Infuriating...

Aaah at last.  I'm into the early hours of Sunday morning (6th December), and I have just completed this weeks post, which should have been posted on Friday.  During the week, a couple of distractions meant I was not able to work on this weeks post.  Having decided to stay at home on Saturday to complete it, I was swamped by emails the whole day.  Many of these, saw several exchanges passing both ways.  As things began to quieten down in the early evening, I dared not miss the Chelsea v Leeds match, so the blog was on hold until after the game, and making myself a very late dinner.

 

This weeks post, sees several re-sightings and a couple of new birds to add to this winter's list.  It's amazing sometimes, how birds pop up again, having not been seen for a couple of years.  Not only, are these welcomed, but they add more days onto longevity records.  As just stated, the emails come pouring in, as I seem to be the 'go to man' when sightings are made by others.  I'm only too glad to help, but at the same time, I'm ensuring that these sightings make it onto the BTO's Database.  All of this, enhances our knowledge about the ringed birds in our country, whether they be residents or winter visitors.  Isn't great to be a 'Ring Reader'.

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Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina - Monday 30th November 2020

My latest weekly visit to Antrim Marina, was once again undertook on Monday morning.  I had planned to make my visit yesterday afternoon, having completed a search for rings in the Carrickfergus area, which I was going to do on Saturday.  One thing, always leads to another, and my plans do not always go in the right direction.  Visiting the Marina on Sunday, there would have been no workmen on site, which would enable me to read rings in peace.  At the same time, I wanted to take advantage of the tides at Carrickfergus, to read rings there.  I ended up staying for far too long, hence the Monday morning visit.

 

It was fairly dull with heavy cloud cover when I arrived at the Marina, and a chilly wind was blowing in from the Lough.  Now and again, there was also a shower or two of drizzle, but nothing serious.  The dredging operations had not started, though the large digger, has since been lifted onto the pontoon, since my previous visit last Monday.  The other workmen, were still busy replacing the timbers on the low wooden jetty, which has also been heightened.  To my relief, all the activity around that part of the Marina, did not deter the gulls.  My main problem will come when the replacing of timbers on the long wooden jetty begins, plus the dredged mud being loaded onto lorries beside the low wooden jetty.  This would eat up the whole area, in which I check for rings.

 

As I say, the gulls were not overly effected by the workmen today, and between 150 and 200 hundred Black-headed Gulls were present throughout.  I was on the lookout for 31 colour-ringed gulls, which included five birds ringed in recent weeks.  A few of the colour-ringed gulls have failed to return to the Marina so far, and these may have died during the breeding season.  Two other birds, have been seen in the town of Antrim, but as yet, have not made their way to the Marina, that I know of.

 

During my visit, which lasted from 09:10 till 12:30, I recorded 24 colour-rings, which also included   2FFA , which was caught and ringed last Monday.  There was no sign of the juvenile -   2FDX , which was also caught and ringed last Monday.  Shortly before I departed, I made another attempt to catch and ring another couple of gulls.  Two were caught, the first being an adult, now ringed   2FFC , the second was another juvenile, ringed   2FFF .  No new returnees were recorded, so my overall total for this winter now increases to 33 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls.

Black-headed Gull  -    2FFA   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (30 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 23rd November 2020, at Antrim Marina)

 

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina Today - Monday 30th November 2020

2CJT	2ABK	2FFA	2ABN	2FDT	2AAK	2CSA	2FDV
2BRA	2CSR	2CTC	2ABL	2AAA	2ABS	2AAN	2AAR
2CSK	2FDK	2CSJ	2ACV	2CSL	2FDJ	2CSB	2AAB

Black-headed Gulls Recorded or Ringed This Autumn/Winter, but Absent Today

2ABA	2AAV	2BRD	2CSX	2CTA	2FDP	2FDX

Black-headed Gulls Caught and Ringed During This Autum/Winter

2FDP	2FDT	2FDV	2FDX	2FFA	2FFC	2FFF

As I had suspected, there was no sign of the metal-rung Black-headed Gull, which I recorded here last Monday.  I did not get the first two letters on the ring of this bird, but by process of elimination on the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, I 'nailed' the full ring number.  It would have been nice to confirm this, but I knew there would be very little chance of this happening, whilst the workmen here.  It's not so bad for the regular gulls, many of whom can take the disturbance in their stride, but not so good for those gulls which may just be passing through.

