Nice surprise today: Lesser Black-backed Gull Yellow H.501 returned to my local patch (Leiden, The Netherlands) for the 4th consecutive year:
Yellow H.501, Leiden, The Netherlands, 17 July 2012.
Yellow H.501, Leiden, The Netherlands, 17 July 2012.
It was ringed in June 2007 as a chick in Germany and seems to visit my area only shortly before and after the breeding season, I suspect as a transit between the breeding and wintering grounds. In the post-season, it probably stays here to complete most of the wing moult.
If previous years are to go by, it should stay here until September / October.
Previous observations:
2009 as a 3rd-calendar year:
Yellow H.501, Leiden, The Netherlands, 20 June 2009.
2010 as a 4th-calendar year:
Yellow H.501, Leiden, The Netherlands, 16 October 2010.
2011 as a 5th-calendar year:
Yellow H.501, Leiden, The Netherlands, 1 October 2011.
See more images of this individual here.
Gulls to the Horizon 