An aerial pygmy gull arrived in Abu Dhabi by flight, and is the first bird from Israel to be recorded in the United Arab Emirates. In Israel there is a small nesting population, which is in danger of extinction and numbers only about 200 nesting pairs.
Marking birds with metal rings for tracking and research purposes began about 130 years ago in Denmark, and since then has become a common research tool around the world. In addition to the metal ring, each seagull is marked with another ring that allows identification in the field, using optical means, such as a telescope.