 

On Tuesday 1st December, I received an email from Steven Fyffe, who had called by the Marina earlier that day.  He recorded eight of the colour-ringed gulls, including   2FFF , a juvenile, which had been ringed the day before.  My thanks to Steven for these, and this provides me with the chance to submit sightings to the BTO.  Although I record most of the gulls on a weekly basis, it's not really practical to submit the sightings every week.  Instead, I will submit the last sighting for each month, or whenever these gulls are reported to me by other observers.

 

Black-headed Gulls Spotted by Steven Fyffe on Tuesday 1st December 2020

2ABK	2FFF	2BRA	2FDT	2CJT	2AAK	2ACV	2FFA

 

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Few birds of other species are being spotted, due to the work being undertaken at the Marina.  At present, I've lost half of my surveying area, which is not large. The ducks and swans, are not really effected, and are happy to come to the slipway, just yards away from the workmen.

Today saw nine cygnets at the Marina, so one has gone missing.  I never had any more than seven on the slipway, with two of those carrying rings, the colour-ringed   NJZ , who was also reported to me by Steven Fyffe, on his visit the next day (Tuesday), and then the metal-rung   Z78580 .  Both of these cygnets, along with two others which were also colour-ringed, were ringed by Debbie Nelson and Aidan Crean, here at the Marina, on the 15th November 2020.  This left me with two colour-ringed cygnets unaccounted for, so either both birds on the water, were colour-ringed, or possibly one was un-ringed, so a colour-ringed cygnet has gone missing.

7 adult Mute Swans were also present throughout, four of these would be the parents for nine of the cygnets, a brood of six, and a brood of three.  I now know that the cygnet colour-ringed   NJZ , arrived here without it's parents, so, of the three remaining adults, one pair, was 'lumpy', along with her mate, and I know they did not have chicks this year.  The seventh adult, a male, saw him losing his mate a couple of weeks back, when Debbie Nelson took the female into care, as she had swallowed Polystyrene.

At one point, I counted seven adult Common Gulls, plus a juvenile.  There was no sign of the two second calendar year birds, which had appeared over the previous couple of weeks.  Among the adults, there was no sign of the small Scottish metal-rung bird, who has made just a single visit to the Marina so far this winter.  An adult Herring Gull was present throughout my visit, which I presume, is the regularly spotted bird.  Interestingly, the juvenile Herring Gull which was present here for weeks on end, seems to have gone.

Mallard numbers remained constant throughout.  Three counts were made, numbering 38, 39 and 38 birds, but still no rings on any of these.

The only other species to venture along the Marina, were a single Magpie, and three Jackdaws.  A Great-Crested Grebe, fished for ages, between the end of the long wooden jetty, and the breakwater.  Conditions on the water here, were far calmer, than out on the Lough.

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From Suzanne Belshaw

Suzanne Belshaw sent me an email, with her latest ring sightings at Lurgan Park Lake, in County Armagh.  Suzanne made two visits, the first on Tuesday 24th November, and then again, on Thursdsay 26th November 2020.  Unknown to Suzanne, until I published my previous post, I too had been at the lake, on Sunday the 22nd November.  Over the two visits, Suzanne recorded four ringed Black-headed Gulls.

