become difficult to catch in the city center lake. Partly due to very mild weather for middle of November but also much disturbance of people visiting a temporary marked close to the best place to catch. We therefore tried an alternative place close by. That strategy gave us a Mew Gull ringed with metal only. We later found that it was 19 years old and ringed in Stavanger January 1993 as a 2Y. Old birds like this one are very difficult to catch, they are extremely careful and not at all willing to take the same risks as the 1Ys. On the other hand getting color ring on an individual like this one with an exactly known age is of great value. When we know the breeding area as well the value is even greater. It's possible that this individual breeds at Prestvannet right outside Tromsø because 30th of May 1999 the metal ring was read here. Mews that breeds in the area around Prestvannet is previously known to winter in the area around Bergen. It was our guest from Mandal, Finn Jørgensen who nicely caught this one for us. This weekend Finn and us from urban ringing Bergen exchanged methods, good gull stories and looked at gulls together. A very nice and informative weekend.

The six oldest Mew Gulls in Norway with color ring observed in 2011

Code	Age	Year born	Location*	Date*
JYY5	24	1987	Stavanger	25.03.2011
J777	23	1988	Bergen	03.03.2011
J2T9	21	1990	Bergen	13.11.2011
JYJ3	20	1991	Bergen	06.04.2011
J0L0	19	1992	Bergen	20.11.2011
JJ42	18	1993	Stavanger	25.03.2011

*The last location and date observed

J0L0 the 19 year old we equipped with color ring today. The fifth oldest Mew with color ring in Norway. It's moulting, P9 is growing and P10 is still old.

We also had our first 1Y Mew Gull observed in The Netherlands thanks to Frank Majoor who read it in Overijssel 17th of November 2011. The effort in August and September payed off. J6K6 was ringed at Tveitevatnet 08th of September and stayed in the Bergen until 15th of October. Measurement of skull and bill shows that it's a male.

J6K6 in Bergen city centre 12th of September 2011.

J6K6 southward migration

Ringing summary for October 2011

In October we ringed a total of 70 gulls. Most Herring gulls which were our main target this month. Top of the month was of course the Glaucous Gull which was ringed 13th of October. It was only present in Bergen one day after ringing and we have unfortunately not had any readings of it yet.

Species	1Y	Sub adult	Adult
Mew Gull	28	1	1
Herring gull	22	9	6
Black-headed Gull	1	0	1
Glaucous Gull	1	0	0
SUM	52	10	8

Glaucous Gull JN666 in Bergen 14th of October