It has been a while since I published my previous post, but a few ring sightings have been trickling in, and I just have not had time to create a new post. As mentioned previously, I have been busy re-working all of the data from Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study. Now having access to Neville McKee's DemOn account, mistakes and omissions were identified and corrected. A total of 777 Black-headed Gulls have been colour-ringed, which in turn has generated a total of 7,028 re-sightings. 5,853 of those re-sightings, have been made at Antrim Marina, which is my main study site, and was started to run along-side Adam's former project, though I continue to work the site. My last visit to Antrim Marina, was on the 4th January 2021, and at this point we went into 'lockdown', with the British Trust for Ornithology requesting observers to remain at home. Antrim Marina, is over 10 miles from where I live, and added to that, all coastal areas were also out of reach for me.
The whole month of March was spent re-working Adam's BHG Database, where I cross-referenced re-sightings with my own Ring Reading Spreadsheet, my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet and checking the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database for sighting submissions. I introduced new 'fields' onto Adam's Database, where I used check boxes, to check that all sightings matched those on my Ring Reading Spreadsheet, DemOn entries which had been made, and where applicable sightings made at Antrim Marina. Three other new fields, included 'Counties', 'Duration' for each re-sighting and 'Distances' from the ringing site. The whole process was massive and slow, but I'm now sure that everything is now correct. One sighting was discovered when I went to update the 'Sites Table' on Adam's Database.
There was an entry for Wintersett Reservoir in West Yorkshire, but after conducting a search on my Ring Reading Spreadsheet and Adam's Database, I could not find any record of the bird concerned. I then checked the BTO's Online Ringing Database, and found the gull - EY37332 ( 2ABX ). On Adam's Database, the bird had been caught and ringed on the 9th February 2013, at Newtownards in County Down. Two re-sightings had been made, on the 24th June 2013, and on the 5th January 2014, both having been made at Newtownards, with the dates also appearing on the BTO's DemOn Database (which does not show the re-sighting localities). Having found EY37332 on the Online Ringing Database, the re-sighting made on the 5th January 2014, was not made at Newtownards, but at Wintersett Reservoir (298 kms / 185 miles (ENE)).
Just to point out, that anyone can make mistakes, I also discovered the odd error and omissions on my own Antrim Marina Spreadsheet. Satisfied, that Adam's Database, and both of my spreadsheets are correct and up to date, I still have hundreds of re-sightings to submit to the BTO, although I've been doing this at a steady pace for quite some time now. The only task for me now, is to correct the ringing data on Neville's DemOn account. As Neville was Adam's 'A' Ringer, all rings used by Adam had to be in-putted onto Neville's account. To be frank, I have been horrified to see the large number of 'inputting' mistakes, where I have identified wrong colour-ring codes, incorrect inputting of codes, duplicated colour-ring codes, wrong species concerned, wrong ringing dates and wrong ringing sites. It is no wonder that Adam gave up on his project. I respond to sightings for all of the Black-headed Gulls, so it's in my interest to make sure everything is corrected.
Now, back to this post, which I now need to get pushed out. On the 6th April, I received an email from the BTO. Agreement has been made with the NIEA (Northern Ireland Environment Agency), that we in Northern Ireland can resume our Survey and Nest Recording studies, as from the 7th April 2021. This came as quite a surprise, as I was not expecting this for at least another couple of weeks. I'm now free to get out Ring Reading again, and not restricted to 'lockdown measures' which are still in place.
We have recently reached agreement with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) that,
as of 7 April, BTO volunteer surveys in Northern Ireland can resume
under the ‘voluntary or charitable services’ reason for leaving home, meaning that survey volunteers can continue survey activities without restrictions on travel or group sizes, as this element of the legislation does not impose specific restrictions beyond the need to maintain social distancing. It
is vital that volunteers continue to consider the risks of their
activities in relation to disease transmission, which are reduced as
distances travelled and group sizes decrease, so lone/pair working
undertaken locally is the ideal in this respect; advisory guidance on
risk management can be found in the BTO Fieldwork Hazard Checklist.
Before, I can go out again, I need to publish this post, which clears outstanding sightings, and clears the way for me to restart my own projects. Talking of my own projects, I've had a re-sighting of one of my Antrim Marina Study birds, which has now been spotted in Estonia. More on that, at the base of this post.
