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Index of Subjects Ken McKenna Box 218 Stellarton NS B0K 1S0 902 752-7644 Hi Nancy Guess the circle is not yet complete. Will see if the gull ends up back in Mass. this winter. It used to be a little hard to find RBGU in Pictou Co. in the winter which made it easier to see if a Common Gull might be around as one tended to look at anything small hanging around. Most would disappear in early January after the Christmas count! Certainly the last number of years RBGU's are found now all through the winter usually loafing around parking lots near fast food outlets where they scoop up offerings from those eating in cars parked there. They are not in huge numbers but usually a 2-3 dozen if I remember correctly Last winter a Black-headed Gull joined the RBGU's in the Aberdeen Business Centre (AKA Mall formerly) parking lot and we watched it get a dark head in March. Black-headed Gulls are not plentiful in Pictou Co unlike Antigonish which has quite a number usually at the sewage treatment plant. I am unsure if I would use the word resident for the Ring-bills as there is no sign of breeding in the county that I have been able to find at any rate., but maybe a few of the over-winters do stay for summer, but I suspect they move a little further north or maybe east as did A 1008. I had a different tagged RBGU in the Aberdeen parking lot this spring, but at the time there were no other observations outside Mass. I wonder if it was seen elsewhere this summer. Maybe I should check this out. cheers Ken ----- Original Message ----- From: "nancy dowd" <nancypdowd@gmail.com> To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> Sent: Friday, September 13, 2013 3:04 PM Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Banded Ring-billed Gull migration travels > Hi Ken > > Thanks for all of that information. As you said, that is one really > interesting, well-documented migration circle. > > I am also wondering if you have a population of wintering (possibly > resident) RBGUs in Pictou Co. as we do here in Lun Co? > > Nancy > > On 2013-09-13, at 2:13 PM, Ken McKenna <kenmcken@eastlink.ca> wrote: > >> >> Ken McKenna >> Box 218 Stellarton NS >> B0K 1S0 >> 902 752-7644 >> >> Hi all >> Yesterday Sept 12, Charlie Kendell and I observed a wing-tagged >> Ring-billed Gull from the Middle River of Pictou dyke on a bar near the >> spillway. It had an orange wing band A 1008 (left wing) and a blue left >> leg band. Note we did not see the A as the gull did not turn around far >> enough for us to see all the info but no doubt this was the right bird >> given the past travels. >> This male adult RBGU was banded as follows: >> Captured 3/4/2013 at the Charles River, Newton, MA >> captured using a rocket net baited with bread >> It was seen Mar 20 still in another Newton MA parking lot >> >> By Mar 31, it was seen by Robert MacFarlane in the parking lot of the >> Highland Mall in New Glasgow and then it was seen on April 4 at the New >> Glasgow Aberdeen Mall by Dave MacLeod. Note there is a McDonalds near >> each of these places! It then went on to higher education at Memorial >> University in St Johns (Burton's Pond on campus was its fav hangout >> spot). It was seen 5 times in this pond in April and 3 times in May >> (latestMay 9 and then once there in June (12th) by Bill Montevecchi ( a >> famous name in birding I think) still on campus. Many of the Memorial U. >> sightings were by Anne Hughes whose name I think may have been mentioned >> on NatureNS in the past >> >> There were no reports submitted between then and our sighting yesterday. >> so it appears to be using a route through Pictou Co. on migration. >> Interesting info on this migration pattern. >> >> cheers >> ken >> >
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