Winter is Coming...

Once again, another late post.  This was due to my limited time for one reason or another, plus sightings arrived in to me during the week, from John Clarke, Jan Rod and Graham McElwaine.  I really needed to include their sightings in this weeks post, as I might receive other sightings next week.  In really need to find the time to keep on top of these, but to me, the most important thing, is we have a 'hard copy' of these reports.

Though pushed for available time out last weekend, I still managed to get out and undertake a little bit of 'Ring Reading', with the added bonus of a reasonably good visit to Antrim Marina on Monday morning.  The winter is on it's way, but already the ring sightings are coming in.  No doubt, there should be one or two, of what I call 'Gems', to be found out there somewhere this winter.

________________________________________  

Antrim Marina - Monday 19th August 2019

Last weekend, I was forced to abandon my weekly winter visit to Antrim Marina, due to a Golf Tournament, being held on the course adjacent to the Marina.  After six winters, this was the first time, that visit had been missed.  This weekend, I chose a Monday, instead of a Sunday visit, which meant that I would not have had the additional problem of trying to read rings, whilst the trainee canoeists were about.

Pulling up to the barrier which allows me access to the front car park, beside the slipway, I could not believe what I was seeing.  For the first time in ages, there were gulls at rest on the car park and on the low wooden jetty.  This is exactly where I needed the birds to be, and throughout the morning, they remained here for most of the time.

As regular readers will know, the building of the new cafe, has presented me with all sorts of problems, whilst trying to read rings.  The gulls initially began to alight on the steel framework, and as building progressed, they then started to perch on the flat roof, with legs being completely out of sight.

Today, seemed like 'old times', and rings were easily read.  Just 36 Black-headed Gulls, were present when I arrived, but a high count at 10.45, gave a total of 91 birds present.  A fortnight ago, when I began this - my 7th winter of weekly winter visits, just four rings were read, but today I managed a total of 15.  Interestingly, some of those gulls which would normally be under your nose all of the time, did not show.  These being birds, such as,   2AAA ,   2AAP ,   2AAT   and   2BRA .  I had hoped to see the Lithuanian bird (White) T35J, which on some past winters, would have returned by now.

Three of the gulls recorded two weeks, were spotted again today, the exception being   2CSR .  Among today's 15 birds, two were recorded, that we know may well breed a long way away from Antrim.    2ACV , was the first of them, having been recorded in the past possibly breeding at the RSPB's Leighton Moss Reserve, in Lancashire, England.

The second gull -   2CSL , which I caught and ringed here in December 2017, was spotted in Olsztyn, Poland, on the 29th March 2018.  Whether, it bred in Poland, or was passing through to another country, is open to speculation, but it returned to the Marina, on the 20th August 2018.  Before today, my last sighting of   2CSL , was on the 11th March 2019.  If   2CSL , was reported back in Poland during the past summer, I'll probably never know, as the sighting will have been reported directly to Adam, via it's 'colour-ring', although it's metal ring belongs to me.

All in all, with all the problems that I've had to put up with due to the building of the new cafe, this was quite a saticfactory visit.  Normally, I would present my sightings via a 'table', but this time, I decided to include a photo of each bird, along with the duration since they were caught and ringed here.  Not only can we keep track of these birds at their chosen wintering site, but each sighting adds to their longevity.  The bonus comes when they are spotted elsewhere - far, far, away.

Today, I also fed quite a few juveniles beside my car with bread.  Many were eager to get a bite, so I'm hopeful if this continues over forthcoming visits, a few of these can be caught and ringed.  December would probably be a good time for this, as juveniles which have come from abroad, will also be at the Marina.

Black-headed Gull  -    2AAB   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 11th December 2012, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 6 years, 8 months and 8 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2AAK   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 21st December 2012, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 6 years, 7 months and 29 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2AAN   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 21st December 2012, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 6 years, 7 months and 29 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2ABK   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 23rd January 2013, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 6 years, 6 months and 27 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2ABL   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 23rd January 2013, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 6 years, 6 months and 27 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2ABN   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 23rd January 2013, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 6 years, 6 months and 27 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2ABS   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 23rd January 2013, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 6 years, 6 months and 27 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2ACV   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed First Winter Bird, on the 21st October 2013, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 5 years, 9 months and 29 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2CJT   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed First Winter Bird, on the 4th December 2016, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 2 years, 8 months and 15 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2CSB   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed First Winter Bird, on the 19th November 2017, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 1 year, 9 months, 0 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2CSJ   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Winter Bird, on the 17th December 2017, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 1 year, 8 months and 2 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2CSK   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 17th December 2017, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 1 year, 8 months and 2 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2CSL   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 24th December 2017, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 1 year, 7 months and 26 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2CTB   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 24th December 2018, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 0 years, 7 months and 26 days)

Black-headed Gull  -    2CTC   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed First Winter Bird, on the 24th December 2018, at Antrim Marina)

(Duration as of today :- 0 years, 7 months and 26 days)

The photo below, shows the Black-headed Gulls at rest on the car park and short jetty.  The slipway, is hidden by the wing mirror of my car.  This is exactly where I need the gulls, not only to read rings, but by throwing out bits of bread, I can gain their confidence, which will enable me to catch a few over the winter, to be ringed.  Without overdoing it, ten or a dozen new birds rung will be ideal.

