Getting There...

Google's new blog interface, is still causing me some problems, but these are slowly being worked out.  There are some aspects that I'm not happy with, but once I find time, perhaps they'll get sorted too.

The emails are still flying backwards and forwards concerning ring sightings, but normally I shy away from including these on my blog, unless they are accompianed with a photo.  However, a Herring Gull reported to me by Graham McElwaine, will be mentioned in my next post, as I have a photo taken of this same bird, when I made my first ever visit to Big Copeland Island in June.

But the big story came via an email from David Nixon.  A colour-ringed Common Gull spotted at Dundrum in County Down, turns out to be possibly the first from Germany ever to have been recorded here in Northern Ireland.  The full details will be included in my next post, and by then, perhaps David will re-sight the bird and obtain a photo.

In this weeks post, a number of re-sightings have been recorded, which helps to add to the longevity records for the birds concerned.  We're only starting this winter season, but hopefully these will come in by the 'bucket-full'.  Will all birdwatchers here in Northern Ireland, keep their eyes open for colour-ringed birds, and let me know.  I'm only too happy to track down the owners, and perhaps some of our regular birds will also be recorded.  Send me your sightings to - plattgareth@yahoo.co.uk.

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Antrim Marina - Sunday 16th August 2020

Today I reverted back to a Sunday visit to Antrim Marina, with this being the third weekly visit of this autum/winter season, and my eighth winter season overall, since I began 'Ring Reading' here.  I arrived early (8:25am), as I planned for a three hour visit, before checking out two other sites in Antrim Town, and then moving going on to Belfast to catch a receding tide.  It was another calm, cloudy, though warm morning, with possible light showers forecasted.

 

On my arrival, just 20 Black-headed Gulls were present, and just one minute later, I recorded   2AAN  which was recorded on my previous visit, and was added to this winter's list of colour-ringed Black-headed Gull sightings, which took the overall total to 16 individuals so far.  Overall, I'm hoping to record between 30 to 40 colour ringed Black-headed Gulls this winter, all having been ringed here.

 

A further two colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls were added to this list, as my 4th and 5th sightings of the morning were of   2AAB , and then   2CSX .  For some reason, I thought I had already recorded   2AAB , but it was not until I returned home later, that I realised it's last sighting was during a summer season visit when I recorded the bird, on the 29th June 2020.  Previous to that, my final sighting during last winter's weekly visits, was on the 23rd March 2020.

 

 2AAB , is considered to be an all year round resident, as in the past, it has been recorded on numerous occasions during the breeding season as well.  The gull was ringed as an un-sexed adult, on the 11th December 2012, and during the winter months, it can be found in the area around Antrim's Baptist Church, if absent from the Marina.  Entering today's sighting onto Adam's Colour-Ringing Database, today's is the 182nd record for this bird around Antrim.  The duration since ringing, is now 7 years, 8 months and 5 days.  I did not take a photo of   2AAB , as I thought, I had already recorded the gull this winter.

 

The second Black-headed Gull to be added to this winters list was -   2CSX .  I was well pleased to record this one again, as it has already gained a bit of history.  Although, I cannot nail the residential status for   2CSX  as yet, due to it's relativley young age, it has been known to wander.

I caught and ringed   2CSX , as an un-sexed first winter bird, on the 3rd December 2018, here at Antrim Marina.  It's final sighting during the 2018/2019 winter season, was made on the 11th March 2019.  Having re-sumed my winter visits again last year,   2CSX  was first recorded on the 2nd September 2019, being recorded on four occasions up to the 11th October 2019.  After that, I received an email from Suzanne Belshaw (along with a photo), who came across   2CSX  at the former waterworks in Belfast, on the 18th October 2019.  For the remainder of the winter,   2CSX  was not reported anywhere, but turned up at Antrim Marina again, on the 16th March 2020, which happened to be the last sighting of the bird until today.  With this little bit of history behind it, it will be interesting to see what   2CSX  does this winter.  The duration since being ringed, is now 1 year, 8 months and 13 days.

