Much Neglect...

I'm still struggling to get to grips with Google's new blog interface, which has been causing me any amount of problems.  I must confess, it is very hard work trying to write posts now, especially as the page has a habit of jumping all over the place.  At present, I have just not had the time to sort out what actually is causing my problems, but I have a sneaky suspicion, that the tables I am using on a 'post template', is perhaps the cause of my woes.  These tables, are used for headings and my sightings table for Antrim Marina, therefore, at some point in the future, I'll have to look into this problem, and see if I can come up with some other way to produce these.  In the past, these same tables, acted as picture frames for the photos, but now I cannot find a way to do this.

Finding time is extremely hard now, as since the easing of the 'lockdown', emails received are absolutely flying forwards and backwards.  New, and re-sighted birds are being recorded regularly now, not only by myself, but from other observers as well.  I've took on the task of submitting these to the BTO, and in that way, I can be sure these sightings do not fall by the wayside.

Talking of by the wayside, I've also identified several cases, whereby ringers and ringing co-ordinators, are not submitting sightings reported to them, and what's even worse, a few have not even submitted actual ringing data, some of which occurred a long time ago now.

Yes, I'm being very critical, but why should wild birds be burdened with rings for no reason.  The whole purpose of ringing is to gather information about the every species concerned.  So what's the point if ringers cannot stay on top of their activites.  Personally, I think all ringing organizations should pay particular attention, especially to those with colour-ring projects.  Should they habitually fail to submit ringing and re-sighting data, then they should have their endorsement for colour-ringing, suspended from their ringing permits.  This may seem harsh, but it is the only way to obtain useful data, any save many a bird going through the needless distress of being ringed.

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Black-headed Gulls At Antrim Marina - Monday 31st August 2020

As this was a Bank Holiday weekend, I decided to postpone my weekly visit to Antrim Marina on Sunday, and opted for a Monday morning visit instead.  I reckoned, there would be less people about on Monday, which was fine until 11:30, when folk appeared from everywhere possible.  Having taken my wife to work first on Monday morning, I arrived at the Marina just before 9:15am.  The weather was very calm, with lots of broken white cloud, and as the morning wore on, it became quite warm.

 

Last week's visit here, despite very poor blustery and wet weather, was a huge disaster.  With such poor conditions I had visions of a good turn out of gulls, but on my arrival, I soon changed my mind.  Two replica 'Viking Longboats' were moored alongside the low wooden jetty, along with several support boats and the crew of the Lough Neagh Rescue Lifeboat.  The longboats were to undergo sea trials, which encouraged huge amounts of people to visit despite the pouring rain.  With so many people about, the gulls were reluctant to remain around the Marina.  Just 11 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls were spotted, out of a total of 18, which have been recorded so far during this autumn/winter season.

 

Today, was my fifth weekly visit of the new season, and on my arrival, Black-headed Gulls were already present in good numbers, with 77 birds counted.  Soon afterwards, numbers easily topped the 100 mark, which remained constant until, around 11:30.  By then, so many people were enjoying the bright sunshine, and plenty came to feed the ducks.  The new picnic tables which overlook the Marina, are a big draw, and these help to keep folk on site.  After 11:30, gull numbers dropped off very quickly, and I decided to depart at midday, instead of my planned 12:30.

 

Despite overall numbers in the early part of the morning remaining constant at over 100 gulls, it was clear by observing the colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, birds were coming and going quite quickly.  However, by the time of my departure, just 11 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls were recorded, which included the first re-sighting of the autumn/winter season of   2ABL .

 

   2ABL , is now the 19th colour-ringed Black-headed Gull to be recorded this season.  I say colour-ringed, but this bird can only be identified now by reading it's metal ring, as somehow, the gull managed to loose it's 'Darvic', back in January 2017.    2ABL , was caught and ringed at Antrim Marina, on the 23rd January 2013, as an adult female.  Since then, the bird has been proven, to be a year round resident, with many breeding season sightings (April to end of June).  Very few visits were made to the Marina, during this past summer, due to the 'Pandemic Lockdown', but Suzanne Belshaw recorded   2ABL , by it's metal number on the 30th June 2020, which just happened to be the last sighting until today.  The duration since being ringed, is now 7 years, 7 months and 8 days.