Any that are ringed this winter, will have the blue 'colour-rings' fitted, which should prove quite interesting.  Previous birds ringed here, were ringed using Adam McClure's 'Orange Darvics'.  What always amazed me, was the fact that when people fed the birds, they never notice the 'Orange Darvics' on the gulls.  It will be interesting to see if they spot the gulls with my 'Blue Darvics'.

Originally, my idea was to ring gulls solely around my home town of Ballymena, with these 'Blue Darvics', but seeing as Adam, has now given up his project using 'Orange Darvics', just for continuity, I'll now ring Black-headed Gulls wherever I can catch them.  The rings used are from the   2F**  series, which I transferred over from being originally registered for use on Common Gulls.  This summer, I used the first of the   2F**   series, to ring Black-headed Gull chicks, at Inch Island Lake, in County Donegal.

Black-headed Gulls at Rest Beside my Car  - Antrim Marina

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Two adult Common Gulls, were present on my arrival at the Marina.  They both remained for the best part of an hour, before flying off, and did not return.  An adult Herring Gull, appeared at 9.17, but came and went throughout the morning.  A Lesser Black-backed Gull, arrived at 10.46, and was still present on my departure, shortly after 12.30.

The pair of Mute Swans, along with their five cygnets, were on the slipway when I arrived.  On a couple of occasions, the family party would swim up-river, but would return a short time afterwards.  Mallard numbers, were pretty good.  Between 30 and 40 birds at first, increased in numbers throughout the morning, with between 80 to 90 being counted around midday.

The only other species recorded, were all from the crow family - 2 Hooded Crow's, 12 Jackdaws and a single Rook.

Having stayed a little longer than I had planned, I avoided the other sites around Antrim Town, and headed home, to grab a couple of hours sleep, before starting work on the nightshift.

******************************

From John Clarke

I received an email on Tuesday afternoon (20th August), from my ringing trainer, John Clarke, who lives in Coleraine, in County Londonderry.  John stated that there were several hundred Black-headed Gulls around the town, and one returning 'colour-ringed' bird was spotted amongst them.  The Norwegian -   J47T , has re-appeared for the second autumn running.

On August 9th 2018, John made his initial sighting of   J47T , at the jetty beside Coleraine's Strand Road, and recorded the gull there for a second time, on the 21st September 2018.  I reported the gull, on John's behalf, onto the 'live' Norwegian Ringing Database.  Once the details were added, the gulls full ringing and re-sighting history is then revealed.

What I found very interesting, is that   J47T , winter's in Spain, having initially turned up there, as a first winter bird in January 2016, and recorded there again in January 2018.  Knowing this, John and I wondered, whether   J47T , was making a 'dog-leg' return to Spain via Coleraine.  Our suspicions turned out to be correct, as   J47T , was then spotted by Ernesto Villodas, on the 6th January 2019, at Limpias, on the Spanish north coast.

I only rechecked the Norwegian Database, on one occasion this past summer, to check up on Black-headed Gulls, having returned to their own country.  While entering John's latest sighting, I discovered that   J47T , was recorded by in Norway on two occasions - 12th May 2019, and on the 3rd July 2019.  With   J47T , back in Coleraine now, it seems as if this gull is making that very same 'dog-leg' return to winter in Spain.

My thanks to John for his sighting and photo.  The full re-sighting ringing and re-sighting history of this Norwegian bird -   J47T , can be read (here).

Black-headed Gull  -  Norway    J47T   -  Strand Road (Jetty), Coleraine, Co. Londonderry  (20 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 19th June 2015, at Boganesholmane, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway)

(Photo Courtesy of John Clarke)

******************************

From Jan Rod & Graham McElwaine

I arrived home from work, in the early hours of Thursday morning, and once settled, checked for emails, as usual.  Among the odds and ends, I had one from Jan Rod, and another from Graham McElwaine, both of whom had read rings on Wednesday 21st August.

Jan's was particularly interesting, as this involved a Common Gull, rung -   2AVJ .  Jan had come across several hundred Common Gulls at Mosney Beach, in the Gormanstown area of County Dublin, and thought there was a good possibilty that one or two of my birds were amongst them.