 

On the Tuesday, Suzanne spotted   EW57424 , who I also recorded on Sunday.  This sighting, is now the 11th record for this gull at Lurgan Park.  It has been re-sighted at least once, every winter since first being discovered here in November 2015.  The duration for   EW57424 , since being ringed, is now 12 years, 6 months and 3 days.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    EW57424   -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (24 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 21st May 2008, at Kingsbury Water Park, Warwickshire, England)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

On the 26th November, Suzanne recorded the return of the Polish-rung Black-headed Gull -   T58T .  On my visit the previous Sunday, I had hoped to re-sight this one, but Suzanne has beaten me to it.    T58T , was ringed as an un-sexed adult, on the 16th July 2016, at Świnoujście, which is a coastal region in the north-west of Poland, close to the border with Germany.  The first ever re-sighting of   T58T , was made by Suzanne, here at Lurgan Park Lake, on the 15th December 2016.  Since then,   T58T , has returned to the park every winter since.  After the passing of each winter,   T58T , has been recorded back in Świnoujście, with the exception of this past summer.  Perhaps, lockdown in Poland, had prevented the re-sighting of the gull back home again.

It is now, 4 years, 4 months and 10 days, since   T58T  was ringed, and the distance from Świnoujście, to Lurgan Park, is 1,334 kms / 828 miles (WNW).

 

Black-headed Gull  -    T58T   -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (26 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 16th July 2016, at Świnoujście, NW Poland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

Having spotted a metal-rung juvenile Black-headed Gull, Suzanne initially thought she had a new sighting.  Photographing the ring, Suzanne successfully recorded the number -   EX50405 .  Suzanne then had the idea, to run the ring number through the search box on my blog, to find a match.  This was the very same juvenile, that I had recorded on the beach at Whitehead, on the 5th September 2020.  Whitehead, is situated on the eastern coast of County Antrim, and from here to Lurgan Park, the distance is 51 kms / 31 miles (SW).

  EX50405 , was ringed as a chick, on the 7th June 2020, at Whitaside Tarn, on the North York Moors, in Yorkshire, England.  I do not as yet, have an offical distance from the BTO, but via Google Maps, I estimate the distance, as being 277 kms / 172 miles (W), from the ringing site.  The duration since being ringed, is now 5 months and 19 days.  I was really delighted by this sighting, and with many juveniles not surviving through their first winter, it's good to know this one is still going strong.  Any site, where people feed ducks and swans, will always be good for juveniles, as they will get their share of bread, which will help in their survival.

 

Juvenile Black-headed Gull  -    EX50405   -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (26 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 7th June 2020, at Whitaside Tarn, North Yorkshire, England)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

The third Black-headed Gull which Suzanne recorded on Thursday 26th November, was -   EZ02451 .  Suzanne appears to have a 'monopoly' for this bird, as all 10 of the sightings for this gull, has been by her.    EZ02451 , was ringed as a chick, on the 20th June 2017, at a colony situated at Elvanfoot in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.  The first re-sighting, was made by Suzanne, on the 7th September 2017, when the then juvenile, first arrived to the lake here at Lurgan Park.

The gull has been re-sighted at least once at Lurgan Park, every winter since 2017.  The duration since ringing, is now 3 years, 5 months and 6 days, and the distance from Elvanfoot, is 202 kms / 125 miles (WSW).  I notice, that the ring is on the left leg, could this be the same bird, which I saw at the nearby B&M store, on Sunday 22nd November?  Who knows, but all credit to Suzanne, for successfully completing three metal-rung birds.

As always, my thanks goes to Suzanne for the sighting reports, along with the photos.  That's another three more birds added to the winter list of returnees.  Slowly, and surely, the overall numbers are increasing, but there are still loads to be re-sighted over the coming months.

Black-headed Gull  -    EZ02451   -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (26 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 20th June 2017, at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire, Scotland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

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Saturday 28th November 2020

Today, I had intended to survey the coast around Carrickfergus, especially around Kilroot Power Station, as I was on the lookout for one very special Black-headed Gull.  Before the tide was due to go out, I first stopped by Kinnegar Beach, and then to the nearby Connswater mudflats.  What happened over the next couple of hours, saw me postponing my visit to Carrickfergus until the next day.