 

I started to take photos of   2ABL , and it's metal, but the birds were disturbed by children coming along and scaring the birds away for fun.  Overall, this turned out to be another poor visit, whereas, I'm hoping to re-sight between 30 and 40 of the colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls altogether this winter. 

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2ABL     EY37326   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (31 Aug 2020)

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

 

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina on Monday 31st August 2020

2ABK	2CSR	2ABL	2AAV	2ACV	2CSX
2CJT	2CTC	2CSA	2BRA	2ABS

 Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded this Autumn/Winter but not Present Today

2AAA	2AAN	2AAK	2AAB	2ABN	2CSB	2CSJ	2FDK

 

Other Birds at Antrim Marina  

The first thing I really noticed whilst parking my car alongside the small concrete jetty, was the sheer number of Mallards present.  Having made a rough count of the ducks, the total was around 76.  More ducks arrived, and soon afterwards, numbers easily topped the 100 mark, and may even have reached the 120 mark altogether.  With so many present, it was far too hard to make re-counts.  Once again, most legs were checked, but still no metals.

 

Among the Mallards, were the Mute Swan family, including all six cygnets.  The metal rings that were ordered, have arrived, so as I can ring these birds.  I'll have to go to Coleraine, to collect them from my 'Ringer Trainer' John Clark.

 

A single adult Hering Gull present on my arrival, is likely to be the usual bird seen here.  Although a pair of Herring Gulls were present during my previous visit, I've no idea whether these included the regular bird.  A single adult Common Gull, arrived at 10:54, and I'm nearly convinced that it's the same bird which has appeared over recent weeks.  I wonder if the Scottish metal-rung Common Gull, will make it back this winter.  This bird, which first appeared here as a first winter bird in February 2014, has been recorded every winter since, with the earliest return date having been recorded on the 4th September 2016.  A pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived at 11:43, and these are also likely to be the same pair recorded in recent weeks.

 

Two juvenile Grey Herons appeared shortly after my arrival, and these two were often seen chasing each other like a game of 'tag'.  They would land on the jetties for moments at a time, or on boats moored across the river.  They were amusing to watch, but they departed once the number of people started to rise.  The only other species noted, were 4 Hooded Crows, 6 Jackdaws and an adult Rook.

 

With having to work this evening, I returned home to get a couple of hours kip, so decided not to visit the other sites around the town of Antrim.  

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Saturday 29th August 2020

With high tide around Belfast occurring around 9:00am this morning, I needed to be at Kinnegar Beach for around 11:00am, at the latest to scope the gulls and waders for colour-rings.  However, with a couple of chores to do in Ballymena, before I headed off to Belfast, I arrived slightly later than planned, as I got held up a bit.  With 'Social Distancing in Force', it can be very slow getting into some shops.

 

By the time I arrived on Kinnegar Beach, the birds were quite distant and required the use of a telescope.  Eventually, I spotted a Herring Gull bearing a Yellow Darvic, but this bird was so far away, I could not read the code.  Now using my camera, the distance was no object, and I recorded -   B21:W .  I instantly recognised the code as belonging to Katherine Booth Jones, who is the BTO Rep for Northern Ireland.  From past correspondance with Katherine, I know that 7 Herring Gulls, and 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls have been ringed using this type of code.

 

In the past, the only previous Herring Gull which I spotted with this sequence, was at Ballyholme Beach in County Down.  I could not recollect the code on that particluar bird, so I had to check my spreadsheet on returning home.  It turned out, that the gull spotted at Ballyholme was   B24:W , which made   B21:W , a new sighting for me.  I emailed Katherine, who was apparently due back from holiday, and on Tuesday I received a reply.

 

  B21:W , had been caught and ringed, as a breeding male, on the 23rd May 2019, on the roof of the Metro Building in Belfast.  At the time of ringing, the bird was also fitted with a GPS tracker.  Katherine asked if I'd seen the tracker, as sometimes these are known to fall off.  I checked all of my photos taken at that time, but there was no sign of the device.  A second visit to the nest on the 13th June 2019, saw the bird standing guard over three mediumn sized chicks, and this was the last time the gull was seen until my sighting today.