 Black-headed Gull  -    2CSX   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (16 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as a First Winter Bird, on the 3rd December 2018, at Antrim Marina)

As the morning progressed, Black-headed Gull numbers slowly built up to around 80 by 10:30, with a rough count having been made.  The 13th and final colour-ring to be recorded, was that of   2BRA , at 10:34.  I departed around 11:30, with overall numbers still remaining around the 80 mark, although by now, there were lots of people about.  I had planned on visiting the Elim Church, and Antrim's Baptist Church, but as   2AAV  was at the Marina this morning, I skipped my visit to Elim, but still went ahead to the Baptist Church.  Although   2AAB  was also at the Marina this morning, I still wanted to check Antrim's Baptist Church, for a Polish colour-ringed Black-headed Gull which should have returned by now, as well as looking for a metal-rung Scottish BHG (see below).
 

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gull Recorded Today at Antrim Marnia - Sunday 16th August 2020

2AAN	2ABK	2AAV	2AAB	2CSX	2AAA	2AAK
2CSJ	2CTC	2ABS	2CJT	2CSA	2BRA

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded This Winter - But Not Present Today

2ABN	2ACV	2CSB	2CSR	2FDK

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Other than the 20 Black-headed Gulls, a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 1 Hooded Crow, 1 Rook, 3 Jackdaws and 14 Mallards were also present.  Mallard numbers steadily increased to around 60 birds by the time of my departure around 11:30.  As usual, most were checked for rings, but still no joy.

The regular juvenile Herring Gull arrived at 8:52, but no sign this week of the usual adult Herring Gull.  The Lesser Black-backed pair remained throughout the morning, although they later retreated to a lamppost at an ajoining car park.  A single adult Common Gull arrived at 10:47, and was still present when I departed.

 

The usual pair of Mute Swans arrived with their 6 cygnets, from the direction of the Lough at 9:21 and remained throughout the rest of my visit.  I fed them all with bread on a couple of occasions, so as to keep the youngsters 'people friendly'.

Hooded Crow numbers increased to a max of four, being 2 adults and 2 juveniles, and a maximum of 8 Jackdaws were counted later.

Antrim's Baptist Church

I still went ahead with my visit to Antrim's Baptist Church, despite   2AAB  having been recorded at Antrim  Marina.  I was also on the lookout for a colour-ringed Polish Black-headed Gull, which was present, though there was no sign of a metal-rung BHG from Scotland.

 

The presence of (White) TY43 was expected, with this being the fourth year in a row that I've now recorded the bird in the area around the Church.  I use the car park of the Church, to lure the gulls in with bread, and many would also land on the roof as well.  However, (White) TY43, was no stranger to the town of Antrim, as, on a visit to Antrim Marina, on the 29th October 2013, Adam McClure recorded the first ever re-sighting of the gull, since the day that it was ringed as an un-sexed 2nd Calendar year bird.  (White) TY43, was ringed on the 9th February 2012, at Olsztyn, in north-east Poland.

 

I first came across (White) TY43, on the 16th October 2017, and in the months following, established that the gull was a winter resident in the vicinity of the Baptist Church.  My final sighting during the 2017/2018 winter occurred on the 25th February 2018.  The bird was next spotted back home in Olsztyn on the 30th March 2018, which happened to be the only sighting during that spring and summer.

 

I recorded (White) TY43, back for a second year in a row, on the 5th August 2018, and recorded the bird monthly, until my last sighting on the 11th March 2019.  One week later, on the 18th March 2019, the bird was once reported back home in Olsztyn, the first of 14 re-sightings in that month.  On the 4th August 2019, (White) TY43, was back for the third year, although my second sighting (on the 25th November 2019), happened to be my last re-sighting for last winter.  This was largly due to the lack of visits, rather than the bird not being present.

 

Looking at the 'Live Polish Ringing Database', (White) TY43, was not recorded back in Poland during this past summer, but this may have been due to 'Lockdown', in that Country.  I strongly believe, that (White) TY43, had indeed wintered in Antrim every year since 2013, but went undiscovered until I found it at Antrim's Baptist Church.  The duration, as of my latest sighting, is 8 years, 6 months and 7 days, and the distance from Olsztyn, is 1,725 kms / 1,071 miles (W).  With (White) TY43 sorted, it was onwards to Belfast.

