My weekend started on Friday past, which was Christmas Day, and whilst most people were at home, I made my way to the Connswater Shopping Centre in Belfast, to look for a Norwegian colour-ringed Black-headed Gull. Not only did I record the bird, over the course of the day, I made seven re-sightings altogether, and recorded three new ringed birds. My wife worked on Christmas Day in a nursing home, so we had our Christmas Day on Boxing Day. As our children are grown up, she volunteers to work, so as her workmates with children can enjoy the day together. I remained at home on Boxing Day which is when we have our Christmas Day. I had to go to work on Sunday, starting at midday and finishing at 8pm, so very little birding was done this weekend. My weekly visit to Antrim Marina, was therefore made on Monday morning.
In Northern Ireland, we have begun a new lockdown due to the Pandemic, but this time it is not mandatory to stay at home, though people are 'urged' to say at home. For me, this is great news, as I can still go out looking for ringed birds. The ruling here, is not to undertake unnecessary travel, but my Ring Reading involves me being on my own anyway, and I steer clear from everyone else. The new strain of Covid is going to become a serious problem and our Northern Ireland Government may impose further tougher restrictions. The months ahead are looking bleak for everyone, though I'm hoping that I can continue with my Ring Reading, and see out my weekly visits to Antrim Marina until the end of March. The summer months of May & June may be challenging, as this is ringing time for young gulls. Last summer, I missed out on all but nine Common Gulls chicks, as travel restrictions were not lifted until the first week of July.
Happy New Year to you all.
_______________________________________________________________________________
| Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina - Monday 28th December 2020 |
|---|
Having had to go to work on Sunday, from midday until 8pm, I had to make my weekly visit to Antrim Marina on Monday 28th December 2020. The morning was fairly calm wind wise, but light rain fell over the course of my visit. Arriving just after 9am, I was forced to depart at midday, as it began to pour down quite heavily.
Around 50 Black-headed Gulls were perched on the long wooden jetty, and seeing as it's a holiday period, not a single workman was present. Minutes after arriving, more gulls came flooding in, and soon numbers exceeded the 150 mark. So far this winter, returning gulls, plus sixteen that I have caught and ringed, meant that I was on the lookout for 42 colour-ringed BHGs altogether. I thought that this was going to be a great day, as by 9:52am, I had re-sighted 23 of the gulls.
How wrong, was I. From 9:52 until midday, only four more colour-rings were recorded - 2FFL at 10:40, 2FFP at 11:25, 2AAA at 11:40 and 2FDJ at 11:43. No new returnees were spotted during my visit, and around 10:30 I tried my hand at capturing more new birds to be colour-ringed. I managed to catch another two adults, which have now been ringed - 2FHA & 2FHC . The overall total for my next visit, will now be 44 colour-ringed gulls. I had hoped to capture four gulls today, which would take this winters total to 20 new birds. Having caught two birds, one young lady appeared with her daughter, and my hopes at catching further birds flew out the window, as she emptied two boxes of breakfast cereal and the gulls had a field day with this. Around the same time, a few others arrived to feed the ducks, so I was well beat then.
A small number of the gulls have not been seen since the day they were ringed this winter. The next few weeks should give some indication whether these gulls are still in the Antrim area, or were perhaps passing through when they were caught. One thing is for certain, as they were easily caught in the first place, they are people friendly and therefore could be easily re-sighted at other sites. When you think that there are likely to be gulls from several countries here, it will be fascinating to get re-sightings away from Antrim Marina.
Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina - Monday 28th December 2020
| 2CTC | 2CSJ | 2BRA | 2AAN | 2FFA | 2FFF | 2FDK | 2FFJ | 2ABL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2ABK | 2ABN | 2CSK | 2AAR | 2AAK | 2CSA | 2ABS | 2FDV | 2CJT |
| 2FDT | 2CSR | 2ACV | 2FFC | 2FFX | 2FFL | 2FFP | 2AAA | 2FDJ |
Black-headed Gulls Recorded or Ringed this Autumn/Winter, but Absent on the 28th December 2020
| 2ABA | 2AAV | 2AAB | 2BRD | 2CSB | 2CSL | 2CSX | 2CTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2FDP | 2FDX | 2FFH | 2FFK | 2FFN | 2FFT | 2FFV |
Black-headed Gulls Caught and Ringed During this Autum/Winter
| 2FDP | 2FDT | 2FDV | 2FDX | 2FFA | 2FFC | 2FFF | 2FFH | 2FFJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2FFK | 2FFL | 2FFN | 2FFP | 2FFT | 2FFV | 2FFX | 2FHA | 2FHC |
Black-headed Gull - 2FFX - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (28 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 21st December 2020, at Antrim Marina)
After leaving Antrim Marina, I returned home to grab a couple of hours sleep before preparing for tonight's evening shift at work. Shortly after 5pm, I sat down to have my dinner, and checked for emails. To great surprise and delight, was one from an Ian Foster, who is a birdwatcher in the Teeside district in England. Around 2:10pm earlier today (28th December 2020), Ian spotted one of my Antrim Marina Black-headed Gulls - 2ADV , which had failed to return to the Marina this winter.
The bird was spotted at Portrack Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees. In my post, published on the 17th December, I stated that three in particular had failed to return to the Marina this winter. I wrote off 2AAP as dead, but was not so sure about 2ADV and 2CSH , so you can imagine how I felt, to receive this sighting.
2ADV , was ringed by Adam McClure, as an Adult Male, at Antrim Marina on the 16th December 2013, the Marina is my Study area, which I began in support of Adam's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study. Despite Adam giving up on his project, I decided to continue my work at Antrim Marina. Due to the arrival and departure dates for 2ADV , I have always guessed that this gull nested outside of Northern Ireland, and perhaps on the European Continent. Ian Foster's sighting, is the first ever outside of Northern Ireland, and perhaps it's failure to return to Antrim Marina, may have been caused by injury or sickness. Anyways, for whatever reason 2ADV failed to return, it's was good to know the bird is still alive.
Below are the key dates for 2ADV , selected from a total of 80 re-sightings at Antrim Marina:-
Ringed on the 16th December 2013, Departed after the 2nd February 2014.
Returned on the 12th October 2014, Departed after the 15th February 2015
Returned on the 4th October 2015, Departed after the 31st January 2016
Returned on the 16th October 2016, Departed after the 22nd January 2017
Returned on the 22nd October 2017, Departed after the 29th January 2018
Returned on the 22nd October 2018, Departed after the 14th January 2019
Returned on the 13th November 2019, Departed after the 24 December 2019
(the above dates are unusual, but coincided with the construction of the new Gateway Centre,
which caused much disturbance to the gulls at Antrim Marina)
Failed to return to Antrim Marina so far this winter, but spotted in Stockton-on-Tees on the 28th December 2020 by Ian Foster.
The duration as of Ian's sighting, is now 7 years and 12 days, and the distance from Antrim Marina to the Portrack Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees, is 319 kms / 198 miles (E). My thanks goes to Ian for the re-sighting report, and for permission to use his photo.
Black-headed Gull - 2ADV - Portrack Retail Park, Stockton-on-Tees, Co. Durham, England (28 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 16th December 2013, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)
(Photo Courtesy of Ian Foster)
Other Birds at Antrim Marina
On my previous visit, I recorded the highest number of Mute Swans so far this winter. 21 were recorded altogether, with 12 adults and 9 cygnets counted. Today, as with last week, birds kept arriving un-noticed, as most of the river is now a blind spot, due to the dredging equipment placed along the fron of the Marina. By 11am this morning, a new high was set, as I counted 13 adults, along with the usual nine cygnets. Among, I recorded all three of the remaining juveniles which had been ringed by Debbie Nelson and Aidan Crean - NJY , NJZ and Z78580 . I'm fairly certain, that I saw all of the legs on the adult birds, but none of them were ringed.
The adult Herring Gull was present throughout the visit, and Common Gull numbers are still fairly low for this time of the year. If memory serves me right, Common Gulls should be over the dozen mark normally for this time of the year, but today there were just five adults and a second year bird. Again, there was no sign of the small Scottish-rung female, which has only been recorded twice so far this winter.
