Larus delawarensis
Adult summer
April 1987
Byparken, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
This adult male Ring-billed Gull was discovered in september 1983, and was the first Ring-billed Gull in mainland Norway. It was trapped and ringed in November 1983. There was one previous record from Svalbard in 1976. Notice bill- and iris colour. This bird returned to Bergen seven winters in a row, and probably would have continued to delight us with its presence if it had not been shot in Iceland in late april 1990, probably on its pre-breeding migration back to North-America. It was shot by a "bird-collector" who suspected it was a Ring-billed Gull, and delivered to the Zoological Museum in Reykjavik where it was identified as a male and is now kept in the museums skin collection.
In addition to this ringing recovery, a first-winter ringed in Bergen in January 1990 was again in Bergen the following winter of 90/91, before it was seen (ring read with binoculars) by Bruce Mactavish in St.Johns, Newfoundland, Canada in October 1991. These to recoveries strongly indicate that the majority of Ring-billed Gulls in Europe in winter have no trouble finding their way back to their native breeding grounds.
Posted 12.02.2004