 

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  TY43  -  Antrim Baptist Church, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (16 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird, on the 9th February 2012, at Olsztyn, NE Poland)

 

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From Declan Clark

Over recent weeks, both Declan Clark and Graham McElwaine, have been sending emails concerning colour-ringed gulls which they have spotted in County Down.  These gulls, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, were ringed in the Isle of Man, the Republic of Ireland, and Scotland.  Unforunately, just about all of these did not include photos, so I'ved decided not to include those sightings within my blog.  As I've always stated, photos are the 'heart and soul' for my posts.

However, a photo was included in an email sent by Declan, on the 28th July 2020.  Declan had copied me into a Herring Gull sighting which he made at Ardglass Harbour, earlier that day.  The gull was colour-ringed -   T0WK , which was being reported to Mark Fitzpatrick, who is the ringing co-ordinator for the Isle of Man birds.  Delan and Graham, routinely copy me in, as Mark always asks me to submit the sightings through my BTO DemOn Ringing Account, as I have ringing and re-sighting sites already set up within the account.

Mark replied to say that   T0WK , had been ringed as an un-sexed adult, on the 24th March 2020.  Most of the gulls from the Isle of Man, are usually ringed as chicks, so this makes a difference from the 'norm'.  Declan's sighting, was a first since the gull was ringed, the duration being just 4 months and 4 days.  The distance from the Calf of Man, a small island just off the southern coast, to Ardglass Harbour, is 58 kms / 31 miles (NNW).

 

Herring Gull  -    T0WK   -  Ardglass Harbour, Ardglass, Co. Down  (28 Jul 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 24th March 2020, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man)

(Photo Courtesy of Declan Clark)

My thanks goes to Declan Clark for the sighting, along with the photo taken from his phone, and to Mark Fitzpatrick for supplying the ringing information.

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From Suzanne Belshaw

The latest email from Suzanne Belshaw, arrived with me on the 11th July.  I was being updated on Suzanne's recent colour-ring sightings which concerned 5 birds in total.  Four of these were re-sightings of birds recorded here in the past (2 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Great Black-backed Gull and 1 Oystercatcher), whilst the 5th bird, a Sandwich Tern, was a new sighting within Northern Ireland,

 

The two Black-headed Gulls belonged to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland project.  The first of these two was -   2ACP , which is well known to Suzanne, and was re-sighted on the 8th August 2020, in the car park of the Sprucefield Shopping Centre, which is just outside of Lisburn in County Antrim.  It was at this Shopping Centre, where Adam caught and ringed the gull as an un-sexed adult, on the 9th February 2013.  When I entered   2ACP , onto Adam's Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Database, this latest sighting was the 27th record of the bird since being ringed, with all sightings having been made at Sprucefield, bar the previous two sightings, which were made by Suzanne close to her house in Lisburn - 15th September 2019, and on the 12th January 2020.  As yet, there are no March to June records for this gull, so where it breeds is still unknown.  The duration since   2ACP  was ringed, is now 7 years, 5 months and 30 days.

 

 Black-headed Gull  -    2ACP   -  Sprucefield Shopping Centre, Lisburn, Co. Antrim  (08 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 9th February 2013, at Sprucefield Shopping Centre)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

The second Black-headed Gull -   2ADB , recorded by Suzanne on the 2nd August 2020, is another bird familiar to Suzanne, as well as several other observers including myself.  Ringed as an adult male, on the 25th November 2013, at Carrickfergus Harbour in County Antrim, this latest sighting, is now the 56th record for the gull, with all sightings bar one, having been made in the harbour area.  The only exception, was on the 15th April 2014, when Paul McCullough recorded   2ADB  at the ponds of the nearby Leisure Centre.

 

Over the years, there have been a couple of breeding season sightings of   2ADB , in the months of May and June, which suggests the gull is an all year round resident to the area.  I suspected that this bird may well breed on derelict buildings behind the Carrickfergus Lidl Shopping Centre, but due to the 'Coronavirus Lockdown', I was not able to try for a sighting of   2ADB  there this summer.  The previous sighting of   2ADB , was made by me, on the 25th July 2020, and this latest sighting by Suzanne, takes its duration to 6 years, 8 months and 8 days.