Mallard numbers are also still on the low side. Just fifteen were counted on my arrival, and numbers slowly increased to around forty altogether. Most legs were checked, but still no rings on any of these. I wonder whether the gun clubs in County Monaghan, are still releasing farm bred ducklings into the wild, and if so, do they still ring them before release. It's been quite some time now, since I last recorded a metal-rung duck here.
It was a fairly quite day for other species here at the Marina, with just six Jackdaws and a single Pied Wagtails being recorded. I did hear a Kingfisher calling, but I could not see where it was.
*******************************************************
| Christmas Day 2020 |
|---|
The first thing I did today, was to head straight for the Connswater Shopping Centre in Belfast. Christmas Day, is the only time of the year, where I can have the car park there all to myself. The reason, is to record what I call, my Christmas Day Gull, a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull from Norway - (White) J4TJ. I first became aware of this bird via Adam McClure's former BHG Study, as he was the first to re-sight (White) J4TJ, after it had been ringed in Norway. Adam had recorded the gull at Connswater Shopping Centre, on the 13th January 2014, and I realised that my best chance to record the gull again, was to visit the car park yearly on Christmas Day. I then went on to re-sight (White) J4TJ, each Christmas Day, from 2015 to 2018. On Christmas Day 2019, I failed to record the gull, so it's return to Northern Ireland was not confirmed during the 2019/2020 winter. I had no idea whether the bird was still alive or not, so I kept an eye on the 'Live' Norwegian Ringing Database. (White) J4TJ was recorded on six occasions in Norway between March and June 2020, so the gull was still alive. In October 2020, (White) J4TJ, was spotted in County Durham in England, so I knew Xmas, was on it's way back to Northern Ireland.
On my arrival to the Connswater car park, I began throwing out bits of bread, and soon had plenty of gulls around me. It wasn't long before I spotted a White Darvic. Zooming in with my camera, this one was the Dutch Black-headed Gull - (White) EAK9. This was now my fifth re-sighting of this bird, this winter, having recorded it on the Connswater mudflats on the 3rd October 2020, Victoria Park on the 11th October 2020, and s further two times on the Connswater mudflats, on the 14th & 28th November 2020.
Although (White) EAK9, was ringed in Holland in 2012, it wasn't recorded in Northern Ireland until January 2014, when Adam McClure spotted the bird in this very same car park. (White) EAK9, has been recorded every winter since 2014, with the exception of 2017/2018 winter. The bird has an impressive number of re-sightings, including one in France, in January 2019. The re-sighting history for (White) EAK9, can be read (here). The duration since ringing, is now 8 years, 6 months and 12 days, and the distance from Benthuizerplas in Holland, to the Connswater car park, is 745 kms / 463 miles (WNW).
Black-headed Gull - (White) EAK9 - Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 13th June 2012, at Benthuizerplas, Zoetermeer, Holland)
I now continued to throw out more bits of bread, and every time that I saw a White Darvic, it was always (White) EAK9. I was nearing the end of the first of four loaves that I brought with me, when I then noticed two White Darvic's. Zooming in with my camera once again, the first looked at, was (White) EAK9, but happy days, the second bird was the Norwegian (White) J4TJ. (White) J4TJ, was ringed at Texburger Vekerø, on the outskirts of Oslo, on the 19th April 2013. The duration since being ringed, is now 7 years, 8 months and 6 days. The distance from Oslo, is 1,154 kms / 717 miles (SW). I was well pleased, having 'bagged' another returnee for the winter, and makes the Christmas Day trip worthwhile. The full re-sighting history for (White) J4TJ, can be read (here).
Black-headed Gull - (White) J4TJ - Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 19th April 2013, at Texburger Vekerø, Oslo, Norway)
I then drove over towards a different part of the Connswater Shopping Centre, and parked fairly close to the McDonalds outlet. A number of Black-headed Gulls were perched on the roof of a nearby building, so I scoped these, and spotted another White Darvic. I had problems with the light whilst zooming in with my camera. Bright sunshine was reflecting off the Darvic, but I was fairly sure that this was the Danish bird (White) VX18. I hopped back into my car, and began throwing out bread again. Shortly afterwards, most of the gulls came down, and I was able to confirm that this gull was indeed (White) VX18.