Looking at the attached photo, the ring of   2AVJ , looked to be in a fairly good state, so I presumed that this gull, was one of my Rathlin Island chicks, ringed in June 2017.  Having entered on my spreadsheet, all of the Common Gull ringing that I have undertaken since I began my new project in 2017, on searching for   2AVJ , there was no record of the code.  Having been given all of the blue colour-rings from Shane Wolsey, from his former project on the Copeland Islands, I had used the remaining rings from the   2A**   series, and have since used rings from the   2B**   series.

As   2AVJ , was not on my spreadsheet, this meant that there were no re-sighting records of the gull in either of mine or Shane's projects.  I then proceeded to check Shane's Wolsey's ringing data, and found that   2AVJ , had been ringed as a chick, on the 23rd June 2012, on Big Copeland Island, County Down.  Jan's sighting was a first, which came after 7 years, 1 month and 29 days, since being ringed.

In my previous post, I stated just how elusive these colour-ringed Common Gulls, appear to be, as Graham McElwaine, had just reported the second re-sighting of   2HPP , which also had been ringed as a chick in 2012.  There are many birds from Shane's former project which have yet to be spotted.  Although, quite a number would have died by now, Shane rung enough, which would  mean, there are still quite a few out there still to be found.

I have also previously stated, that I would be fairly confident, some of these Common Gulls from Shane's former project, will be found nesting on Big Copeland Island, but I cannot track down a boat owner, who will undertake trips out to the island.

As you can imagine, I was well pleased with Jan's sighting.  Mosney Beach, is roughly 120 kms / 75 miles (SW), from Big Copeland Island.  My thanks to Jan for his sighting, and the photo, which was taken through his telescope.  

Common Gull  -    2AVJ   -  Mosney Beach, Gormanstown, Co. Dublin, Republic of Ireland  (21 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 23rd June 2012, on Big Copeland Island, Co. Down, Northern Ireland)

(Photo Courtesy of Jan Rod)

The second email, from Graham McElwaine, gave details for two colour-ringed birds, also recorded on Wednesday 21st August.  The first of these, was an immature Herring Gull rung -   092:D , spotted at Millquarter Bay, in County Down.  I was there on Sunday past, and having scoped most of the birds present, I did not see this gull.  Graham, is getting the 'hang', of who owns what, and reported his sighting to Graham Prole, in Dublin.

Graham, replied to say that   092:D , was ringed as a chick, on the 1st July 2017, on an island known as Ireland's Eye, in County Dublin.  The only previous sighting of   092:D , was made by Jan Rod, who spotted the gull on the 22nd August 2018, on the Skerries Beach, County Dublin, around 20 kms / 12 miles (N).  The distance from Ireland's Eye, to Millquarter Bay, is around 107 kms / 66 miles (NE), and the duration since ringing, is 2 years, 1 month and 20 days.

The second bird reported by Graham, was of a Sandwich Tern, rung - (White) KSL, spotted among 160 'Sannie Terns', at Kilclief Bay, on Strangford Lough, Co. Down.  Several other terns were also 'colour-ringed', but Graham was unable to read the codes on those.  This was similar to my experience, on Sunday past, where several colour-ringed terns were spotted at the neighbouring Millquarter Bay.

(White) KSL, was already on my spreadsheet, as this bird had been spotted by Cameron Moore, at Whitehead, in County Antrim, on the 6th September 2017.  Indeed, this had been the last sighting of (White) KSL, until now.  KSL, was ringed as a chick, on the island of Sgarbheen, at Lady's Island Lake in County Wexford, on the 23rd June 2015.  It's only previous sighting, before those of Cameron, and now Graham, was made on the 8th July 2016, when the bird was recorded in Namibia, in South Africa.

The duration since being ringed, is now 4 years, 1 month and 29 days, and the distance from Lady's Island Lake, to Kilclief Bay, is roughly 242 kms / 150 miles (NNE).

Again, my thanks to Graham for reporting these sightings.  How, I do wish, that Graham would use a camera, as part of his kit. 

******************************

Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th August 2019

I did not think that I'd get out on Saturday at all, but ended up finding a couple of spare hours, late into the afternoon.  I headed straight down to the RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve, before making a quick visit to Kinnegar Beach, the returned home.

The best part of two hours was spent in hide 2, at the WoW Reserve, hoping to spot a ringed Roseate Tern, or two.  Only, a few 'metal-rung' Common Terns, and a single 'metal-rung' Arctic Tern, were spotted.  These were too far away, to capture the numbers with my camera, and not a single Roseate appeared.

