Thursday 31 December 2020

Xmas Found...

My weekend started on Friday past, which was Christmas Day, and whilst most people were at home, I made my way to the Connswater Shopping Centre in Belfast, to look for a Norwegian colour-ringed Black-headed Gull.  Not only did I record the bird, over the course of the day, I made seven re-sightings altogether, and recorded three new ringed birds.  My wife worked on Christmas Day in a nursing home, so we had our Christmas Day on Boxing Day.  As our children are grown up, she volunteers to work, so as her workmates with children can enjoy the day together.  I remained at home on Boxing Day which is when we have our Christmas Day.  I had to go to work on Sunday, starting at midday and finishing at 8pm, so very little birding was done this weekend.  My weekly visit to Antrim Marina, was therefore made on Monday morning.

In Northern Ireland, we have begun a new lockdown due to the Pandemic, but this time it is not mandatory to stay at home, though people are 'urged' to say at home.  For me, this is great news, as I can still go out looking for ringed birds.  The ruling here, is not to undertake unnecessary travel, but my Ring Reading involves me being on my own anyway, and I steer clear from everyone else.  The new strain of Covid is going to become a serious problem and our Northern Ireland Government may impose further tougher  restrictions.  The months ahead are looking bleak for everyone, though I'm hoping that I can continue with my Ring Reading, and see out my weekly visits to Antrim Marina until the end of March.  The summer months of May & June may be challenging, as this is ringing time for young gulls.  Last summer, I missed out on all but nine Common Gulls chicks, as travel restrictions were not lifted until the first week of July.
 
Happy New Year to you all.
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      Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina - Monday 28th December 2020       
Having had to go to work on Sunday, from midday until 8pm, I had to make my weekly visit to Antrim Marina on Monday 28th December 2020.  The morning was fairly calm wind wise, but light rain fell over the course of my visit.  Arriving just after 9am, I was forced to depart at midday, as it began to pour down quite heavily.

Around 50 Black-headed Gulls were perched on the long wooden jetty, and seeing as it's a holiday period, not a single workman was present.  Minutes after arriving, more gulls came flooding in, and soon numbers exceeded the 150 mark.  So far this winter, returning gulls, plus sixteen that I have caught and ringed, meant that I was on the lookout for 42 colour-ringed BHGs altogether.  I thought that this was going to be a great day, as by 9:52am, I had re-sighted 23 of the gulls.

How wrong, was I.  From 9:52 until midday, only four more colour-rings were recorded -   2FFL  at 10:40,   2FFP  at 11:25,   2AAA  at 11:40 and   2FDJ  at 11:43.  No new returnees were spotted during my visit, and around 10:30 I tried my hand at capturing more new birds to be colour-ringed.  I managed to catch another two adults, which have now been ringed -   2FHA  &   2FHC .  The overall total for my next visit, will now be 44 colour-ringed gulls.  I had hoped to capture four gulls today, which would take this winters total to 20 new birds.  Having caught two birds, one young lady appeared with her daughter, and my hopes at catching further birds flew out the window, as she emptied two boxes of breakfast cereal and the gulls had a field day with this.  Around the same time, a few others arrived to feed the ducks, so I was well beat then.

A small number of the gulls have not been seen since the day they were ringed this winter.  The next few weeks should give some indication whether these gulls are still in the Antrim area, or were perhaps passing through when they were caught.  One thing is for certain, as they were easily caught in the first place, they are people friendly and therefore could be easily re-sighted at other sites.  When you think that there are likely to be gulls from several countries here, it will be fascinating to get re-sightings away from Antrim Marina.
 
Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina - Monday 28th December 2020
 2CTC   2CSJ   2BRA   2AAN   2FFA   2FFF   2FDK   2FFJ   2ABL 
 2ABK   2ABN   2CSK   2AAR   2AAK   2CSA   2ABS   2FDV   2CJT 
 2FDT   2CSR   2ACV   2FFC   2FFX   2FFL   2FFP   2AAA   2FDJ 

Black-headed Gulls Recorded or Ringed this Autumn/Winter, but Absent on the 28th December 2020
 2ABA   2AAV   2AAB   2BRD   2CSB   2CSL   2CSX   2CTA 
 2FDP   2FDX   2FFH   2FFK   2FFN   2FFT   2FFV   

Black-headed Gulls Caught and Ringed During this Autum/Winter
 2FDP   2FDT   2FDV   2FDX   2FFA   2FFC   2FFF   2FFH   2FFJ 
 2FFK   2FFL   2FFN   2FFP   2FFT   2FFV   2FFX   2FHA   2FHC 

Black-headed Gull  -    2FFX   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (28 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 21st December 2020, at Antrim Marina)
 
After leaving Antrim Marina, I returned home to grab a couple of hours sleep before preparing for tonight's evening shift at work.  Shortly after 5pm, I sat down to have my dinner, and checked for emails.  To great surprise and delight, was one from an Ian Foster, who is a birdwatcher in the Teeside district in England.  Around 2:10pm earlier today (28th December 2020), Ian spotted one of my Antrim Marina Black-headed Gulls -    2ADV , which had failed to return to the Marina this winter.
 
The bird was spotted at Portrack Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees.  In my post, published on the 17th December, I stated that three in particular had failed to return to the Marina this winter.  I wrote off   2AAP  as dead, but was not so sure about   2ADV  and   2CSH , so you can imagine how I felt, to receive this sighting.
 