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Suzanne is a regular contributor to my blog, being one of just a few female Ring Readers in Northern Ireland. As with everyone, Suzanne has been limited to where she can go during the 'lockdown'. A small number of emails have been exchanged over recent weeks, with one ring sighting, and news of a pair of Ravens at Lambeg Gold Course on the outskirts of Lisburn in County Antrim. The nest was eventually found in trees at the edge of the Golf Course, which is quite interesting in itself. A number of years back, I located a Buzzard nest in trees beside the Golf Course at Galgorm, just outside of my home town of Ballymena. Whilst trying to make a head count of the number of chicks, I discovered a large number of Golf Balls below the nest, where they were mistakenly took as prey. It will be interesting to see if Suzanne notices the same happening with her Ravens.
The ring sighting, was that of a Mute Swan, rung - NLB , which Suzanne spotted on the lake at Hillsborough Park in County Down. The swan was ringed at the lake, as an adult male, on the 2nd March 2019, by the Belfast & North Down Ringing Group. On my spreadsheet, I have three previous sightings of - NLB , having also been recorded at the same lake - 29th August 2020 (Jim Wells), 24th October 2020 and on the 3rd December 2020 (Steven Fyffe). Obviously a resident at the lake, the duration since being ringed, was 1 year, 11 months and 24 days. My thanks goes to Suzanne for the ring sighting, and I hope her Ravens successfully rear chicks.
Mute Swan - NLB - Hillsborough Park Lake, Hillsborough, Co. Down (26 Feb 2021)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 2nd March 2019, at Hillsborough Park Lake)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
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David Nixon has fared better than the rest of us during the lockdown, as he has been able to visit a small number of sites and in the process, has spotted several colour-ringed gulls. On the 5th March 2021, David spotted a Black-headed Gull rung - 2P91 . Have contacted Iain Livingstone, 2P91 , was ringed as a chick on the 18th June 2019, at the Elvanfoot colony in the hills of South Lanarkshire in Scotland. David's sighting was a first for this bird. The distance from Elvanfoot to Dundrum, is 192 kms / 119 miles (SW), and the duration since being ringed, is 1year, 8 months and 15 days. This winter, there have been a number of sightings from the Elvanfoot colony, including at least three juveniles, that I can think of, off hand. My thanks goes to Iain Livingstone for supplying the birds ringing details.
Black-headed Gull - 2P91 - Dundrum Inner Bay, Strangford Lough, Co. Down (05 Mar 2021)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 18th June 2019, at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire, Scotland)
(Photo Courtesy of David Nixon)
On the 10th March 2021, David visited Ardglass Harbour, and recorded two immature Herring Gulls. One of these was a bird colour-ringed - T8YW , which had been ringed as a chick, on the 3rd July 2019, on the Calf of Man, a small island just off the southern coast of the Isle of Man. On my spreadsheet, I have two previous re-sightings, both of which were made by Graham McElwaine. The first of them, was made on the 13th July 2020, at Millquarter Bay on Strangford Lough, and then recorded for a second time, here at Ardglass Harbour, on the 26th August 2020. Ardglass Harbour, is 57 kms / 35 miles (WNW) from the Calf of Man, and the duration since being ringed, was now 1 year, 8 months and 7 days. Unfortunately, David was not able to obtain a photo for this bird, and Graham rarely takes photos.
The second bird colour-ringed - B13:D , was ringed as a chick by the Irish Midlands Ringing Group, on the 4th July 2019, on the island of Ireland's Eye, just off the coast in County Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland. David's sighting of B13:D , was a first for this gull, having flown 102 kms / 63 miles (NNE) to reach Ardglass Harbour. The duration since being ringed, was 1year, 8 months and 6 days.
Herring Gull - B13:D - Ardglass Harbour, Ardglass, Co. Down (10 Mar 2021)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 4th July 2019, on Ireland's Eye Island, Co. Dublin, Republic of Ireland)
(Photo Courtesy of David Nixon)
Another visit to Ardglass Harbour on the 26th March 2021, saw David spotting another immature Herring Gull. This bird was quite distant, but the code on the ring was just recognisable, as being - 952:D . Again ringed by the Irish Midlands R.G., 952:D was ringed as a chick, on the 22nd June 2019, on Lambay Island, just off the County Dublin coast. The gull's only previous re-sighting was made on the 26th October 2020, by Jan Rod, at The Skerries in County Dublin. The distance from Lambay Island to Ardglass, is 92 kms / 57 miles (NNE), and the duration since being ringed, was now 1 year, 9 moths and 4 days.
