Seagulls from Suffolk holiday in Morocco

Seagulls in Suffolk are providing scientists with a bird's-eye view of migration patterns.

The black-backed gulls which breed on Orford Ness have been fitted with GPS transmitters that plot their every move, showing they can fly as far as Portugal, or even Morocco.

During 2010 and 2011, 25 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls were fitted with state-of-the-art solar powered GPS tags that give unprecedented detail on these birds' location, altitude and acceleration.

The project was supposed to investigate how gulls might interact with offshore wind farms, but the tags are also revealing more about the species' movements throughout the year.

This year's data has thrown up a few surprises with some birds remaining in the UK, and one not even leaving East Anglia.

The only tagged breeding pair had rather different winters. The male spent most of the time in Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset. His mate, meanwhile, opted to sun herself in Lisbon.