Due to family commitments, I never managed to get out on Saturday, and decided to spend Sunday afternoon looking for rings in Belfast, which turned out to be very successful, with several interesting re-sightings, as well as new birds. My weekly visit to Antrim Marina, was again carried out on Monday morning.
Eclipsing the normal 'Ring Reading' of gulls and waders, was the confirmation from Suzanne Belshaw, that the full ring number of a Norwegian Blackbird, had been completed. I must 'lift my hat off' to Suzanne for her persistence, and it's not every day, that such small metal rings can successfully be read.
Whilst compiling this post, I've begun to realise just how difficult it is becoming, on reporting on some of the birds which I have recorded. Now that I'm nearing the end of my 7th winter of 'Ring Reading', the re-sightings for some birds are becoming really extensive, and therefore it's becoming a lot harder to add all of the info into each blog post. I'm now pondering on the idea, of creating PDF Files for each bird, which would cut down on the amount of writing I have to do.
This will be something, that I will have to consider over the coming summer months. At the minute, I'm thinking of creating a template, where I can copy and paste the relevant information from my spreadsheet. At times, I feel as if I'm already 'snowed under' with the information being gathered, but I feel, as more and more re-sightings are made over future winters, then PDF Files, would be the best solution.
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| Antrim Marina - Monday 24th February 2020 |
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Having not gone out on Saturday, and making the full use of my day yesterday in Belfast, I opted for another Monday visit to Antrim Marina. I arrived, at 08:10 this morning, having left home with overnight snow on my car, although it was raining when I departed. By the time I reached the Marina, this had turned into a heavy drizzle, which lasted until around 10:30. After this time, patches of blue sky appeared, though it was still on the cold side.
Just 35 Black-headed Gulls were present on my arrival, but as birds came and went, numbers overall never surpassed the 100 mark. I thought that the cold conditions would encourage more gulls to visit for an easy meal, but this did not happen.
With 37 colour-ringed BHGs recorded here this winter, it was a long slow drag to reach the 20 mark by midday. By this time, I decided not to stay any longer, and visited the three other sites around the town of Antrim.
The highlight of my visit to the Marina today, was the sighting of a colour-ringed juvenile BHG - White 2122. From my car, I happened to be scoping along the gulls perched on the rail of the long wooden jetty, when I spotted a White Darvic on a bird which then took to the air. Watching it pass along the river in front of me, I could see that it was a juvenile, and the bird was flying upriver away from me. Dreading the thought of it getting away, I immediately began throwing out slices of bread onto the slipway.
The commotion of the other gulls trying to grab a feed, did the trick, as my youngster turned and came back. Throwing out more bread, it landed and sought it's share. Within seconds, I had taken a couple of photos of the colour-ring, which read (White) 2122. I instantly knew, that this young gull belonged to a new project which began in the Republic of Ireland last summer.
On returning home, I emailed Brian Burke, who replied in record time. (White) 2122 had been ringed as a chick, on the 10th June 2019, on Goats Island, Lough Ree in County Longford. My sighting, was a first for this bird, having travelled 168 kms / 104 miles (NW), and the duration was now 8 months and 14 days. I received an email from Graham McElwaine later on Monday, and he also spotted the youngster back on the long jetty, late in the afternoon.
There was no sign of the metal-rung Swedish Black-headed Gull, which appeared here last week.
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Juvenile Black-headed Gull - White 2122 - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (24 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 10th June 2019, on Lough Ree, Co. Longford, Republic of Ireland)
Graham, also recorded two other colour-ringed BHGs during his brief visit - 2CTA & 2CTC . As I had not recorded 2CTA during my earlier visit, I still added the gull to the re-sightings table.
Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 24th February 2020
| 2CSR | 2ABK | 2AAR | 2CTC | 2CSA | 2BRA | 2ABL | 2CJT | 2FDK | 2AAB | 2AAA |
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| 2ABN | 2AAN | 2CTB | 2ACV | 2CSJ | 2AAP | 2FDJ | 2ABS | 2AAK | 2CTA |
Black-headed Gulls Re-sighted or Ringed at Antrim Marina This Winter, but Not Recorded Today
| 2ABA | 2AAV | 2ADV | 2AFD | 2BRD | 2ANS | 2CSB | 2CSH |
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| 2CSK | 2CSL | 2CSS | 2CSX | 2CTR | 2FBA | 2FDL | 2FDN |
Theres no doubting, that some Black-headed Gulls will now be on the move in the direction of their breeding sites, and from my past records, the likes of 2ADV is rarely seen here after the end of January, and 2BRD should now be at Lurgan Park Lake, which it frequents prior to nesting. I know very little about some of the gulls which are ringed with the 2C** series of colour-rings, so I'm very much relient on other observers spotting them on their travels
Other Birds at Antrim Marina
Arriving this morning, just three adult Mute Swans and the usual cygnet were present on the slipway. Over the course of the morning, a further 9 Mute Swans appeared, all from the direction of Lough Neagh. Pairs arrived in at 08:40, 11:06, 11:25 and 11:50, with a single bird taking the total to 12 'White' Swans at 12:00. The two birds which arrived at 11:50, may well have been two of the youngsters from 2018, judging by their paler beaks. Both came readily to the slipway, which made me think, that they were no strangers here.
