A Lesser Black-backed Gull, or a Gawwija ta' Daharha Iswed as it's known in Maltese, has had quite the journey to reach the Maltese Islands!

First spotted last Sunday by a BirdLife Malta ringer, the bird was noted to be carrying a white colour ring from the Finnish ringing scheme and a recent post by Salina Nature Reserve reveals the full extend of its journey: "From information provided by the Finnish ringing scheme – our Euring partners in Finland – it is known that the bird was ringed exactly one year and one day (4th July 2019) before the day it was observed at our reserve, as a young bird just leaving the nest, having flown 2,986 km to reach Malta!"

Highlighting the importance of scientific studies of bird ringing as a conservation tool, the post explains that this allows researchers to "..monitor the movement of birds [and] giving an insight into aspects of birds’ lives such as survival rate, productivity and migration patterns. This information ringing gives is vital to ensure the effective conservation of birds."

How cool is this?