Bird ringing of gulls at Portland Harbour by volunteers

This year volunteers fitted rings to the legs of 79 great black-backed gull chicks, a species newly placed on the national red list of Birds Of Conservation Concern (BOCC) register, as well as 16 herring gulls, a species also on the red list. 

The project, led by Guy Hayden and Doug Rudge, was on the north-eastern and outer breakwaters and carried out with the permission and support of Portland Harbour Authority.

Part of a British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) scheme, breakwater ringing has been held since 2011, and in that time a total of 550 great black-backed gulls and 450 herring gulls have been ringed.

Fitting chicks with metal BTO and coloured rings allows sightings to be reported by birdwatchers after the birds have fled the breeding grounds, and they have been spotted as far afield as Lubeck in Germany and A Coruña in Spain.

Volunteers from the Radipole Ringing Group (Image: Radipole Ringing Group) This year, a survey found more than 650 eggs before the chicks hatched, a record for breakwaters.

Tagging the chicks and tracking sightings helps provide information about the health of populations, migratory patterns and lives of birds.

Bill Reeves, Portland Harbour Authority chief executive, said: “Congratulations to the ringers on their latest successful season.

“Portland is renowned for its bird life, and we are pleased to have developed a long-standing partnership with the group to allow their valuable work to be carried out with nationally important populations on our breakwaters.

“Our thanks go to everyone involved in the project and their efforts towards the conservation of some of the country’s most at risk species.”

The breakwater ringing is organised by the Radipole Ringing Group. The original team was run by Terry Coombs and Steve Hales but it is now run by Guy Hayden and Doug Rudge, who both aim to include a variety of experience in the team to promote education and learning.

Activities in recent years have been limited by the Covid pandemic and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or bird flu).

The group’s focus of ringing on the breakwaters has been on the great black-backed gull, which is mainly found in Scotland, with the herring tagged as a secondary species, which accounts for the difference in numbers recorded this year.

Great black-backed gull chicks (Image: Radipole Ringing Group) This year the group sighted six previously rung great black-backed gulls on the breakwaters. Great black-backed gulls were placed on the latest red list of Birds of Conservation Concern in September 2024.

The species has suffered a 56 per cent decline since a baseline assessment between 1969 and 1970 and a reported 43 per cent fall in numbers since surveys in the early 2000s.

Great black-backed gull (Image: Radipole Ringing Group) Ringers on the breakwater contribute significantly to English population data for the great black-backed gull, including 60 per cent of all birds rung nationwide over the past two years.

Birds from the breakwaters have white rings with red letters and a code similar, to P:45Z for the great black-backed gulls. They are black with white numbers, similar to 687 for herring gulls.

Anyone who sees a bird with a coloured ring is encouraged to report it on the BTO website, with pictures and details where possible.