Rufford Gulls - 2nd August 2026

 Yesterday, I had a quick 45 minute visit to Rufford. Gull numbers had increased to c.40 Black-headed Gulls, and included the first juveniles of the year (4).6 ringed gulls were seen, including some that I've not had there for quite some time.

258A was one such bird. First ringed in February 2020, this bird has been a regular visitor to Rufford, but yesterday's sighting was my first since January 2026. So far, there haven't been any summer sightings.

258A

273A was ringed, as a juvenile bird in November 2021, and , again, has been a regular winter visitor to Rufford. This sighting was my first since 3rd January 2026. Again, no summer sightings.

273A

207C was ringed on 22nd December 2022, as an adult, and has been reported an amazing 47 times at Rufford. This was my second sighting this season.

207C

258C was ringed on 3rd December 2023, as a juvenile, and has been seen 30 times at Rufford. This is my first sighting since 17th January 2026. Again, no summer sightings.

258C

255F was ringed 30th November 2024, as a juvenile. Yesterday's sighting was only my 5th sighting since ringing, and my first since September 2025. Presumably, it pops into Rufford when it first arrives back, and then overwinters elsewhere. No summer sightings.

255F

2V03 was ringed on 18th January 2025, as an age 5, i.e. born on 2024. Yesterday's sighting was my first of the season, and only the fourth since ringing. I last saw this bird on 2nd September 2025. Again, presumably a bird that overwinters elsewhere. No summer sightings yet. 

2V03

Rufford Gulls - Two Visits

 So far this month, I've had a couple of visits to Rufford, to look at the gulls (1st and 17th).

My visit on the 1st was quite quiet, with c.70 Black-headed Gulls present. Ringed birds were: 280B, 202C, 270C, 298C, 208H and 225H. 13 Goosanders (10 males and 3 females), 1 Grey Wagtail and 1 male Pochard were also seen.

280B

Yesterday's visit was also quite quiet, with c.50 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Herring Gull and 1 Common Gull seen. Ringed birds were: 295A, 280B, 207C, 255C, 258C, 273C, 298C, 200H, 208H, a new bird 224H and 225H.

224H

As you can see, this photo of 224H is quite different from my "normal" ones. It was a rushed shot, that I got just before the bird flew off, but I've kept it, as it looks quite atmospheric! 224H is obviously a 1st winter/2nd calendar year bird (born in 2025), and this is my first sighting since it was ringed at the end of last year. Here's a more "traditional" shot of the same bird.

224H again

Rufford-17th January 2026

Last weekend, I had a couple of hours at Rufford. The ice had all gone, and there were fewer Black-headed Gulls (c.150),  but I still managed to see 14 ringed birds, including the Lithuanian- ringed P519 (now back for at least its 8th winter (first record was in January 2018), and first ringed, as an adult, in April 2010, so born, at the latest in 2008).

P519

Other birds seen were: 258A, 280B, 202C, 207C, 209C, 215C, 258C, 270C, 298C, 200H, 208H, 225H and 2V16.

3 new  birds were added to the Year List too: Red-legged Partridge (78), Song Thrush (79) and Marsh Tit (80).

Rufford - 12th October 2025

Last Sunday, I was down at Rufford for a couple of hours, and had the best session of the autumn so far with 18 ringed birds (16 of "ours", a metal-ringed bird and a brand new Dutch-ringed bird) spotted.

The 16 birds were: 2V10 (2nd sighting this autumn), 2V16 (2nd sighting this autumn), 258A (4th sighting this autumn), 273A (2nd sighting this autumn), 283B (2nd sighting this autumn), 207C (6th sighting this autumn), 245C (3rd sighting this autumn), 258C (7th sighting this autumn), 209F (1st sighting, since ringing, as a 1st winter bird, in October 2024), 214F (1st sighting this autumn), 215F (2nd sighting this autumn), 217F (2nd sighting this autumn), 221F (2nd sighting this autumn), 234F (4th sighting this autumn), 239F (2nd sighting this autumn) and 262F (1st sighting on the autumn. Last seen in December 2024). The metal ringed bird was EM21570 (2nd sighting this autumn). 

