One of the gulls on the church roof today was 251J making its first appearance for 19 months!

#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

You can always tell when the church has got the central heating on!

#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs #GullsOfOtley

Black-headed Gull 237H looking smart in Otley today getting ready for its migration back home to Norway 🇳🇴

#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs #GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley

Hooray! After months of disruption the Black-headed Gulls have returned to the riverside parks in Otley.
Now we just need some grass and a new 200 year old Oak tree.

#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs #GullsOfOtley

Norwegian Black-headed Gull J90Y is still wintering at Redcar Tarn, Keighley.

#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfKeighley #J90Y
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus

Green Marsh Frog croaking #marsh #frog #croak #Pelophylax #ridibundus #nature #wildlife #wow HA61943

Norwegian Black-headed Gull J90Y has arrived back at Redcar Tarn, Keighley 😀
🇳🇴
#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfKeighley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus

Hooray! Lots of new numbers at Yeadon Tarn today! 😀
I photographed seven of the eighteen that were colour-ringed this morning.
#GullsOfYeadon
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

The gulls are continuing to defect from Otley to Yeadon Tarn.
Et tu, 238H?

#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfYeadon #GullsOfOtley
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

Fourteen colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls on the ice at Yeadon Tarn today.
Seven of these were originally ringed in Otley.

#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

BHG 277K is now in its 3rd winter (4th calendar year) and remains loyal to Yeadon Tarn.
The second photo is from December 2023 shortly after ringing.

#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs
#GullsOfYeadon

BHG 298S has defected from Otley to Yeadon Tarn!

#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfYeadon
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

Black-headed Gull 226J (seen in Roundhay Park today) spends the summers in Sweden, north of Stockholm, and the winters in Leeds.
This has been the constant textbook behaviour since ringing in November 2022
🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪

#GullsOfRoundhay #GullOfTheDay
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs #Umea #Teg #Sweden

A bright, sunny, Boxing Day in Otley, West Yorkshire, where Black-headed Gull 261J is possibly dreaming of home; the Dutch Province of Flevoland. 🇳🇱
It was spotted there on 1st May 2025 on a man-made island bird reserve at Marker Wadden.

#GullsOfOtley #Flevoland
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

Hooray! Black-headed Gull 261J has arrived back in Otley after a trip to the idyllic Marker Wadden, Amsterdam
🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇱

#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

Still a bit quiet by the river in Otley but at least BHG 241H has finally turned up again.
The expected cold wind from the east will hopefully encourage a few more new arrivals for Christmas! 🎅

#GullsOfOtley #GullOfTheDay
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs #VC64

Blue skies in Otley today but I suspect we need some colder weather to bring in a few more Black-headed Gulls.

#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

Roundhay Park, Leeds, today where the Black-headed Gulls provide plenty of interest.
235J has been spotted in Riga, Latvia 🇱🇻 and 236J visits St Petersburg, Russia 🇷🇺
My favourite 288S came to visit me at Yeadon Tarn on New Year’s Eve last year! 😀
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs #GullsOfRoundhay

I was beginning to think that BHG 2440 had moved away from Yeadon Tarn but was pleased to catch up with it today.
Born at Shotton Steel Works in North Wales (ringed as a nestling) it arrived here 8 weeks ago with assistance from Storm Amy! 🤣
Possibly my #GullOfTheYear
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Blue Sky in Yorkshire!
Black-headed Gulls continue to arrive back in Otley where there is still some disruption due to the river bridge repairs.
273J is seeking sanctuary on top of the United Reformed Church……next to the Chip Shop! 😀

#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

By my calculations at least 72% of the Black-headed Gulls ringed in Yorkshire on 3 Dec 2024 have already returned this autumn. 😀
This includes Otley, Roundhay and Halifax.

waterbirdcolourmarking.org
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs @waterbirdcm.bsky.social

2cy BHG 294S seems to have sneaked back into Otley when I wasn’t looking!🤣
#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

There were approximately 300 Black-headed Gulls at Redcar Tarn, Keighley, today with an Adult:Juvenile ratio in the region of 15:1
I have learned this week that the Adult:Juvenile ratio varies depending on the location.
Is this expected?

#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs @kanebrides.bsky.social

Black-headed Gull 221K is safely back in Roundhay Park, Leeds, today after an excursion to Kochanka, Poland 🇵🇱

#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfRoundhay #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

Shibden Park, Halifax, today and an early contender for the “Who has the Darkest Head at Christmas?” competition!

a) site: Shibden Park, Halifax
b) date: 25 Nov 2025
c) Number of adults: 118
d) Number of juveniles: 12

#GullsOfHalifax
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs @kanebrides.bsky.social

Yeadon Tarn today: 24 November 2025
120 Black-headed Gulls
102 adults and 18 juveniles.

#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs @kanebrides.bsky.social

50 Black-headed Gulls on the riverside at Wharfemeadows Park, Otley, today (23 November 2025).
45 adults, and
5 juveniles.

#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs @kanebrides.bsky.social

Yeadon Tarn was partially frozen today but the gulls didn’t seem too bothered. 🥶
c200 Black-headed Gulls vastly outnumbered their grey-legged Common Gull cousins.
Presumably these two species have a common ancestor?

#GullsOfYeadon
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#Larus #canus #Laridae #VC64 #286L

Black-headed Gull 287L is back in Otley after visiting Mablethorpe in the summer.
Perhaps he was on the way back from somewhere across the North Sea?

#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfOtley #Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs

The cold weather has brought some old friends back to Yeadon Tarn today including Black-headed Gull 241J who is known to visit Finland 🇫🇮

#GullOfTheDay #GullsOfYeadon
#Chroicocephalus #ridibundus
#NWBHGs #Finland #Ornithology