Herring Gull - 952:D - Ardglass Harbour, Ardglass, Co. Down (26 Mar 2021)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 22nd June 2019, on Lambay Island, Co. Dublin, Republic of Ireland)
(Photo Courtesy of David Nixon)
The latest gull sighting made by David, was that of another bird ringed as a chick, on the island of Ireland's Eye, just off the coast of County Dublin. This immature Herring Gull, colour-ringed - B01:D , was ringed on the 4th July 2019, making the duration, 1 year, 8 months and 26 days. The distance to the Inner Bay at Dundrum, where - B01:D was spotted, is 96 kms / 59 miles (N). Having spotted the colour-ring, David took a photo of the bird, but realised later, that he photographed the wrong bird, as can be seen in the photo below. At least he captured the colour-ring, though not the whole bird.
There was one previous re-sighting of B01:D , which was made by Graham McElwaine on the 2nd September 2020, also at the Inner Bay at Dundrum.
My thanks goes to David for submitting his sightings to me, and also to Graham Prole, who supplied the ringing details for the Dublin birds, and to Mark Fitzpatrick, on the Isle of Man bird.
Herring Gull - B01:D - Dundrum Inner Bay, Strangford Lough, Co. Down (30 Mar 2021)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 4th July 2019, on Ireland's Eye Island, Co. Dublin, Republic of Ireland)
(Photo Courtesy of David Nixon)
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On the 6th March 2021, I received an email from Ian Enlander, who had spotted the Danish rung Black-headed Gull - (White) 5HA, at Whitehead. This is only the second sighting for this bird over the winter, as Cameron Moore, had recorded it's return to Whitehead on the 9th November 2020. (White) 5HA was ringed as an adult male, on the 28th March 2015, at Gentofte in Denmark. It was first recorded wintering at Whitehead on the 26th November 2016 (Cameron Moore), and has been coming back every winter since.
The duration as of Ian's sighting, is now 5 years, 11 months and 6 days, and the distance from Gentofte is 1160 kms / 720 miles (W). Since being ringed, (White) 5HA, has only been recorded back in it's own country on one occasion - 16th April 2018 (Eddie Bo Fritze), in Gentofte. Going by that date, the gull may well be back in Denmark by now. Perhaps the lack of re-sightings here this winter, may have been caused by the 'lockdown' restrictions. I have not heard from Cameron for a while now, but he normally would report ring sightings on a fairly regular basis, and he lives in Whitehead. No photo was included with Ian's sighting report, so I've added one which I took in November 2017.
My thanks goes to Ian for the report, at least I know that (White) 5HA, did remain at Whitehead throughout the winter.
Black-headed Gull - (White) 5HA - Whitehead, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim (14 Nov 2017)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 28th March 2015, at Gentofte, Kobenhan, Denmark)
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In my previous post, I reported on the belated sighting of a Copeland rung Herring Gull - 0C:W . Geoffrey Wood who lives in Holywood in County Down, took a photo of a Herring Gull in his back garden, on the 24th July 2018. At the time, Geoffrey did not realise that the gull was colour-ringed, but on downloading his photographs he noticed the code. After searching the internet, Geoffrey came across my blog and duly contacted me.
The gull had been ringed on Big Copeland Island, as an un-sexed adult, on the 22nd May 2014, and Geoffrey's 2018 sighting had been the first and only record for the gull since being ringed. However, Geoffrey contacted me again on the 12th March 2021, to report that - 0C:W , had re-visited his garden and attached his latest photo. My thanks to Geoffrey for the latest sighting, at least he knew to look for the colour-ring this time, and proves the bird is still alive and well. The duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 9 months and 18 days. The distance from Big Copeland Island to Geoffrey's back garden in Holywood, is 17 kms / 10 miles (W). In my reply to Geoffrey, I also copied in Katherine Booth Jones (BTO NI), who is now the ringing co-ordinator for these Copeland Herring Gulls.