Stopping to scope the many birds on the pond at Kinnegar, which is over the private road, from Kinnegar Beach, I ended up having a conversation with a Canadian couple, who now live in Northern Ireland.  Beckie, had a pair of binoculars, and was looking at the birds, but the couple were fascinated when I informed them, that I was a 'Ring Reader', and what all that entailed.  If you're reading this Beckie, I did get to Carrickfergus on Sunday.

 

Having spent a while checking the pond, I then moved over to scope the birds coming onto Kinnegar Beach, as the tide was now quickly receding.  It did not take too long, before I scoped my first colour-ring.  Zooming into the Herring Gull with my camera, I captured the code   2C:W .  Although, I knew this was a bird which would have been ringed on the Copeland Islands in County Down, the number was not familiar to me, so I thought this was a first sighting for me personally.

 

I hold a copy of the ringing data for the Copeland Herring Gulls, this having been given to me by Shane Wolsey at the same time as receiving the Common Gull data from his former Copeland Study.  When I ran   2C:W  through my spreadsheet, not only was this a new sighting to me, it was also a first ever sighting since the gull had been ringed.

 

  2C:W , had been ringed as an un-sexed adult on the 4th May 2015, so the duration is now 5 years, 6 months and 24 days.  The distance from Big Copeland Island, to Kinnegar Beach, is 21 kms / 13 miles (W).  It was brilliant to start the day with a new sighting.

Herring Gull  -    2C:W   -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (28 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 4th May 2015, on Big Copeland Island, Co. Down)

 

Continuing to scope the birds on Kinnegar Beach, I then spotted a colour-ringed Oystercatcher.  Again, zooming in with my camera, the bird was standing on one leg, but I captured the code - White (UA).  Knowing this is an Icelandic bird, it would have two plain coloured rings on it's other leg.  Checking my spreadsheet for - W(UA), this would likely be - YL-W(UA), with a yellow ring above a lime ring.  I had recorded the return of - YL-W(UA), on the 12th September 2020, for the third winter running.

 

I continued scoping in the hope that this bird would drop it's other leg.  After a while, a car pulled in behind me, and a man and woman in the front watched me working away with my telescope.  Shortly afterwards, a young girl, who was in the back of the car, got out and ran straight towards the birds, scattering them everywhere.  At this point, I gave up and left, but I couldn't help the feeling, that the girl's parents had actually sent the girl out deliberately to chase the birds off.  As I couldn't confirm my Oystercatcher, I had to let this sighting go.

 

I then went to the Connswater mudflats, for what was supposed to be a quick visit, before heading towards Carrickfergus.  What happened here, was infuriating, and caused me to remain here for the remainder of the afternoon.

 

Having already spotted two colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, I then spotted another with a Black Darvic, the top of which, was just visible as the bird stood in a pool of water.  I thought to myself, that this surely had to be the German bird, which on consulting my spreadsheet, was a new sighting on the 23rd February 2020.  I dearly wanted to capture the code on this gull, but after a short time, it flew off on it's own towards the Sydenham Bypass.

 

The wait was on, to see if this gull would return, which it did on two further occasions.  Both times, it landed in pools of water, and the code remained obscured.  Aaaah, I thought, if I had a gun, I would shoot it - Not Really!!!!  By 3:30, with the light failing and no sign of the bird, I had no option but to give up and head for home.

 

With all the birds on the far side of the mudflats, there was no other way that I could get closer to them, and with poor light, even my camera found it difficult to focus.  Three colour-ringed Oystercatchers were present, but I could not clearly capture the codes on their rings.  Two of these, were likely to be the Scottish rung birds - R(Y1)-R & R(J1)-R, both of which were confirmed here by me, on the 14th November 2020.  R(Y1)-R, is over 24 years of age, and I'm still waiting for the ringing details from Nigel Buxton, for R(J1)-R.  Even the BTO, has contacted Nigel, requesting the ringing details, but still no joy on that front either.