This was my second sighting of (White) VX18 this winter, having recorded the gull on the Connswater mudflats on the 28th November 2020. (White) VX18, was ringed on the Island of Hirsholm in Denmark, on the 13th June 2013, and has a limited re-sighting history. In fact, all five records so far, have all been made in Belfast. It's first ever re-sighting was on the 30th August 2013, when spotted by Aaron Devlin at the Connswater Shopping Centre. The next, was made on the 13th January 2015, when Brian Douglas saw the gull at Belfast's Victoria Park. Then on the 25th December 2018, I made my first sighting of (White) VX18, at Connsbank Road, which is where I park my car when visiting the mudflats.
The duration since being ringed, is now 7 years, 6 months and 12 days, and the distance from Hirsholm to the Connswater Shopping Centre, is 1,073 kms / 666 miles (WSW). To read three colour-rings in the same car park was quite amazing, especially as there were only 40 to 60 Black-headed Gulls in total.
Black-headed Gull - (White) VX18 - Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 13th June 2013, at Hirsholm Island, Frederikshavn, Denmark)
On leaving the Connswater Shopping Centre, it only takes a few minutes to drive to Victoria Park. Here again, there were 40 to 60 BHGs, either bobbing about on the lake, or perched on the small island. Having the car park, more or less to myself, I parked well clear of other vehicles and began throwing out bread. I soon had a number of birds landing beside my car.
Straight away, I noticed a metal-rung adult, which I was hoping was another re-sighting of a Yorkshire bred bird. I began taking photos of the metal ring, and as soon as I spotted the letters ' EL ', I knew this would be the same bird. I used bread to keep this gull moving, so as I had a greater chance of completing the whole ring number. At the same time, I noticed a BHG with an Orange Darvic, and then right underneath my nose, a juvenile with a metal ring. I quickly took a couple of photos of the Darvic-rung bird, and then concentrated on the metal-rung adult. Once I had enough photos of the adult, I then turned my attention to the juvenile.
On checking my photos before I left, I had completed the numbers for all three birds. My adult from Yorkshire, was indeed - EL97734 , which I should also call 'a Christmas Day Gull', as I've recorded this one several times on Christmas Day. As with most of Belfast, it is very hard to get peace and quite in a car park except for Christmas Day.
I have a monopoly on EL97734 , as all eight re-sightings have been made by me. My first encounter with the gull, was made on the 14th November 2015. Although EL97734 , had been ringed as a chick, in June 2007, there's no doubting that this bird had wintered at Victoria Park, for years before I discovered it here.
My other sightings were made on the 25th December 2015, 25th December 2016, 29th November 2017, 18th December 2017, 25th December 2018, and on the 25th December 2019. EL97734 , was ringed as a chick, on the 12th June 2007, at Downholme in Yorkshire, England, which takes the duration to, 13 years, 6 months and 13 days. The distance from Downholme, is 264 kms / 164 miles (W).
Black-headed Gull - EL97734 - Victoria Park, Belfast (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 12th June 2007, at Downholme, North Yorkshire, England)
The colour-ringed Black-headed Gull, was my third sighting this winter of 2AJV , and the tenth record for the bird altogether. 2AJV , belongs to Adam McClure's former NI BHG Study, and was ringed as a chick, on the 19th June 2014, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down. The first re-sighting of 2AJV , was made on the 30th October 2014, when a Scott O'Hara spotted the then juvenile, at the Connswater Shopping Centre car park.
The other nine sightings have all been made by me. After Scott's sighting, the next four were made here at Victoria Park, on the 14th November 2015, 4th September 2016, 25th December 2016, and on the 25th December 2018. On the 25th May 2019, I then spotted 2AJV among the breeding gulls back at it's natal colony at Castle Espie. On the 23rd February 2020, the gull was spotted on the Connswater mudflats, which are situated along the edge of Victoria Park.