The quick visit to Kinnegar Beach, resulted in another re-sighting of Black-headed Gull -   2CJF .  I first recorded   2CJF , on this very same beach in August last year.  In March and April 2019, I recorded it on the nesting platform, at the WoW Reserve, and since the end of the breeding season, spotted it again on Kinnegar Beach, on the 21st July.

Black-headed Gull  -    2CJF   -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (17 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as Unfledged Juvenile, on the 3rd July 2016, on Blue Circle Island, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim)

On Sunday, I ended up with more time out than expected, and therefore headed off again to the RSPB WoW Reserve, before undertaking a quick check of Kinnegar Beach, the proceeding to check out a number of other sites in County Down.

Try as I might, I still cannot get a Roseate Tern, never mind a 'ringed' one.  A 'colour-ringed' Black-tailed Godwit was spotted on it's arrival at the WoW Reserve, with these birds coming in to roost, as it was nearing high tide.  To my frustration, the bird quickly went up onto the grass verge, and I just could not get the 'colour-ring' sequence on both legs.

I did notice a long white ring on the birds right tibia, which had two 'bars' across it.  Returning home, and checking my Godwit 'Colour-ringing Guide', it appears as if this bird, was from a ringing scheme based in Cork Harbour, in the Republic of Ireland.

Moving on to Kinnegar Beach, I had two re-sightings, one, a Black-headed Gull, and the other a Herring Gull.  The Black-headed Gull, rung   2ATJ , was particularly pleasing, as I had ringed this bird as a chick, on the 31st May 2016, at Inch Island Lake, in County Donegal.  On a second visit to the lake, on the 8th June 2016, I was accompianied by Adam McClure, who fitted the gull with it's 'Darvic Ring'.

  2ATJ , was not heard of, until I came across it here on Kinnegar Beach, on the 11th March 2018.  Earlier this year (20th April), I again recorded   2ATJ , this time on nesting platform 2, at the RSPB's WoW Reserve, quite close to Kinnegar.  I'm not totally sure whether   2ATJ , nested on the platform, as I did not see the bird on subsequent visits.

Wherever it nested, it's good to see that   2ATJ , is still alive and well.

Black-headed Gull  -    2ATJ   -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (18 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 31st May 2016, at Inch Island Lake, Co. Donegal, Republic of Ireland)

The Herring Gull, was my third sighting of   0L:W , here on Kinnegar Beach, the previous two sightings having been made on the 19th October 2016, and on the 2nd September 2018.  I have one other record of 0L:W, which was made by Derek Charles, on the 21st November 2015.

  0L:W , was ringed as an un-sexed adult, on the 22nd May 2014, on the Copeland Islands, 21 kms / 13 miles, east of Kinnegar.  It was from a new project which began that year on the islands, and Adam McClure, was the former ringing coordinator.  I entered the gulls 'metal-number' onto the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, to discover, that none of our previous re-sightings had been submitted.  I therefore reported all four re-sightings in one go.

Herring Gull  -    0L:W   -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (18 Aug 2019)

Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 22nd May 2014, on the Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

Despite visiting several sites throughout County Down, I only recorded two other ringed birds, these being Herring Gulls, at Millquarter Bay.  Both had 'Black Darvic's', which were inscibed with yellow characters.  I knew instantly, the they were from the Isle of Man.

The first, an adult, was busy bathing and then flew off before I could capture the code on it's ring.  Luckily, I re-located the bird a while later on nearby rocks, but before that I spotted a juvenile, rung - T7VC.

Juvenile Herring Gull  -    T7VC   -  Millquarter Bay, Strangford Lough, Co. Down  (18 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 3rd July 2019, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man)

On re-locating the adult, I managed to capture it's code -   T7UL .  I reported both birds to Mark Fitzpatrick, and quickly received a reply.  The juvenile -   T7VC , had been ringed as a chick, 1 month and 15 days earlier (3rd July 2019), on the Calf of Man,  and this was it's first re-sighting since being ringed.

  T7UL , was not on my spreadsheet, so I presumed that this may well have been it's first sighting here in Northern Ireland, which was confirmed, having received it's history from Mark.  It was ringed as a chick, on the 7th July 2012, the duration now being 7 years, 1 month and 11 days.  In all those years, it was only recorded on two other occasion.  On the 2nd November 2018, it was spotted at The Skerries, in County Dublin, and on the 25th June 2019, was spotted on the Calf of Man, where it had been originally ringed.

My thanks goes to Mark, for his quick reply and the ringing and re-sighting histories for both gulls.   

Herring Gull  -    T7UL   -  Millquarter Bay, Strangford Lough, Co. Down  (18 Aug 2019)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 7th July 2012, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man)

******************************