Tracking Greater Black-backed Gulls from Sable Island

Here is an open letter from one of our researchers who has been working on a Post-Doctoral study on Sable Island, requesting your help:

Dear gull enthusiasts,


On an icy, wintery trip to Sable Island this month, I was able to capture and deploy wing-tags on a dozen Great Black-backed Gulls that were happily gorging themselves on the carcasses of seal pups that didn't make it. There are far too many Black-backs on the island in the winter for them to be loafers sticking around from the summer breeding season. So...they are likely traveling here from other colonies (Maine? New Brunswick? Newfoundland?) to indulge on the ill fated seals.

Greater Black-backed Gull

This summer while you're in the field, keep your eyes open for these birds so that we might document their movements (tracking the old fashioned way). Please forward this email to colleagues, students, and volunteers that might be working around or in Great Black-backed colonies this summer.

Check out my latest blog entry for details and pictures of these blue/turquoise wing-tags on the birds.
http://sableislandgulls.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/black-backed-blizzard/

Thanks.

Rob Ronconi
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dept. of Biology, Acadia University
rronconi@yahoo.com

Sable Island Gulls

Rob Ronconi is a researcher at Acadia University working with Dr. Phil Taylor on a new project studying the movements and migrations of gulls from Sable Island, Nova Scotia. In June 2011 Herring Gulls were banded with pink alpha-numeric bands as well as pink wing-tags which are quite obvious in flight or on land. Great Black-backed Gull chicks were banded with green alpha-numeric bands.


Reports of these birds throughout the year will greatly enhance the success of this project to document the movements and migrations of gulls from this far offshore colony.


Herring gull juvenile begging from an adult
at the North Head wharf on Grand Manan

 Please visit Rob's blog where you can learn more about the project and find links on how to report marked birds that you've spotted. He will be posting photos and stories of re-sighted birds on this blog, so sign up for e-mail updates.

http://sableislandgulls.wordpress.com/

Please contact Rob if you see these or other marked gulls over the fall and winter.

Rob Ronconi, rronconi yahoo.com
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dept. of Biology, Acadia University