Due to the Coronavirus Lockdown, the Castle Espie Wetland Centre, remained closed during the 2020 breeding season, so I was not able to record the breeding Black-headed Gulls there. This winter, my two sightings prior to today, were also made on the Connswater mudflats (27th September 2020 & 22nd November 2020). The duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 6 months and 6 days. The distance from Castle Espie to Victoria Park, is 14 kms / 8 miles (WNW).
Black-headed Gull - 2AJV - Victoria Park, Belfast (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 19th June 2014, at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)
The juvenile metal-rung Black-headed Gull, was easily sorted. There was no doubting that this bird had become very people friendly, as it was always the closet gull to my car. Grabbing it's share of the bread offerings, it was easy to photograph the ring, and I was 'gob-smacked' after capturing the full ring number - EX50401 . The ' EX ' series of rings are quite old now, as most ringers are using ' EA ', having gone through the ' EY ' & ' EZ ' series. Due to this, I easily remembered, that I had spotted - EX50405 , on a juvenile BHG, back on the 5th September 2020, at Whitehead in County Antrim. EX50505 , was later spotted by Suzanne Belshaw, after the young gull had moved inland, to Lurgan Park Lake in County Armagh.
Although I submitted my sighting of EX50401 to the BTO, it may take a few weeks to obtain recovery details due to the Christmas Holidays. However, there's no doubting that both juveniles were ringed on the same day, and at the same colony. Therefore, using the details for EX50505 , EX50401 , was ringed as a chick, on the 7th June 2020, at Whitaside Tarn, on the North York Hills in England. The duration, is now 6 months and 18 days, and the distance to Victoria Park, is 250 kms / 155 miles (W). This was a nice sighting, having recorded two juveniles this winter, both of which originated from the same breeding colony.
Juvenile Black-headed Gull - EX50401 - Victoria Park, Belfast (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 7th June 2020, at Whitaside Tarn, North Yorkshire, England)
From Victoria Park, it takes around ten minutes to get to Kinnegar Beach on Belfast Lough, which was my next stop. Very few birds were present on my arrival, as a couple with their dog was already on the beach. Once they departed the birds began to return, with eventually several hundreds of gulls and waders arriving. Scoping for a good hour or more, whilst the tide was receding, not a single ring was spotted. This was unbelievable, as I had just recorded six rings at two sites, with a minimal number of gulls present.
After checking the nearby pond, I slowly walked along the road towards the army camp. Among the rocks and boulders, were a few Turnstones and Oystercatchers, and I soon spotted an Oystercatcher with a metal-ring. Resting my camera on top of my telescope, this bird was very difficult to follow, as it wouldn't stay still. Having taken loads of pictures, I returned to my car. Looking through the photos before I departed, I had enough to obtain the ring number, but there was a slight problem. The first two letters before the five numbers - 80656 , had worn away.
On returning home, I ran the number through the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, using several combinations for the first two letters, beginning with the usual letter 'F'. I found one match, which was FH80656 , which belonged to an Oystercatcher chick, ringed on the 12th June 2014. Unfortunately, DemOn does not show the ringing locations, so I've no idea where the bird was from, other than it having been ringed within the British Isles.
I sent an email to the Ringing Department at the BTO, to see if they can generate a recovery for this bird. It may takes a few weeks, due to the holiday period, but I'll publish the results once I obtain them. Other than this sighting, this was an extremely poor visit to a beach which normally provides a few ringed birds.
Oystercatcher - FH80656 - Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down (25 Dec 2020)
(Waiting for the Ringing Details)
On leaving the shore at Kinnegar, I then drove the short distance to the Connswater Mudflats. I came here last Sunday trying to re-sight a Black-headed Gull with a Black Darvic, which I presume, was the return of a German-rung bird recorded last winter. Having not recorded a single bird with a ring during my previous visit, I had another go today. The mudflats here, have over past weeks, have thrown up quite a few ring sightings, but all I spotted this time, was a metal ring on a Lapwing. I remained for a good hour to an hour and a half without any luck.
