Suspect Apprehended in Egg Thievery Case

Justin here to bring you breaking news from the Appledore Island. Banding efforts continue to be hindered by poor weather. We caught a break in the weather at about 10:30 this morning and managed to get a few more birds before the weather turned sour again. However, one of the birds captured was the Herring Gull responsible for the recent egg thefts. Here’s a story on the gull:

Mr. Herrington was captured by authorities today and appeared in Appledore Superior Court to stand trial for crimes related to the recent egg thefts around the island. Mr. Herrington, a Herring Gull well known and admired around the island, was found guilty of 12 counts of egg theft. Bander Justin Stilwell presided over the case and sentenced Mr. Herrington to Nest Arrest until his eggs hatch. “The stolen eggs were all found on his territory. He would carry an egg back to his territory before breaking it open and consuming it. Along with several witness testimonies, this case was pretty solid.” Stilwell also replaced his USGS tracking device (band) with a new one and an additional field readable band (M44) so that other gulls can better identify him. A blood sample was taken for DNA archive. When asked for a statement, his mate, M43, gave a long call and five yeow calls. Shortly after being released, authorities spotted Mr. Herrington with yet another stolen egg. A source close to Mr. Herrington says that he likely won’t obey the Nest Arrest order either.

Mr. Herrington, the egg thief, steals yet another egg after banding – Photo by Bill Clark

Banding efforts were suspended for the remainder of the day due to the weather and will resume tomorrow. The banding total now stands at 21 gulls: 15 HERG and 6 GBBG.

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