Almost all the swans were checked for rings, but none were spotted. Two metal-rung birds, are well overdue to return, but today's overall total is the highest recorded here this winter.
Mallard numbers are practically non-existent, with just 5 birds on my arrival, and a high count of 11, was made at 11am, after which time numbers decreased again to 7 birds on my departure.
A single Common Gull was present when I arrived, with a high count of three adults at 11:14. It seems likely, that higher numbers will not be recorded from now until I finish this winters weekly visits at the end of March.
An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived at 08:47, which is in line with other Lesser Black-backed's that have no doubt returned to Northern Ireland, from their winter vacation to Southern Europe and North Africa. At 09:10, a second Lesser Black-backed appeared, along with the adult Herring Gull which has wintered here. Landing together beside the slipway, these two were performing a courtship display, calling, bowing heads and even picking up twigs, as a sign of nest-building. I have witnessed such a display here in the past, but I've noway of knowing whether it was from the same pair as today's birds. The third calendar year Herring Gull, also appeared briefly for the third week in a row at 11:40, but was again quickly chased off by the resident adult.
A juvenile Moorhen was seen picking around the long wooden jetty at 10:18, remaining for about 10 minutes before swimming across to the other side of the river. A pair of Magpie's also flew backwards and forwards across the river. They were busy picking up small bits of grain, which had obviously lain in the car park from yesterday. These two were obviously caching their find somewhere within the trees.
A pair of Blue Tits spent much time flying around the Crack Willow tree. As well as feeding, they seemed to be checking out the tree for nest holes. 8 Jackdaws made up the other species recorded at the Marina during my visit.
Other Sites around Antrim Town
On leaving Antrim Marina, I called into the other three sites around the town of Antrim, where I know BHGs do congregate. The only ringed bird spotted was 2AAV , at the Elim Church. There was no sign of 2ADD , at the KFC outlet, but he may well have been in one of the neighbouring housing estates. 2ADD , was recorded at the outlet last week, having spent the winter at Carrickfergus.
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Black-headed Gull - 2AAV - Elim Church, Parkhall, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (24 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 28th December 2012, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)
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| From Suzanne Belshaw |
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Suzanne has been in touch, to say that she managed to complete the whole ring number of a Norwegian Blackbird. Having spotted the bird at her place of work, at Dundrod in County Antrim, Suzanne has had several opportunity's to capture the number. As reported in last weeks post, Suzanne reckoned that she was missing the first digit, of a seven digit number, and on the 24th February, that final digit was captured - 7570522 .
Reporting the bird, both direct to Norway and the BTO, the Norwegians sent back a PDF file (read here) for the bird. 7572522 , had been ringed as a first calendar year male, on the 31st October 2018, when caught in a 'mist net', at Frestad, close to the coast in southern Norway. The duration since ringing, was 1 year, 3 months and 25 days, and the distance was given as 878 kms / 545 miles (SW).
I was well pleased for Suzanne, as her persistence paid off in the end. It certainly makes a change to the usual gulls and waders that are reported on in my blog. My thanks to Suzanne for reporting on her efforts and the inclusion of her photos.
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Blackbird - Norway 7570522 - Dundrod, Co. Antrim (24 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as a 1st Calendar Year Male, on the 31st October 2018, at Frestad, Vest-Agder, Norway)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
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| Sunday 23rd February 2020 |
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Having not got out yesterday, I decided to spend my day today around Belfast. As high tide was around 11am, I departed from home at midday, to arrive at the high tide roost at Kinnegar Pond, before parking beside the beach to wait for the tide to recede.
No rings were spotted on any of the gulls or waders on the pond, but of note, was a massive flock of Knots, possibly numbering around 200 birds. I reckoned that there had to be a few colour-rings amongst these, but they were tightly packed together, and worse still, they were perched behind loads of Oystercatchers.