 

 Black-headed Gull  -    2ADB   -  Carrickfergus Harbour, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (02 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 25th November 2013, at Carrickfergus Harbour)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

An immature Great Black-backed Gull, was spotted by Suzanne on the 5th August 2020, on the shore at Whiteabbey, just to the north of Belfast.  Although, it was a first re-sighting for Suzanne, (White) 1L8:C, was no stranger to me, as I had recorded this bird on three occasions in the past.  (White) 1L8:C, had been ringed as a chick, on the 26th June 2017, on Horse Isle Nature Reserve, just off the coast of Ardrossan in Ayrshire, Scotland.

 

All four re-sightings for this gull, which includes Suzanne's latest sighting, have been made in the area of Belfast Lough.  My first sighting of  (White) 1L8:C, was made on Christmas Day 2018, when I recorded the gull foraging on rubbish at Belfast's Waste Transfer Station, on the Dargan Industrial Estate.  My second sighting, on the 12th October 2019, was on the tidal Whitehouse Lagoon, not that far away from Dargan.  A short time later, on the 27th October 2019, I then spotted (White) 1L8:C, on the shore at Whiteabbey, the scene of Suzanne's latest sighting.  The duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 1 month and 10 days, and the distance from Horse Isle to Whiteabbey, is 127 kms / 78 miles (SSW).

 

Great Black-backed Gull  -  (White)  1L8:C  -  Whiteabbey Shore, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (05 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 26th June 2017, on Horse Isle Nature Reserve, Ayrshire, Scotland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

Another Scottish-rung bird has also returned to Northern Ireland, this one being an Oystercatcher -   T64 , with Suzanne having re-sighted the bird on the Dargan mudflats (Belfast), on the 2nd August 2020.  This latest sighting, is the 6th record of the bird having been recorded here.    T64 , was caught and ringed as an un-sexed adult, during a night-time roost catch, on the 29th March 2014, at Ballater in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  Over the years since being ringed,   T64  has often been recorded back at Ballater throughout March, and into early April.

It's first ever sighting here, was made on the 19th October 2015, when Adam McClure spotted the bird on the same mudflats at Dargan.  Exactly one year later, on the 19th October 2016, I made my first ever sighting of   T64 , again on the Dargan mudflats.  The next sighting, this time by Suzanne, occurred on the 2nd March 2018, also at Dargan, perhaps just in time, as the bird was due to depart for Scotland.  The previous two sightings here of   T64 , were made by me last winter, having recorded the bird on the Dargan mudflats, on the 3rd August 2019, and then on the nearby Connswater mudflats, on the 23rd February 2020.  The duration, as of Suzanne's latest sighting, is 6 years, 4 months and 4 days, and the distance from Ballater to Dargan, is 322 kms / 200 miles (SSW).

Oystercatcher  -    T64   -  Dargan Mudflast, Dargan Industrial Estate, Belfast  (02 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 29th March 2014, at Ballater, Aberdeenshire, Scotland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

The fifth of Suzanne's sightings was a Sandwich Tern, which has been recorded in Northern Ireland for the first time.  This bird, rung (White) KVH, was ringed as a chick, on the 23rd June 2015, on Lady's Island Lake in County Wexford, in the Republic of Ireland.  Before Suzanne's sighting, (White) KVH, had been recorded on four previous occassions, all in the Luederitz area, IIKaras Region of Namibia - (Dec 2018, Jan 2020, and twice in Feb 2020).  The duration since ringing, is 5 years, 1 month and 13 days, and the distance from Lady's Island Lake, to the Loughshore Park at Jordanstown, is 278 kms / 172 miles (N).

Sandwich Tern  -  (White)  KVH  -  Loughshore Park, Jordanstown, Co. Antrim  (05 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 23rd June 2015, at Lady's Island Lake, Co. Wexford, Republic of Ireland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

My thanks as always goes to Suzanne, for these sightings, along with the photos.  In my quest to try and record ringed birds spotted over previous winters, Suzanne's four re-sightings adds to each birds Northern Ireland history and longevity records.  Hopefully, this is the start of many this winter, but I do not expect that too many juveniles will be recorded, as many chicks would not have been ringed due to the Coronavirus Lockdown Restrictions, but we'll see!!