The third Oystercatcher bore a Yellow Darvic, and once again, I could not capture the code.  I reckon, this bird was the Scottish-rung   T64 , which is usually seen on the nearby Dargan mudflats.  We already know that the bird had returned to Dargan, as Suzanne Belshaw recorded it on the 2nd August 2020, and I also spotted it there, on the 22nd August 2020.  This bird, which had been ringed in Aberdeenshire, was recorded here on the Connswater mudflats, also on the 23rd February 2020, so I know that it does frequent both sets of mudflats.  As I could not confirm the codes on any of these Oystercatchers, these sightings won't reach my spreadsheet.

Before spying the possible German Black-headed Gull, I had confirmed two others.  The first with a White Darvic, was the Dutch-rung - (White) EAK9.  This is now my fourth sighting of this bird, having recorded it's return, on the 3rd October 2020, here on the Connswater mudflats.  The other two sightings, were on the 11th October, at Victoria Park, adjacent to Connswater, and back on Connswater, on the 14th November 2020.  Read my article about - (White) EAK9, in a previous post, which includes the PDF File (Read Here).

 

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  EAK9  -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate  (28 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a 3rd Calendar Year Male, on the 13th June 2012, at Benthuizerplas, Zoetermeer, Holland)

 

The second Black-headed Gull -   2AKJ , was my third sighting of the bird on these mudflats this winter, and my 7th record overall.  Belonging to Adam McClure's former NI Study,   2AKJ  was ringed as a chick, on the 15th June 2015, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre.  All sightings of   2AKJ , have been made by me, with the first occurring on the 4th September 2016, at the adjacent Victoria Park.  My second sighting was made on Christmas Day 2018, when I fell in with the bird at Connsbank Road, where I parked my car today.

The third and fourth sightings, were made here at Connsbank mudflats, on the 12th October 2019, and on the 23rd February 2020.  The duration since being ringed, is 5 years, 5 months and 13 days, and the distance from Castle Espie, is 16 kms / 9 miles (NW).

Black-headed Gull  -    2AKJ   -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate  (28 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 15th June 2015, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)

 

Continuing to scope for that 'pesky' German gull, I kept on spotting a White Darvic, which I presumed was - (White) EAK9, so I would ignore it.  However, after a while, I then scoped two White Darvic's which were fairly close to each other.  I thought the second bird would be the Norwegian-rung - (White) J2UP, which I recorded here on the 14th November, this being only it's second sighting in Northern Ireland.

I couldn't read the codes with my telescope, so I had to use my camera to zoom in, as I couldn't tell which one was - (White) EAK9.  To my disbelief, I had re-sighted a Danish bird - (White) VX18, for a second time ever.  My first sighting of (White) VX18, was made at Connsbank Road, on Christmas Day 2018, where my car was parked at today.  At that time, I sat parked in my car and threw out bits of bread which attracted quite a few gulls, including   2AKJ , as mentioned above.  Having reported my sighting to Kjeld Tommy Pedersen, this was the second ever re-sighting of - (White) VX18, since being ringed.  The first sighting had been made by Aaron Devlin, on the 30th August 2013, when the gull which at that time was a juvenile, was spotted at Connswater Shopping Centre, about a mile away from the mudflats.

Delighted with my re-sighting, I report the bird to Kjeld, who sent me an updated PDF File, which now contained another historical NI sighting.  On Christmas Day 2018, my sighting had been a second for the gull, after Aaron's, but it now turns out, that a sighting was made between the two.  On the 13th January 2015, a Brian Douglas spotted (White) VX18, at the adjacent Victoria Park.  Today's sighting, makes this the fourth overall, and the gull has yet to be re-sighted back home in Denmark (PDF File).

(White) VX18, was ringed as a chick, on the 13th June 2013, at Hirsholm Island in Denmark.  The duration since being ringed, is 7 years, 5 months and 15 days, and the distance from Hirsholm to the Connswater mudflats, is roughly, 1,073 kms / 666 miles (WSW).