Having parked beside the beach, I was looking forwards to seeing the Knots coming to feed as the tide began to go out. As the beach became visible, not a single Knot appeared, so they must have left to head towards the other side of Belfast Lough.
Loads of gulls and waders arrived to feed, though no colour-ringed Oystercatchers were spotted. Two Icelandic colour-rung 'Oiks' have been recorded here this winter, but today there were two birds ringed with metals only. Other metals were spotted on two Common Gulls, two Black-headed Gulls and on a Mediterranean Gull. However, two colour-ringed gulls were recorded here on the beach.
The first of these, was a Black-headed Gull from Adam's former Northern Ireland Project - 2CKS . The code did not ring any bells with me, so I checked the bird against my spreadsheet on returning home. I discovered that I had recorded this one, back in 2018, which was the only other record that I had for this gull.
2CKS , had been ringed as a chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down. It was at Castle Espie, where I recorded 2CKS , on the 24th June 2018. The distance from Castle Espie to Kinnegar, is just 16 kms / 9 miles (NW), and the duration now, is 2 years, 8 months and 7 days, since being ringed. As this gull is now nearing breeding age, I should record it back at Castle Espie this summer.
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Black-headed Gull - 2CKS - Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down (23 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)
A juvenile Herring Gull, rung T1WS , did ring a bell with me, although I knew that this was my first sighting of it. On checking my spreadsheet, Declan Clarke, had spotted T1WS , on the 5th December 2019, at Ardglass Harbour in County Down. The gull had been ringed as a chick, on the 23rd June 2019, on the Calf of Man, just off the southern coast of the Isle of Man. After fledging, the gull was recorded on the Calf of Man, on the 23rd August 2019, which was it's only sighting before being recorded by Declan.
The distance from the Calf of Man to Kinnegar Beach, is 94 kms / 58 miles (NW), and the duration of my sighting today, has increased to 8 months exactly.
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Juvenile Herring Hull - T1WS - Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down (23 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 23rd June 2019, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man)
I spent a long time overlooking Kinnegar Beach, especially as there was a good number of Common Gulls present. Barring the two metal-rung birds mentioned above, I was very disappointed at not recording any colour-ringed birds. So far, a couple of Scottish rung birds have not been re-sighted, and Kinnegar normally presents the odd one or two Norwegian birds. Last winter, I recorded a colour-ringed Polish Common Gull, which I had hoped would return, and worst of all, none of our Northern Ireland rung birds have appeared of late.
Eventually I gave up, and drove to the nearby RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve. I had a look at the breeding platform's to check to see if there were any returning gulls, as it is getting closer to the new nesting season, but the platforms were virtually deserted barring a few Shelducks.
Moving on down the road, I stopped to look at the Connswater Mudflats with my binoculars. There was a sizeable flock of Black-headed Gulls present, so I drove on down to the car park, and made the long walk around the edge of the mudflats. Scoping through the gulls and waders here, I eventually recorded 6 colour-rings which was totally un-expected, throwing up 5 re-sightings and a new bird.
First spotted, was the first of four colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls - 2AJV . This was now my seventh record for this bird, which is now building a decent re-sighting history. 2AJV , was ringed as a chick, on the 19th June 2014, at the Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down. It's first re-sighting, was made by Scott O'hara, who recorded the then juvenile, at Belfast's Connswater Shopping Centre on the 30th October 2014.
The next four sightings were recorded by me at Belfast's Victoria Park, situated beside the Connswater Mudflats, and a stone's throw away from the Connswater Shopping Centre - 14th November 2015, 4th September 2016, 25th December 2016 and on the 25th December 2018. I last saw 2AJV , on the 25th May 2019, back at it's natal home of Castle Espie. The duration since ringing, is now 5 years, 8 months and 4 days. If all goes well, I'll no doubt see 2AJV back at Castle Espie this summer, which lies 16 kms / 9 miles (SE).
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Black-headed Gull - 2AJV - Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate (23 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 19th June 2014, at the Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)
A distant Oystercatcher with a Red Darvic, was the next bird to be spotted, but I had a bit of difficulty in capturing the code, as it stood for age's behind some debris. I eventually captured the code, and realised that this was an old timer, which I had previously recorded on Kinnegar Beach, on the 11th August 2019 (Photo).