209F

214F

262F

The new, Dutch-ringed bird, was an adult, with a white darvic EV.V2. It was originally ringed, as an adult, on 7th June 2022 at Berkel en Rodenrijs, The Netherlands, by Benny Middendorp. It was reported here again on 9th June 2022, and again on 10th March 2024, before my sighting at Rufford.

EVV2

Rufford Gulls - Old and New

I only had chance to spend half an hour at Rufford yesterday, but, in that short time, I manged to see 8 darvic-ringed Black-headed Gulls and a single metal-ringed bird. Along with this, I also managed to add a possible new breeding record for a damselfly species!

The birds seen were: 258A, 245C, 258C, 279C (a new, 1st-winter bird, ringed on Saturday), 215F (the first sighting since being ringed in October 2024),  217F ( my first sighting since February 2025), 239F (first sighting since January 2025) and 2V10 (my first sighting, since being ringed on 1st February 2025). The metal-ringed bird, a 1st winter, was seen, but not identified, as it flew off before I could read the ring! 

279C

215F

217F

239F

2V10

In addition to the gulls, there were also c100 Canada Geese, 4 Greylag Geese, 1 Kingfisher, 5 Mute Swans (Broken Beak, his partner and 3 cygnets), and 3 Willow Emerald Damselflies, including 1 pair egg laying - my first record here!!!

Willow Emerald Damselflies

Rufford - 20th September 2025

 Today's visit to Rufford was a little damp (!), but it did have lead to my highest ever count of Mute Swans, and records of 3 darvic-ringed Black-headed Gulls.

Overall, it was quite a quiet visit, but there were 13 Mute Swans, my highest ever count. There were the usual suspects (Broken Beak, his partner and their 3 cygnets), along with another 8 (all unringed) adults.

There were c70 Black-headed Gulls ( and 1 adult Lesser Black-backed), including 41 juveniles. The 3 ringed birds were all familiar birds: 207C, 258C and 234F.

207C

258C

234F

Other birds seen were: Canada Goose (50), Greylag Goose (22), Little Egret (1), Mallard, Moorhen and Kingfisher (1 heard).

Rufford Visit - 2nd September 2025

 Yesterday, I had my first visit to Rufford for a couple of weeks. It was bright sunshine (with a few rain showers) and 20 degrees, and there were about 70 Black-headed Gulls (c.40 juveniles). 7 darviced gulls were seen, and a new, metal-ringed bird was also spotted.

The darviced birds were: 258A (2nd sighting this autumn/winter), 207C (4th sighting since July), 258C (fourth sighting this autumn/winter), 221F (last seen in February 2025), 234F (second sighting this autumn/winter), 255F (first sighting since January 2025) and 2V03 (2nd sighting this autumn/winter).

221F

255F

The metal-ringed bird (EM21570) was a 3, i.e. born this year. It had been ringed, as a pullus, on 10th June, 158km away, at Marlingford Hall, Norfolk. This is, unsurprisingly, the first sighting since ringing. Hopefully, it'll hang around for the winter.

EM21570

In addition to the gulls, I also recorded 7 Mute Swans, including the 2 unringed birds seen last visit, along with 2 more adults (Broken Beak and his partner) and their 3 new cygnets, 2 Kingfishers, 1 House Martin, dozens of Canada and Greylag Geese, 1 Grey Wagtail, Mallards and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Broken Beak and family

Lesser Black-backed Gull

In addition to those sightings, I also saw a familiar Black-headed Gull in Bakewell on Monday. It was quite a brief sighting, but enough to get the metal ring EW97345. This is a bird I first saw, in Bakewell, back in September 2018. The bird had been ringed, as an adult (at least 2 years old), in Boston, Lincolnshire on 9th January 2010. Monday's sighting was my first since July 2021.