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  VX18  -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate  (28 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 13th June 2013, at Hirsholm Island, Denmark)

 

By now, it was getting pretty late into the afternoon, when in the distance I scoped a Yellow Darvic.  Walking back along the footpath to get level with this bird, it turned out to be my second sighting this winter, of the Polish-rung -   TU5P .  When I first encountered a gull with a Yellow Darvic here this winter, the bird flew off before I could capture the code.  Several visits later, I managed to capture the code on the 14th November.

 

  TU5P , had been ringed as an un-sexed breeding adult, on the 21st May 2020, at Lake Dąbie, in the Lubczyna area in Poland.  The distance to Connswater, is 1,342 kms / 833 miles (WNW), and the duration since ringing, is now 6 months and 7 days.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    TU5P   -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate  (28 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 21st May 2020, at Lake Dąbie, Lubczyna, Poland)

 

By now the light was really beginning to go, so I made my way back towards the car, and home.  A single Mute Swan, that had been in the water at the far end of the mudflats, became closer as I walked towards it.  I suddenly realised it too was rung with an Orange Darvic, so with my camera, I just managed to capture the code, before the bird slipped onto the water.

 

This turned out to be one of Debbie Nelson's birds.  Debbie takes care of sick and injured wildlife, and at times, has to go out and rescue swans, who sometimes gets themselves caught up in various situations.  Debbie would often colour-ring the birds, before releasing them into their normal habitats.  Debbie, had furnished me, with the ring numbers and colour codes, which she has used on both Mute Swans and Greylag Geese.

 

They are entered onto my spreadsheet, and a search of the code -   NLL , revealed that this swan was ringed at the former Belfast Waterworks, on the 25th March 2019.  My sighting of this bird, was a first for me, and I have no other re-sighting records on my spreadsheet, though I'd be pretty sure, this bird has been recorded before now.  The waterworks, are on the far side of Belfast, from the mudflats here at Connswater, and the duration since being ringed is 1 year, 8 months, and 3 days.

 

I had wanted to try and capture the metal number on this male swan, but due to the distance, this was impossible.  The reason for this, is explained at the foot of this post, and why the metals are so important.

 

I must say, the mudflats here at Connswater, are quickly turning into a real 'hotspot' for recording colour-rings.  The whole area, is not really that large, and worse still, there is no way to avoid the weather.  By the time I made my way back towards my car, my whole body felt numb with the cold, and worse still, I had a chill-suit on underneath my coat.  The things we 'Ring Readers' have to put up with to get our results.

 

Mute Swan  -    NLL   -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate  (28 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 25th March 2019, at the former Belfast Waterworks)

 

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Sunday 29th November 2020

I finally made it to Carrickfergus, and I timed my arrival, as the tide was beginning to recede.  My first stop was at the shore at Rhanbouy Park, where, if I believe I'm correct, I was making my third attempt to record a Norwegian-rung Black-headed Gull, bearing a Green Darvic.  Even with the use of half a loaf of bread, there was still no sign of my target.  Scoping through loads of Black-headed, Common and Herring Gulls, not a single ring was spotted.

 

Moving on the the ponds at Carrickfergus Leisure Centre, I was on the lookout for a Black-headed Gull, which belonged to Adam's former project.  A regular here, since first being spotted as a juvenile, there was no sign of the bird, though many others remained perched on the roof of the Leisure Centre.  Still, at the ponds, there were plenty of Black-headed;s, plus a couple of Common Gulls.  Throwing down bread, I quickly spied a Green Darvic -   JZ01 .

 

My first ever sighting of  JZ01 , was made at the Leisure Centre, on the 5th January 2020, which was also the first time that the gull had been recorded in Northern Ireland.  However, on the 19th September 2020, I recorded the bird for a second time, on the shore in front of Kilroot Power Station.  Between my two sightings here,   JZ01 , was spotted in Sweden, on the 30th March 2020, which seems odd, if the gull was returning to Norway.

 

  JZ01 , had been ringed as an adult male, at Lake Hovindammen, on the fringe of Oslo, on the 29th March 2016.  The only other sighting of this gull, was made on the 17th July 2018, when it was spotted at Scaling Reservoir, in Cleveland, England.

