‘I’ll have mine with lots of ice please’

Our sightings officer, Chris H, has been out and about staring at gulls on the water at Stanford. Here he gives us an update on some unusual winter birds:

Freezing conditions over the past week have meant that much of the main water is frozen over. This doesn’t stop the gulls coming in at the end of the day, albeit in smaller numbers, and it also provides the opportunity to check for birds with colour rings. Successes this week include:

Caspian Gull – Yellow Ring XLVH 

 

Initially picked up on Sunday 4th January, the ring proved difficult to decipher due to distance and light. Some video and stills were taken and eventually it was confirmed as XLVH, a German ringed ‘Caspo’ which I last saw at Stanford on January 19th 2024. It has also been seen at Shawell and is a regular returner to Northants often being seen at Naseby Reservoir. It did show much better on the 6th when the ring was easier to read.

Black-headed Gull – White Ring 2AR1
2AR1 has some history with Stanford. I first saw this bird on January 28th 2023 and then again on August 23rd 2024. It was then present in the winter of 2025, on January 10th. Then, just under a year later, it appeared again on  January 6th 2026, I wonder where it has been in between? It was originally ringed at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire on June 25th 2022 and seems to have taken a liking to Stanford.

Common Gull – White Ring XN16   

I first caught a glimpse of this bird on January 5th when I read three digits. A possible scheme was located and Arne Kohler came straight back to say it was probably one of their birds but the code was incomplete. He did give me some confidence that Common Gulls are a creature of habit and he felt that it would come back to the same spot again. I couldn’t find it on the 6th but managed to pick it up on the 7th and confirm the code as XN16. It was ringed at Langenwerder (a small uninhabited island in northern Germany) on June 23rd 2024 and has also been seen at Rutland Water on March 23rd 2025.

Hopefully, more ring reading to come.