Ring -billed gull with tags
My husband,David and I both enjoy bird watching and always having a camera with me helps a lot when wanting to tell of one of our bird adventures. Last weekend on October4th. We were at Carleton Park on the north side of Fredericton when we saw a gull that appeared to have an orange sticker on its wing. The sticker had a number 5 on it. Was this gull 50 % off? Had it been rummaging around a carelessly thrown away bit of garbage? or did someone stick the tag onto the gull?Hmmmm?. 
We noticed that the gull had tags on both sides of its body How did this happen ? We had stumbled upon a mystery! note: I have known that birds are often tagged with leg bands but I had never seen this kind before, It sure makes them easier to read!
Even when in flight we saw that the tags were on both wings and the gull could fly well. So after downloading the photos at home I decided to do a google search and obviously stumbled upon the correct search words for I found a website in Massachusetts that had tagged this gull. On Monday I reported my sighting and discovered that this gull had been around and had been sighted in Fredericton before. It had also been seen in Presqule Isle , Maine and at Port Daniel, Quebec. Mystery solved!, and it hadn't been that difficult after all.We were happy that we had found a way to report this sighting, The End!
Want to know about this gull tagging operation? Read about it here:http://www.mass.gov/dcr/wa
13 comments:
Oh Wow! This is so interesting. It's especially interesting that it can still fly with those tags embedded. I've never seen this before. Good thing you had your camera.
Ann,
I'm pleased that you've still got your finding and reporting skills - I've missed your chance encounters of various types of wildlife....more please.
The wing-tags aren't too subtle, are they? But they'll attract attention. If I see one of these gulls over here, I'll let you know (a straggling Ring-bill is currently a few miles away from London!)
All the best,
Steve
This bird watching is fascinating,as your experience shows.
Blessings,Ruth
Steve, I'm glad that you enjoyed. i have just received permission last week to drive again. This is a first driving excursion for me since a stroke in February last. It sure is wonderful to be an independent driver again.
Ann
Not hard to spot those tags. Glad you solved the mystery--that would have vexed me. Lovely photos.
Very interesting for sure. rlr
Ann, I had wondered (and guess right!) Great news that you're allowed out, but keep your eyes on the road - some chance!
That's pretty cool! Never knew they tagged gulls. That gull has been around! Nice photos and a mystery solved!
Ann: I'm thrilled to read in the comments that you can drive again! I'm so glad you are recovering from this stroke so well, even if slowly. This is fascinating about the gull and the tags. I've never seen wing tags before. Seems a bit over done, but I guess it is easier to read and makes curious birders like you take note and report them.
Mary. I LOVE having my driving power back! It was a long frustration to be so grounded!.Thank you for having mentioning it. :-)
Ann
I've never seen that type of tag before either, interesting one!
Just spotted one of these gulls on the south shore of Long Island, NY in a parking lot. I already sent an email to the trackers.
Thanks for the info here.
Morning Ann - thank you so much for the information in regard to reporting the wing-tagged birds to the proper authorities. I did go to the website you sent me, and not only texed info, also photos. Thanks again for your help and have a great day.
Lilly in Canada
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