City of Gulls

With an invitation from Dr V to join him and Peter Rock ringing gulls on the rooftops of Cardiff, all a ringer could do was book a Monday off work (hardship...), make sure his number 2 pliers were in good order and set the alarm for "lie in".

Peter has been studying urban gulls for a good while. All the chicks are colour ringed with this year's birds having black rings with three yellow digits; letter, plus sign, letter. If you see any colour ringed gulls then please let Peter know at pete.rock@blueyonder.co.uk . All sightings are valuable!

A big thanks to Peter for an excellent, if slightly damp, day.

The first two roofs we visited had gulls that were either two young (like the

two above) or too old; only suicidal mad men chase flighty gulls around on a

roof top!

Cardiff offers urban gulls a plethora of nesting sires. Plus chippy lane provides

pretty rich pickings (accept when Facey is there; try getting between him and a

Clark's pie).

How many people noticed us on the rooftops being mobbed by pissed off

parent gulls? OK quiet a few; we got a few waves and gawping looks.

Long walk and short drop... worth it for three lesser chicks though.

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The roof tops of Cardiff; where chickens go to die...

Peter (left) and Dr V processing the last of the chicks on this roof.



Its no secret that urban gulls divide opinion and some may

call for a cull. But netting buildings just results in needless

suffering; this herring gull was one of two birds we found on this

roof alone. They would have died a long and lingering death

Our last roof was the most productive with twenty chicks ringed; all calmly

  waited while they were ringed.

The sight and noise we had for most of our "roof time"