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Saturday 15th August 2020

Last Sunday, I went up to the Bann Estuary, situated on the north coast of County Londonderry, between the towns of Portstewart and Castlerock.  Having received an email from Richard Donaghey, stating that there were over 300 Sandwich Terns in the area, and with some being colour-ringed, I decided to try my luck.  Having arrived there, there were indeed in excess of three hundred birds, but they were split into three groups, one on the west shore where I went to first, with the other two on the east shore of the River Bann.  I had good views on the west shore, of many Sandwich Terns and other gulls, but only several metal-rings were spotted, all on the 'Sannies'.  I then made the long drive round to get to Portstewart, but as it was such a good day, the Strand car park, and all of the approach roads were closed off, due to the number of parked cars.  Having faced defeat, I returned home and checked Google Maps to see if there was another route to the estuary.  I discovered, that a route was available, by driving through housing estates, that lead to a car park, that was the 'works compound' for Portstewart Golf Course.

 

On Tuesday, I received another email from Richard, stating he went to the estuary again the previous evening, to find that 400+ Sandwich Terns were now present.  My mind was made up, I had to give it a go today.  This time, I easily found my way to the back of the Golf Course, though the gate was locked.  I made the long walk through the golf course, which was quite enjoyable and eventually reached a path which ran alongside the River Bann.  What struck me here, was the length of the path, which would offer eye level views of the mudflats when the tide was out.  This alone could be very useful during the winter, when hundreds, if not thousands of waders are feeding.

 

When I reached the 'pilings' on the east shore, only a disappointing 20 or so Sandwich Terns were present.  For the next three hours, I sat and scoped as the Terns, Black-headed and Common Gulls came and went.  Not a single colour-ring was spotted on any of the birds, though some Terns did sport 'metals', with a couple of birds being metal-rung on their left leg.  In Britain, it is usually the norm, to fit metals onto the right leg.

 

Around two hours later, just as I thought, that this was going to be a wasted afternoon, small flocks of Oystercatchers began to arrive, alighting onto the shore not far from where I was sat.  I scoped the Oystercatchers as they arrived, and as luck would have it, a colour-ringed bird was spotted.  Zooming in with my camera, despite quite a distance, I easily captured the colour rings on each leg.  The left leg, had two plain coloured rings - Black (Niger) over Yellow, whilst on the right leg, there was a single Grey ring, with the letters (UY).  I wondered if this was the same bird recorded here in the past, but it was not until I returned home and checked my spreadsheet, that I discovered this was a new sighting as I had no record of this bird at all.

 

I sent an email to Böddi in Iceland, and on Monday afternoon, came the reply.  The Oystercatcher NY-Gr(UY), had been ringed as a chick, on the 25th July 2019, at Víðir Football Stadium in Garður,, towards the SW corner of Iceland.  Actually, going by the date, I wondered if the bird was ringed as a juvenile, in the grounds of the club.  The only two previous re-sightings so far recorded, were both made here in Northern Ireland.  On the 31st December 2019, and again on the 12th February 2020, NY-Gr(UY) was spotted by the Bush River at Portballintrae, on the north County Antrim coast, by Paul Tout and Donna Rainey respectively.  Portballintrae, is on the doorstep of a World Heritage site known as The Giants Causeway.

 

I'm waiting on the offical distance from the BTO, having also submitted my sighting through DemOn.  Using Google Maps, the distance to the Bann Estuary, is around 1,327 kms / 824 miles (SE), and the duration as of today's sighting, is 1 year and 21 days.  I left satisfied with the one ring sighting, but more than that, was the possibilites for checking waders from this side of the River Bann.  In the winter, this will be a long, cold walk, but if rings are spotted, then it will be well worth the effort.

 

Oystercatcher  -  NY-Gr(UY)  -  Bann Estuary, Portstewart, Co. Londonderry  (15 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 25th July 2019, at Garður, SW Iceland)

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Sunday 16th August 2020

On leaving the Antrim area, the rush was on to get to Belfast as I knew the tide would already be on it's way out.  When I got to Kinnegar Beach, on the south side of Belfast Lough, there were an enormous number of gulls and Oystercatchers, which those at the waters edge, being quite distant.  Quickly scoping through everything, I soon spotted an Oystercatcher with colour-rings, which going by the Red over Red on it's right leg, I knew was a re-sighting.  A single coded ring on the birds left leg, was White (NC).