EW97345

Rufford Gulls - 20th August 2025

 After a couple of weeks away, I had a 2 hour visit to Rufford yesterday afternoon. There were approximately 75 Black-headed Gulls present (c.20 juveniles) and 6 of "own" ringed gulls.

The Black-headed Gulls seen were: 283B (ringed in November 2022, as an adult, and last seen on 4th September 2024), 

283B

207C (3rd sighting this "autumn/winter"), 

207C

245C (ringed in October 2023, and the first sighting since January 2025), 

245C

258C (3rd sighting this "autumn/winter), 

258C

2V03 (ringed in January 2025, and the first sighting since March 2025) and 2V16 (ringed in February 2025, as an adult, and the first sighting since 8th February 2025).

2V03

2V16

Other birds seen were: c.100 Canada Geese, including 1 ringed bird; 5230434., 4 Greylag Geese and  2 adult, unringed Mute Swans. 

Rufford Gulls - 29th July 2025

 I spent two hours at Rufford yesterday afternoon. There were about 65 Black-headed Gulls present, including 17 juveniles, and 4 darvic-ringed birds.

The darviced birds were 258A (first ringed in February 2020 and reported 42 times, mainly in Rufford. Today's sighting was the first since March 2025), 207C, 258C (both first seen back on 15th July) and 234F (ringed on 9th November 2024, as a 1st winter bird, seen 8 times last winter and last seen in February 2025).

258A

207C

258C

234F

Back to Rufford

 An hour at Rufford on Tuesday (15th) produced 5 ringed Black-headed Gulls, including a new metal-ringed bird from Sweden. Overall gull numbers were up markedly on my first visit, with 94 birds seen, including the first juveniles (6).

The Swedish-ringed gull, 6434047, an adult, was found in the usual spot, by the pontoon. This bird was ringed, as a pullus, 12 years and 2 weeks ago, 1697km away! 

6434047

The other ringed gulls were all well known to me, having been ringed at Center Parcs over the last few winters. They were 273A (ringed on 17th November 2021, as a 1st winter bird, making it 4 years old), 293A (ringed on 15th December 2021, as an adult, so at least 6 years old), 207C (ringed on 22nd December 2022, as an adult, so at least 5 years old) and 258C (ringed on 1st December 2023, as a 1st winter bird, so just 2 years old). Good to see them all in their breeding plumage.

273A

293A

207C

258C

Rufford - 2nd March 2025

 My latest visit to Rufford was on 2nd March, when I had an hour, and spotted 14 Black-headed Gulls, including new birds; 2V03 (ringed on 18th January, as a 5, born last year), 218F (ringed by me, as a 1st winter bird, on 12th October 2024) and J3018 ( a new Norwegian-ringed bird, that was ringed, as a free-flying juvenile, in Oslo, on 5th August 2024).

2V03

218F

J3018

Other gulls seen were: 206A, 258A, 273A, 293A, 251B, 254B, 207C, 258C, 270C, 298C and 230F.

Rufford Update - 15th February 2025

 I've just had a look at the blog, and realised that I haven't posted this month yet!! During this time, I've had a couple of visits to Rufford (both cold and rainy!), adding a few new Black-headed Gulls to the list.

The first visit, on 8th February, saw the following birds reported: 273A, 295A, 202C, 207C, 258C, 264C, 273C, 298C, 221F, 234F and 2V16 (my first sighting, about 2 hours after ringing!)

2V16

On yesterday's visit, 15th February, I saw: 258A, 273A, 293A, 295A, 280B, 202C, 207C, 255C (the first ever sighting, since being ringed, as a 1st year bird, in November 2023!), 264C, 207F, 221F, 234F, 292F and Lithuanian-ringed bird, P519 (first sighting since 4th January).

255C

292F

P519