Darviced Black-headed Gull at Holmebrook Valley CP

Last Sunday, my nephew, Luke was at his local patch, Holmebrook Valley CP, in Chesterfield, to carry out his monthly WeBS count. He always has a fair few Black-headed Gulls (100+ on a good day), along with the odd Common, Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gull.

He has also recorded several metal-ringed Black-headed Gulls over the last few years, but they have always stayed out on the middle of the lake, too far away for the rings to be read. Sunday, however, was different, and he managed to see and photograph a darvic ringed Black-headed Gull.

Black-headed Gull

As you can see in the photograph, the bird in question was a 1st winter/2nd calendar year bird (born in 2018), with a blue darvic ring. Unfortunately, the number is very difficult to read, but it looks very similar to another ring that Luke and I saw on a bird in Bakewell in August 2018 (see here). That bird had been ringed at Rutland Water in June 2018. We're still awaiting details, but it would be great if we'd found a second Rutland bird here in Derbyshire!