 

The duration since ringing, is now 4 years, and 8 months, and the distance from Hovindammen to Carrick Leisure Centre, is 1,149 kms / 713 miles (SW). 

 

Black-headed Gull  -    JZ01   -  Carrickfergus Leisure Centre, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (29 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 29th March 2016, at at Lake Hovindammen, Oslo, Norway)

 

Moving on to the shore in front of Kilroot Power Station, I was on the lookout for one special colour-ringed Black-headed Gull.  The bird had been ringed as a chick, at Castle Espie Wetland Centre, in June 2014.  I spotted this gull in my home town of Ballymena, in September 2014, which had been the only sighting until last winter.  On the 21st December 2019, Jeff Higgott, who was here on holiday over the Christmas period, spotted the gull in the Bonnybefore Housing Estate, which overlooks the beach here at Kilroot.  I was delighted to hear of the gull, and now, I want to see it again for myself.

 

Sadly, having spent around three hours scoping the gulls and waders here, there was no sign of my gull, but I did go on to record three colour-ringed birds, which were all first sightings for me.  The first of these, was an Icelandic-rung Oystercatcher - NN-W(CC), two plain black rings on the left leg, and a single White Darvic, inscribed with the letters - CC.  Having reported my sighting to Böddi, from the Icelandic Wader Ringing Group, I received a reply on Monday morning.

My sighting, was a first, away from Iceland, with the bird having been ringed with only a metal ring on the 11th June 2009.  It was ringed as a breeding female, a few years prior to the start of colour-ringing, which began in 2013.  On the 2nd June 2019, the female was re-captured on the nest, and the colour-rings were fitted.  In 2019, she went on to fledge two chicks, and in this past summer, she raised at least two chicks again (PDF).  The duration since originally being ringed, is 11 years, 5 months and 18 days, and the distance from Hvalfjarðareyri in SW Iceland, to Kilroot, is 1,390 kms / 863 miles (SE).  My thanks to Böddi, for supplying the history for this bird.

 

Oystercatcher  -  NN-W(CC)  -  Kilroot Power Station, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (29 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Breeding Female, on the 11th June 2009, at Hvalfjarðareyri, Hvalfjörður, SW Iceland)

 

The second colour-ring, was that of -   0V:W , on another Copeland Islands Herring Gull.  I knew straight away, that this was a new sighting for me, which makes this the second new sighting of Copeland Herring Gulls in two days.  On returning home, and running the code through my spreadsheet, this was only the second sighting for this gull.    0V:W , had been ringed as an un-sexed adult, on the 23rd May 2014, on Big Copeland Island.  Its only other sighting was made by Cameron Moore, on the 6th November 2014, at Ballycarry Bridge, on Larne Lough, not far away from the town of Whitehead.  The distance is 16 kms / 10 miles (NW) from Big Copeland, and the duration since being ringed, is 6 years, 6 months and 6 days.

 

Herring Gull  -    OV:W   -  Kilroot Power Station, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (29 Nov 2020)

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

 

A second colour-ringed Herring Gull, was scoped away in the distance, and bore an Orange Darvic.  Walking over to cut down the distance for my camera, I was dis-heartened to see the bird walk towards the sea, where it floated off.  I kept an eye out on it, as it swam towards a small rock.  Having reached it, I kept saying to myself, go jump on it, and eventually it did.  Having initially thought, that this was likely to be a bird from the Isle of Man, when I captured the code   A:H58 , I then realised that this one was from Scotland.

 

Back at home, I emailed Dave Grant, who quickly replied with the ringing details.    A:H58 , had been ringed as a chick, on the 12th July 2018, on Lady Isle Island, just off the coast from Troon in Ayrshire, Scotland.  This was the first ever sighting, having been made 2 years, 4 months and 17 days, since being ringed.  I'm still awaiting on the ringing recovery from the BTO, but I reckon the distance to Kilroot, is 111 kms / 69 miles (SW).  My thanks goes to Dave for the ringing details.