The afternoon was quickly passing by, so I moved on again. Whilst walking back to my car, I pondered as to where to go next. I fancied Belfast Waterworks, the Dargan mudflats or Whiteabbey Beach, but seeing as the Waterworks was closest, I decided to go there. By now, Belfast had come back to life, and people were beginning to appear again. Although I might not get peace and quite at the Waterworks, I took the risk, just in case one of my study gulls might be here. This bird is 2CSX , who has gone absent from Antrim Marina over recent weeks.
My suspicions about the Waterworks was correct, as there were lots of people, especially families present. Finding a quiet corner, I sat down on a park bench, and began throwing down bits of bread. I was soon surrounded by Black-headed Gulls and a few juvenile Herring Gulls. One Black-headed Gull with a metal-ring appeared among them, but all the gulls were soon scattered by a walker, with of course - a dog.
I had to wait for peace and quite again, so I looked around the concrete platforms on the lake. On one of these, I spotted an Orange Darvic on a Mute Swan. With my camera, I captured the code NLH , but knew this bird was more than likely to have been ringed here by Debbie Nelson. Back at home, I checked my spreadsheet, to find that the swan had been ringed here as an un-sexed adult, on the 19th March 2019, by Debbie.
Also on my spreadsheet, were two previous sightings which were reported to me by Suzanne Belshaw, having been made on the 28th September 2020, and on the 17th November 2020. The duration since being ringed, is 1 year, 9 months and 6 days.
Mute Swan - NLH - Belfast Waterworks, Cliftonville, Belfast (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 19th March 2019, at Belfast Waterworks)
Eventually, I was able to resume with the bread, and once again the metal-rung Black-headed Gull appeared. Using my camera to take photos of the ring, was not an easy job, as this bird kept moving about. Once I thought that I had enough to complete the number, I then tried to take one of the bird itself, but once again they were all disturbed. I never found my gull after this, and on checking my pictures, I had completed the ring number - EZ28165 , but on the only photo of the bird itself, it had lifted it's right leg and the ring could not be seen.
On returning home, I ran the ring number through my spreadsheet, to find a match. The single previous sighting was made here by me, on the 18th December 2017. EZ28165 , had been ringed as a chick, on the 21st June 2015, at Shotten, in Flintshire, Wales. Three years have now passed since I recorded this bird, so I was well pleased with this result. On entering the ring number onto the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, there are no other records for this gull. The duration since being ringed, is now 5 years, 6 months and 4 days. The distance from Shotten to the Waterworks, is 246 kms / 152 miles (NW).
Black-headed Gull - EZ28165 - Belfast Waterworks, Cliftonville, Belfast (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 21st June 2015, at Shotten, Flintshire, Wales)
I walked all the way around the lower lake at the Waterworks, throwing down bread and the Black-headed Gulls followed me all the way. Having completed the full circuit, there was no sign of 2CSX or any other ringed gulls. On reaching where I had started, a family were feeding the swans, and I then noticed that one bird standing on a concrete platform, had a metal-ring. It was very difficult to get an angle and a clear view to photograph the ring, but I did capture the number - Z90262 . When I went to take a picture of the bird, whose ring was on the left leg, another swan (pictured), forced my bird off the platform, so the ring cannot be seen in the photo.
Z90262 , was ringed as a 2nd Calendar Year Male, on the 12th February 2016, at Victoria Park in Belfast. The bird was a new sighting for me, and when I submitted my sighting on DemOn, this was the first reported sighting since being ringed. The duration since ringing, is 4 years, 10 months and 13 days, and the distance from Victoria Park, is just 3 kms / 2 miles (NW).
Mute Swan - Z90262 - Belfast Waterworks, Cliftonville, Belfast (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a 2nd Calendar Year Male, on the 12th February 2016, at Victoria Park, Belfast)
By now, it was so late into the afternoon, is was not worthwhile trying any other sites. I was still pleased with my sightings for the day, especially having recorded my target bird, the Norwegian BHG (White) J4TJ. Guess where I'll be on next Christmas Day?
******************************************************