 

Katherine was delighted with this sighting, which proves the gull is still alive.  The distance from the Metro building to Kinnegar Beach, is almost 6 kms / 3 miles (NE), and the duration since being ringed, is 1 year, 3 months and 6 days.  My thanks to Katherine for the information, and the bird's metal number, so as I could submit the sighting to the BTO.  A couple of other birdwatchers happened to be parked overlooking Kinnegar Beach, and I think they were a little bemused, when they saw me switching from my telescope to the camera.  With most birds by then, being little specks in the distance, they must have wondered what I was taking photos of.

Herring Gull  -    B21:W   -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (29 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as an Adult Breeding Male, on the 23rd May 2019, on the Metro Building, Belfast)

 

I carried on scoping for a while, but no more rings were spotted.  Moving on the Whitehouse Lagoon, I once again tried for a colour-ringed Polish Black-headed Gull, and a colour-ringed Icelandic Oystercatcher.  According to past re-sighting histories, both birds should have returned to the lagoon by now, but only a distant metal-rung Herring Gull was spotted.  I finished the afternoon with a lengthy visit to the mudflats on the Dargan Industrial Estate.

Scoping lots of gulls and waders, again, no rings were spotted.  The strong wind here, made me very uncomfortable, as it was very chilly and the wind kept on making my eyes water.  I thought I might have been rewarded with something, but frozen to the bone, and with my hands beginning to turn blue, I called it a day and headed home.

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Sunday 30th August 2020

Having decided to postpone my weekly visit to Antrim Marina until tomorrow, I headed down to Belfast again.  With high tide forcast for just after 10am, I went to Kinnegar Beach again, arriving just after 11am.  Having parked in a good position, gulls and waders began to arrive, as the tide receded.  Spending just a short time here, no rings were spotted, so I moved on to Whitehouse Lagoon, to look for the two birds that I was after yesterday.  There was no sign of the Polish Black-headed Gull, but this time, I spotted the Icelandic rung Oystercatcher.

 

This bird was originally rung with a combination of colour-rings and a flag on it's legs, as an un-sexed breeding adult, on the 5th June 2015.  Fitted with two plain coloured rings on it's left leg - Green over White, the Green ring eventually slipped inside the White ring, and is not visible now, unless you get a really good view of the leg.  On the right leg, the bird had a plain Green Flag over a plain Black ring, which made the code as - GW-GfN.

 

As with most Icelandic Oystercatchers, rung during the early years of their colour-ringing project, the plain coloured Flags had a tendency to fall off, as in the case of this bird.  Now sporting White-Niger, this is now the sixth winter running that - GW-GfN, has been recorded wintering on Whitehouse Lagoon.  I made the first ever re-sighting here, on the 6th September 2015, and the subsequent return dates are as follows - 20th August 2016, 22nd August 2017, 19th August 2018, and on the 3rd August 2019.  The latest date that - GW-GfN, has been recorded on, before departure, was made earlier this year, when I recorded the bird still at Whitehouse Lagoon on the 1st March.

 

I emailed Boddi in Iceland reporting the return of - GW-GfN, but he is waiting on all of this summer's sightings to be passed on to him.  Offhand, Boddi is fairly sure, he also recorded the bird in Iceland during the summer.  A fully updated PDF File will be sent when all of the info is received.

 

GW-GfN, was ringed in the Mjóanef area of southern Iceland, and the distance to Whitehouse Lagoon, is 1,294 kms / 804 miles (SE).  The duration since being ringed, is now 5 years, 2 months and 25 days.

Oystercatcher  -  GW-GfN  -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (30 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 5th June 2015, at Mjóanef, Southern Iceland) 

 

With no more rings recorded at Whitehouse Lagoon, I drove round to nearby Hazelbank Park, which leads me onto the shore of Belfast Lough, which is on the otherside of the Motorway from Whitehouse Lagoon.  Having made my way down from the car park to the shore, the closest bird to me, a Black-headed Gull, was ringed with an Orange Darvic.  Camera out, I quickly captured the code -   2BNA , which belonged to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Project.    2BNA , did not ring any bells in my head, but on returning home and having checked my spreadsheet, I had actually recorded this bird on four occassions in the past.

 

All four previous sightings had been made at Whitehouse Lagoon, situated just over the motorway from where I now stood.    2BNA , had been ringed as a chick, on the 1st July 2013, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Nature Reserve, on Larne Lough in County Antrim.  The island is about 20 kms / 12 miles (NE), from today's sighting.  It has been just over two years since I last recorded   2BNA  at Whitehouse Lagoon.  My previous four sightings, were made on the 19th October 2016, 27th August 2017, 24th September 2017, and on the 22nd July 2018.  The duration since   2BNA  was ringed, is now 7 years, 1 month and 29 days.