Herring Gull - 0C:W - Holywood, Co. Down (12 Mar 2021)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 22nd May 2014, on Big Copeland Island, Co. Down)
(Photo Courtesy of Geoffrey Wood)
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Two further emails have arrived with me from David Galbraith, who is a fisherman and works the coast just offshore on the east coast of County Antrim. David reported on two more sightings of a colour-ringed Great Black-backed Gull, which readily lands on his boat. The gull was ringed as a chick, on the 26th June 2017, on Horse Isle Nature Reserve, situated just off the coast from Ardrossan in Ayrshire, Scotland. The bird, rung - (White) 9H5:C, first appeared on David's boat, on the 29th July 2020, close to Portmuck Island near Larne in County Antrim, where it was recorded for a second time on the 7th August 2020.
The latest two sightings were made on the 22nd March 2021, close to the Maidens Rocks (visible from Larne), and on the 31st March 2021, close to Portmuck Island. The duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 9 months and 5 days, and the distance from Horse Isle NR to Portmuck, is 103 kms / 64 miles (SSW). I have contacted Iain Livingstone, who replied to say that David's four sightings are the only ones made since the bird was ringed. My thanks goes to David for his latest sightings, along with the photos, and to Iain for his comments.
During an exchange of emails between David and myself, it turned out, that David is also a ringer. This surprised me somewhat, had that fact passed me by in the past? Anyway, David stated that he plans to carry out a ringing expedition to the Maidens Rocks in early July 2021, in order to ring Shag chicks. I've asked to go along, as the Maidens are rarely visited. I have zoomed into the islands several times in the past with my camera, and to make at least one visit, would really be a treat.
Great Black-backed Gull - (White) 9H5:C - At Sea, near the Maidens Islands, Co. Antrim (22 Mar 2021)
(Photo Courtesy of David Galbraith)
Great Black-backed Gull - (White) 9H5:C - At Sea, near Isle of Muck, Co. Antrim (31 Mar 2021)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 26th June 2017, Horse Isle Nature Reserve, Ayrshire, Scotland)
(Photo Courtesy of David Galbraith)
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I could not believe my eyes, when I read an email from Arnold Kristjuhan from Estonia. On the 4th April 2021, Arnold had spotted one of my Antrim Marina Black-headed Gulls - 2FDJ . This was brilliant news, and has come 'hot off the heels' of sightings in Scotland.
I caught and ringed - 2FDJ , as a second calendar year bird, on the 18th December 2019, at Antrim Marina. My final sighting of - 2FDJ that winter, occurred on the 9th March 2020. No sightings were reported during the breeding season, and - 2FDJ arrived back to Antrim Marina, on the 25th October 2020. The gull was recorded nearly every week during my weekly winter visits to Antrim Marina, and my final sighting of the bird was made on the 4th January 2021, after which time, we went into 'lockdown'.
On the 5th February 2021, Scott Black reported that - 2FDJ was seen at Strathclyde Country Park near Motherwell in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. 2FDJ , then moved on to Kay Park Lake in Kilmarnock, Scotland, where Alasdair Fyffe recorded the gull standing on the frozen ice, on the 11th, 13th and 14th February 2021. Scott and I, both made the suggestion, that - 2FDJ could be on passage to Norway, but to receive a report from Estonia is simply outstanding.
Arnold Kristjuhan spotted the gull at distance, on Aardlapalu rubbish dump, just south of the town of Tartu in the east of Estonia. Tartu, is just 44 kms away from the border with Russia. Will - 2FDJ make that crossing? I can only hope!!
Arnold originally reported - 2FDJ , as - 2FOJ . Before replying, I checked the codes on other UK ringed Black-headed Gulls with Blue Darvics, and there were no matches, so - 2FOJ had to be - 2FDJ . In my reply to Arnold, Arnold replied back to say his initial thought was - 2FDJ , but from distance thought the ' D ' looked to be 'too rounded', so he settled for an ' O '.
2FDJ , is now my star bird at Antrim Marina, and I cannot wait to record it's return next winter. The duration since being ringed, is now 1 year, 4 months and 17 days, and the distance to Tartu, is a nice 2060 kms / 1280 miles (E). My thanks goes to Arnold for his excellent sighting. I have also emailed everyone else who has previously reported sightings of - 2FDJ , so as to keep them informed. Arnold was not able to photograph the gull, so I've added one that I took, a week after - 2FDJ was ringed.
Black-headed Gull - 2FDJ - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (24 Dec 2019)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird, on the 18th December 2019, at Antrim Marina)
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