On that occasion, I was lucky enough to be able to capture the birds metal-ring number - FP48164 , as when I reported my sighting to the registered owner of the colour-scheme, I never received a reply. Having reported FP48164 (colour code - Red(Y1)-Red over Metal), to the BTO, I learnt that the bird had been ringed as an adult, on the 29th March 1996, on the River Spey, at Newtonmore, in the Highland Region of Scotland.
Entering the metal-number on the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, the bird has a re-sighting history, but the locations of re-sightings are not shown. The bird was originally ringed FA73649 , and was re-sighted in March 2002, March 2003, March 2006 and April 2015. It was then re-captured on the 17th March 2018, when it's original metal was replaced with it's current number, and my re-sightings are the only ones since then. I've no idea, whether the colour-ring was fitted when the bird was originally ringed, but this is rather unlikely, as colour-ringing is a more modern practice.
A while back, I received an email from Jan Rod, from County Dublin. He too, has recorded this Oystercatcher, and had the same problem in getting a reply from the original contactee. I was given a new email address to try, and with my latest sighting of the bird, I have tried this, but no reply has arrived as yet.
As of my latest sighting, the duration since first being ringed, is now 23 years, 10 months and 25 days. The distance from the River Spey, to the Connswater mudflats, is 295 kms / 183 miles (SSW).
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Oystercatcher - R(Y1)-R - Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Eatate (23 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 29th March 1996, on the River Spey, Newtonmore, Highlands, Scotland)
A Black-headed Gull with a White Darvic, was the next bird to catch my eye. Back on the 12th October 2019, another Black-headed Gull with a White Darvic, was spotted here, being the Dutch-rung bird - EAK9. Thinking that this was going to be another re-sighting of that gull, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the letter 'T', at the beginning of the code. My mind went back, to a Polish-rung gull, which I recorded here a while back.
Capturing the code (White) THR7, on checking my spreadsheet back at home, I discovered that this was the same gull I recorded here, on the 18th November 2018. The gull had been ringed as a breeding male, in May 2018, and I was the first to record it. Adding my latest sighting onto the 'Live' Polish Ringing Database, my sighting today, is just the second record for the bird.
The duration has increased from my previous sighting, which was 6 months and 10 days, to 1 year, 9 months and 15 days. The distance from the ringing site, is 1,774 kms / 1,102 (WNW), according to the recovery details which I've received from the BTO. I'm sure the ringer will be well pleased with this latest sighting.
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Black-headed Gull - White THR7 - Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate (23 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as a Breeding Male, on the 8th May 2018, on Lake Zawadka, in Southern Poland)
A second colour-ringed Oystercatcher was next to catch my eye, this one bearing a very mud covered Yellow Darvic. I followed the bird with my camera for ages, trying to capture the code. Eventually, after walking through a pool of water, the code was then visible, being T64 . This is another bird which I recognised, with all previous re-sightings having been made on the nearby Dargan Mudflats.
T64 , was ringed as an un-sexed adult, in March 2014, at a roost, at Ballater Sewage Works, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was first recorded on the Dargan mudflats, in October 2015, when spotted by Adam McClure. Having been recorded back at Ballater in March 2016, I then recorded it's return to Dargan in October 2016. By March 2017, T64 was once again recorded back at Ballater.
During the winter of 2017/18, the bird went un-recorded until the 2nd March 2018, when recorded by Suzanne once again on the Dargan mudflats. For some reason, T64 evaded sightings back home in 2018, and was not recorded here over the winter of 2018/19. It then re-surfaced in Ballater on the 3rd March 2019.
This winter, I recorded the return of T64 on the Dargan Mudflats, on the 3rd August 2019. Today's sighting on the Connswater mudflats was totally un-expected, with the duration since ringing, being 5 years, 10 months and 25 days. The distance from Ballater to Connswater is 323 kms / 200 miles (SW).
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Oystercatcher - T64 - Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate (23 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 29th March 2014, at Ballater, Aberdeenshire, Scotland)
I then spotted another Black-headed Gull with an Orange Darvic, which disappeared into a channel of water and out of sight. Wondering if this was another sighting of 2AJV , which I had recorded a short time before, I scoped through the gulls where 2AJV was resting, to find that it was still there. Not only did I see this one again, now resting close by was another colour-ringed Black-headed Gull sporting a dark coloured Darvic.
Zooming in with my camera, I could see the letter 'X' on a Black Darvic, and knew this was a bird from Germany. In the past, I reported a similar ring on the behalf of Graham McElwaine and David Nixon, both recording - X82N , on consecutive days in November 2018, at Millquarter Bay in County Down.
