Sunday 12 October 2014

Gull-iver’s Travels

Little Gull on the move (Joe Cockram)


Sunday 12th October comments: The dainty Little Gull is generally a summer visitor to the British Isles with the nearest breeding colonies in Eastern Europe. In recent days the Farne Islands have experienced an unprecedented passage of these fantastic gulls with record numbers recorded:

Wed 8th: 170 North

Thurs 9th: 92 South

Fri 10th:  - 2,184 North - new Farnes record!

Sat 11th: 791 North

The majority of the birds have been adults and the count of 2,184 on October 10th eclipses the previous highest ever island count of 1,747 on 14th October 2002. Why we’ve had so many remains unclear although recent weather systems across the North Sea have probably pushed birds into the Southern North Sea.

Speaking of weather, Easterly winds are forecast for the next few days across the Farnes so watch this space…the winds may bring in something unusual (fingers crossed) so keep an eye on the blog and we shall keep you posted!

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