Black-headed Gull  -    2BNA   -  Hazelbank Park (Shore), Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (30 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 1st July 2013, at RSPB Blue Circle Island NR, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim)

 

The walk along the shore here, was quite frankly phenomenal.  I've made this walk, on one previous occassion, but this time, the numbers and varities of species took me by surprise.  Never before, have I scoped so many pairs of legs.  Ostercatchers and gulls were present in big numbers, as were Black-tailed Godwits.  Bar-tailed Godwits, were also here in good numbers, but I failed to re-sight a colour-ringed Dutch bird.  On top of all these, I'd never seen so many Greenshanks in one place either.

For all my efforts to record colour-rings, just two were recorded on Oystercatchers.  The first of these, I knew was an Icelandic bird - O-W(EA).  There was a slight problem with this one, as there should have been two plain coloured rings on the left leg.  I remembered that Suzanne Belshaw, had recorded an Icelandic Oystercatcher here a few years back, and I wondered if this was the same bird.

On returning home, and checking my spreadsheet, Suzanne had recorded OR-W(EA), here, on the 13th October 2016.  As with most birds, they have favourite wintering sites, so there was little doubt, that Suzanne's, and my sighting today, was of the same bird.

I emailed Boddi about the bird citing the missing ring.  Had the bird been sighted anywhere else, there was no way to identify it as an individual due to the missing ring, which could have been one of several colours.  Boddi agreed, that Suzanne and I had the same bird, and at least he now knows which bird has a missing colour ring, if seen back in Iceland.  Boddi, is going to check for all sightings in Iceland, where the bird was recorded as being - O-W(EA), instead of OR-W(EA).

 

OR-W(EA), was ringed as an un-sexed breeding adult, on the 4th June 2016, in the Saltvík area, of south-west Iceland.  After Suzanne's sighting in October 2016, the bird was recorded back in the area which it had been ringed, on three occassions during the summer of 2017.  The final record for the bird, was made on the 27th June 2017, at Saltvík.  Having not been recorded since, it might have been possible, that the bird managed to loose the Red ring during the winter of 2017/2018.  The distance from Iceland to Belfast Lough, is 1,383 kms / 859 miles (SE), and the duration, is now 4 years, 2 months and 26 days.

 

My thanks as always goes to Boddi for his quick replies.  I'm looking forwards towards the updated PDF's for both of today's re-sightings.

Oystercatcher  -  OR-W(EA)  -  Hazelbank Park (Shore), Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (30 Aug 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 4th June 2016, at Saltvík, SW Iceland)

The second of the two colour-ringed Oystercatchers, was almost missed.  Having already scoped two Oystercatchers, which I had assumed, were ringed with metals only, I thought I was now looking at a third.  At the time, the bird was standing preening, when I then noticed, what may well have been the point of a 'White Coloured Flag', showing through the birds feathers.  I kept the scope on the bird, and once it began to move, I could see colour-rings on both tibia's.

Now zooming in with my camera, the bird carried one plain Red ring on the left tibia, with a White Flag on the right tibia, inscribed with the characters - AXN.  This new combination, was completely new to me, so I consulted the cr-birding site when I returned home.  R-W(AXN), belonged to Kendrew Colhoun, who has begun colour-ringing waders here in Northern Ireland.  I emailed Kendrew, but as with his two Curlew's that I recorded in County Down last weekend, Kendrew did not have the ringing or re-sighting histories to hand.  The wait continues, but there appears to be a backlog in data, which seemingly needs to be brought up to date though.

Oystercatcher  -  R-Wf(AXN)  -  Hazelbank Park (Shore), Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (30 Aug 2020)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details)

 

My mind went back, onto the other two Oystercatchers which I spotted with 'metals only'.  From now on, I will have to pay more attention to such birds, in the event that they are fitted with rings on their tibias, which can easily be missed.  Despite the lack of ringed birds, I thoroughly enjoyed my efforts here.  I thought that Kinneger Beach, on the opposite side of Belfast Lough was good, but if numbers here remain the same, surely more rings will be recorded along this stretch.

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