The code on my latest sighting, read X17L , and I've reported the bird to both the BTO and Hendrik Trapp in Germany. Through past experience, we know any response from Hendrick tends to take some time. As yet, I am still waiting for a reply.
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Black-headed Gull - X17L - Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate (23 Feb 2020)
(Waiting on the Ringing Details)
As just mentioned, I had spotted a second Orange rung Black-headed Gull, which disappeared out of sight. I was not leaving until I re-located the bird, and my wait eventually paid off. The code on this one read 2AKJ , a bird I had recorded earlier this winter on this same mudflat. Returning home and checking my spreadsheet, I had spotted the bird on the 12th October 2019. Prior to that, I had recorded 2AKJ , on the nearby Connswater Road, on the 25th December 2018. The only other record I have of 2AKJ , was when the gull was first recorded at Victoria Park, on the 4th September 2016.
2AKJ , had been ringed as a chick, on the 23rd June 2015, at the Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down. The offical distance from the BTO, was given as 16 kms / 9 miles (NW), from Castle Espie, and the duration is now 4 years and 8 months.
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Black-headed Gull - 2AKJ - Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate (23 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 23rd June 2015, at the Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)
Understandably, I was well pleased to record 6 colour-rings on such a small piece of mudflats, and then headed on to the mudflats at Dargan. By now the tide was well out, and most birds were quite distant. Scoping through a multitude of waders and gulls, I spotted a tall metal on a Black-headed Gull, and spotted my first ever Black-tailed Godwit, which was ringed only with a metal. All previous Black-tailed's that I've recorded, had colour-rings.
The only colour-ring to be spotted was on a Cormorant, perched on the concrete casing of a sewage outlet. Scoping this one, the code appeared to read - (White) BZJ. By the time that I zoomed in with my camera, the bird had turned slightly. I reported the bird, to both the Clyde and Manx ringing groups, with negative results. I have now sent an email to Tom Kealy in the Republic of Ireland, and await a reply. By now, the sun was setting in the west and the light began to fade - it was time to return home.
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Cormorant - White BZJ - Dargan Mudflats, Belfast Lough, Belfast (23 Feb 2020)
(Waiting for the Ringing Details)
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| The Peoples Park in Ballymena |
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Over the past couple of weeks, whilst driving past my local park (The Peoples Park, Ballymena), I have peered across to the park's pavilion, watching for the return of a Lesser Black-backed Gull. On my way back home from my weekly visit to Antrim Marina, on Monday 24th February 2020, I once again took a glance over at the pavilion. There, standing on the roof was a lone Lesser Black-backed Gull.
I pulled into a nearby layby, grabbed my camera and walked over. I could see the tell tale sign of a lump on the bird's right leg - it's metal ring, and knew this was the return of GC27112 , for the 6th spring in a row. Zooming in, a few photos later, the ring number was confirmed.
My first ever encounter with GC27112 , was made on the 17th March 2015, and I established that the gull was a female, as her and her mate were together on the roof of the pavilion. The following spring, I recorded her return on the 5th March 2016, and realised that her and her partner appears here for a week or two before moving on to wherever they nest.
Despite extensive searches around my home town of Ballymena, Lesser Black-backed Gulls have never nested here, but the nearest breeding colony that I know of is just over ten miles away, on the Kilbegs Industrial Estate in the town of Antrim, which holds somewhere between 100 and 150 roof-top nesting pairs.
Since 2016, I've recorded the return of GC27112 , on the 17th February 2017, 4th March 2018 and 23rd February 2019. The gull was ringed as a chick, on the 1st July 2006, at Horse Isle Nature Reserve, which is an island just off the coast from Ardrossan in Ayrshire, Scotland. Being metal-rung, the gull had gone unrecorded until I came across it here at the Peoples Park. Having checked with Iain Livingstone and the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, the ring of GC27112 , has yet to be read anywhere else.
The duration from being ringed, is now 13 years, 7 months and 23 days, and the distance from Horse Isle, is 125 kms / 77 miles (SW). It may well be possible, that the bird returns to Horse Isle, but wherever it goes, I need someone capable of reading it's ring number in order to solve this question. The bird is still fairly young, so perhaps someday, where exactly it breeds or winters, will be answered. As GC27112 , is obviously used to being in close contact to people, hopefully the ring will be read elsewhere in the future. For now, I can expect to see the return of this bird for several more years to come.
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Lesser Black-backed Gull - GC27112 - The Peoples Park, Ballymena, Co. Antrim (24 Feb 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 1st July 2006, on Horse Island Nature Reserve, Ayrshire, Scotland)
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