 

W(NC)-RR, was ringed, as a breeding adult, on the 22nd May 2017, in the Sandgerði area of SW Iceland.  The first time that this bird was recorded in Northern Ireland, was on the 23rd August 2018, when a Brian Henderson recorded W(NC)-RR, on the nearby mudflats beside the Dargan Industrial Estate.  I then had my first sighting of the bird, on the 10th November 2018, here at Kinnegar Beach, followed by a second sighting at Kinnegar, on the 3rd February 2019.  The next sighting on the 23rd March 2019, saw the bird back home in Sandgerði, the only sighting in Iceland that summer.

On the 24th August 2019, I recorded the bird at Kinnegar Beach, and then Suzanne Belshaw spotted the bird there on the 28th September 2019.  It is interesting to note, that despite a mulitude of visits during the winter months at both Kinnegar Beach, and the nearby mudflats at Dargan, why is W(NC)-RR, not recorded more often.  With just one early spring record here in Northern Ireland, this bird must spend the winter elsewhere.  Anyway, before today's sighting, W(NC)-RR, was spotted back at Sandgerði, on the 26th March 2020, which again was the only spring and summer report so far.  Any other summer season sightings usually filter back to Böddi in the autumn, therefore further sightings may be added to the birds history in due course.

It has now been 3 years, 2 months and 25 days since W(NC)-RR, was ringed, and the distance from Sandgerði to Kinnegar Beach, is 1,408 kms / 875 miles (SE).

 

Oystercatcher  -  W(NC)-RR  -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (16 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 22nd May 2017, at Sandgerði, SW Iceland)

Having taken a few photos of the Oystercatcher, I continued scoping through the birds, and then spotted a Herring Gull with a Yellow Darvic.  Knowing this was likely to be a bird from the nearby Copeland Islands, I zoomed in with my camera and captured the code -   0Y:W .  Indeed from the Copelands, this was my fourth sighting of this bird here on Kinnegar Beach, and the fifth record of the bird overall.    0Y:W , was ringed as an un-sexed adult, on the 23rd May 2014, on Big Copeland Island.  It's first re-sighting occurred on the 24th August 2015, when a Gerry O'Neill spotted the gull on Rathcor Beach, County Louth, in the Republic of Ireland.

My three previous sightings, were made on the 31st March 2018, 10th November 2018, and on the 1st September 2019.  The duration up to today's sighting is, 6 years, 2 months and 24 days, and the distance from Big Copeland Island to Kinnegar Beach, is 21 kms / 13 miles (W).

 

Herring Gull  -    0Y:W   -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (16 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 23rd May 2014, on Big Copeland Island, Co. Down)

 

With no more rings to be found at Kinnegar, I then drove to Whitehouse Lagoon, just north of Belfast.  Here I was hoping to re-sight another Polish Black-headed Gull and an Icelandic Oystercatchers, both of which are regular winter visitors here.  Although the tide was now well out, neither bird was spotted, and scoping through the rest of the gulls and waders, just a 'metal', was spotted on a Herring Gull.

I quickly moved on to the nearby Whiteabbey shore, and soon spotted a Black-headed Gull, which has always been recorded here -   2CPN .  Another bird from Adam McClure's former NI project,   2CPN , was ringed as a chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Nature Reserve on Larne Lough.  Whiteabbey lies 19 kms / 11 miles (SSW), from Blue Circle Island.  Today's sighting is the 13th record of   2CPN  at Whiteabbey, having been recorded here every winter since being ringed.  The duration as of today's sighting, is now 3 years, and 2 months.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2CPN   -  Whiteabbey Shore, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (16 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 16th June 2017, at RSPB Blue Circle Island NR, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim) 

 

The Great Black-backed Gull - 1L8:C, was also spotted, but it decided to lie down as I was zooming in to take a photo.  I won't add this re-sighting to my records, as Suzanne Belshaw recorded this gull recently anyway (read above).

 

With the tide forever becoming more distant, I raced on to Rhanbouy Park on the southern shore of Carrickfergus.  Here, I was looking for a Norwegian Black-headed Gull, which has not been re-sighted back home this summer.  Having scoped loads of gulls and a small number of Oystercatchers, no rings were seen on anything.  My final stop for the afternoon, was on the seafront at Whitehead, but once again, no rings were spotted among the gulls and waders - time to return home.

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