 

I may not have found the bird that I was after, but to obtain three new sightings was well worth the time and effort made here.  I'll be back in a few weeks time, and perhaps I'll have more joy, trying to locate my special Black-headed Gull.

 

Herring Gull  -    A:H58   -  Kilroot Power Station, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (29 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 12th July 2018, on Lady Isle Island, Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland)

 

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Mute Swan Saga

Following on from the visit by Steven Fyffe, to Antrim Marina, on Tuesday 1st December (read above), several emails were exchanged between us, concerning Black-headed Gulls in other areas within Northern Ireland, and the lack of sightings from counties Tyrone & Fermanagh.

 

When Steven mentioned that he lived near Hillsborough in County Down, I suggested that he could help me with a colour-ringed Mute Swan.  The bird concerned, ringed -   NLB , was reported to me by one of our Northern Ireland Politicians, Jim Wells.  Jim spotted the Mute Swan on the 29th August 2020, at the lake in Hillsborough Forest Park.  I submitted the sighting to the BTO, and they had no record for the colour-ring.  The BTO contacted Kanes Bride, who replied to say that the bird would have belonged to an Ian Forsyth, who has not responded to emails for quite some time.

 

Debbie Nelson and Aidan Crean, have continued to use the same ring series, as used by Ian, but had no data concerning Ian's previous ringing activities.  Aidan contacted me a few weeks ago, and said he would try to resolve this problem.  Apparently, Ian is now quite old, and is not in good health, hence the lack of contact.

 

As it turns out, Steven, also came across   NLB , at Hillsborough Lake back on the 24th October 2020, at which time he took the following photo.

 

Mute Swan  -    NLB   -  Hillsborough Forest Park, Co. Down  (24 Oct 2020)

(Photo Courtesy of Steven Fyffe)

 

Having suggested that the only way to identify the original ringing details, was to obtain the birds metal number, Steven said he would see what he could do.  The photo above, was received in an email at 12:17 on Thursday 3rd December 2020.  At 13:59, another email was received from Steven, who went out, found the swan and photographed both the colour-ring and the birds metal-ring -   Z64591 .  Now, how's that for service!!!

 

Mute Swan  -    NLB   -  Hillsborough Forest Park, Co. Down  (03 Dec 2020)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 2nd March 2019, at Hillsborough Forest Park)

(Photo Courtesy of Steven Fyffe)

 

Now armed with the swan's metal number, I re-submitted Jim's sighting made back in August, and now have the ringing details.  Nothing spectacular here, as the swan was actually ringed at Hillsborough Lake, on the 2nd March 2019, as an adult male.  The duration, as of Steven's sighting on the 3rd December 2020, is now 1 year, 9 months and 1 day.  As I say, nothing spectacular, but a sighting is a sighting, and therefore adds more time onto the birds longevity.  My sincerest thanks goes out to Steven, in helping to sort out this bird.  I have also submitted the two sightings made by Steven.

I have three other Mute Swans on my spreadsheet, which were likely to have been ringed by Ian.  I reckon that Ian submitted the swans by their ring numbers only, on the old IPMR Ringing Database, which was in use before the newer DemOn Database became available.  The IPMR system was not perfect, and it seems many ringers had problems with it, including myself, after I retrained as a ringer.  Due to those problems, it appears the colour marks used, were not submitted along with the metal numbers, hence the BTO being unable to identify some birds by their colour codes.

 

The three out-standing swans are -   NJN  &   NLJ , who were both spotted at the former Belfast Waterworks, and   NLA , which has been spotted twice on Larne Lough, the sites being Ballycarry Bridge and Glynn.  Should anyone see any of these three birds, it would be of great help, if their metal numbers can be photographed.  Indeed, any swan in Northern Ireland bearing an Orange Darvic, if spotted, it would be wiser to try and obtain the metal number at the same time.  Should it be one of Debbie's birds, then there will be no problems by submitting by colour only, but if the bird be one of Ian's, the metal number will be needed in order to verify the bird.

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