  2ADV , was ringed by Adam McClure, as an Adult Male, at Antrim Marina on the 16th December 2013, the Marina is my Study area, which I began in support of Adam's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study.  Despite Adam giving up on his project, I decided to continue my work at Antrim Marina.  Due to the arrival and departure dates for   2ADV , I have always guessed that this gull nested outside of Northern Ireland, and perhaps on the European Continent.  Ian Foster's sighting, is the first ever outside of Northern Ireland, and perhaps it's failure to return to Antrim Marina, may have been caused by injury or sickness.  Anyways, for whatever reason   2ADV  failed to return, it's was good to know the bird is still alive.
 
Below are the key dates for   2ADV , selected from a total of 80 re-sightings at Antrim Marina:-
 
Ringed on the 16th December 2013, Departed after the 2nd February 2014.
Returned on the 12th October 2014, Departed after the 15th February 2015
Returned on the 4th October 2015, Departed after the 31st January 2016
Returned on the 16th October 2016, Departed after the 22nd January 2017
Returned on the 22nd October 2017, Departed after the 29th January 2018
Returned on the 22nd October 2018, Departed after the 14th January 2019
Returned on the 13th November 2019, Departed after the 24 December 2019
(the above dates are unusual, but coincided with the construction of the new Gateway Centre, 
which caused much disturbance to the gulls at Antrim Marina)
Failed to return to Antrim Marina so far this winter, but spotted in Stockton-on-Tees on the 28th December 2020 by Ian Foster.
 
The duration as of Ian's sighting, is now 7 years and 12 days, and the distance from Antrim Marina to the Portrack Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees, is 319 kms / 198 miles (E).  My thanks goes to Ian for the re-sighting report, and for permission to use his photo.
 
Black-headed Gull  -    2ADV   -  Portrack Retail Park, Stockton-on-Tees, Co. Durham, England  (28 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 16th December 2013, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)
(Photo Courtesy of Ian Foster)
 
Other Birds at Antrim Marina
On my previous visit, I recorded the highest number of Mute Swans so far this winter.  21 were recorded altogether, with 12 adults and 9 cygnets counted.  Today, as with last week, birds kept arriving un-noticed, as most of the river is now a blind spot, due to the dredging equipment placed along the fron of the Marina.  By 11am this morning, a new high was set, as I counted 13 adults, along with the usual nine cygnets.  Among, I recorded all three of the remaining juveniles which had been ringed by Debbie Nelson and Aidan Crean -   NJY ,   NJZ  and   Z78580 .  I'm fairly certain, that I saw all of the legs on the adult birds, but none of them were ringed.
 
The adult Herring Gull was present throughout the visit, and Common Gull numbers are still fairly low for this time of the year.  If memory serves me right, Common Gulls should be over the dozen mark normally for this time of the year, but today there were just five adults and a second year bird.  Again, there was no sign of the small Scottish-rung female, which has only been recorded twice so far this winter.
 
Mallard numbers are also still on the low side.  Just fifteen were counted on my arrival, and numbers slowly increased to around forty altogether.  Most legs were checked, but still no rings on any of these.  I wonder whether the gun clubs in County Monaghan, are still releasing farm bred ducklings into the wild, and if so, do they still ring them before release.  It's been quite some time now, since I last recorded a metal-rung duck here.
 
It was a fairly quite day for other species here at the Marina, with just six Jackdaws and a single Pied Wagtails being recorded.  I did hear a Kingfisher calling, but I could not see where it was.
 
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      Christmas Day 2020       
The first thing I did today, was to head straight for the Connswater Shopping Centre in Belfast.  Christmas Day, is the only time of the year, where I can have the car park there all to myself.  The reason, is to record what I call, my Christmas Day Gull, a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull from Norway - (White) J4TJ.  I first became aware of this bird via Adam McClure's former BHG Study, as he was the first to re-sight (White) J4TJ, after it had been ringed in Norway.  Adam had recorded the gull at Connswater Shopping Centre, on the 13th January 2014, and I realised that my best chance to record the gull again, was to visit the car park yearly on Christmas Day.  I then went on to re-sight (White) J4TJ, each Christmas Day, from 2015 to 2018.  On Christmas Day 2019, I failed to record the gull, so it's return to Northern Ireland was not confirmed during the 2019/2020 winter.  I had no idea whether the bird was still alive or not, so I kept an eye on the 'Live' Norwegian Ringing Database.  (White) J4TJ was recorded on six occasions in Norway between March and June 2020, so the gull was still alive.  In October 2020, (White) J4TJ, was spotted in County Durham in England, so I knew Xmas, was on it's way back to Northern Ireland.
 
On my arrival to the Connswater car park, I began throwing out bits of bread, and soon had plenty of gulls around me.  It wasn't long before I spotted a White Darvic.  Zooming in with my camera, this one was the Dutch Black-headed Gull - (White) EAK9.  This was now my fifth re-sighting of this bird, this winter, having recorded it on the Connswater mudflats on the 3rd October 2020, Victoria Park on the 11th October 2020, and s further two times on the Connswater mudflats, on the 14th & 28th November 2020.
 
Although (White) EAK9, was ringed in Holland in 2012, it wasn't recorded in Northern Ireland until January 2014, when Adam McClure spotted the bird in this very same car park.  (White) EAK9, has been recorded every winter since 2014, with the exception of 2017/2018 winter.  The bird has an impressive number of re-sightings, including one in France, in January 2019.  The re-sighting history for (White) EAK9, can be read (here).  The duration since ringing, is now 8 years, 6 months and 12 days, and the distance from Benthuizerplas in Holland, to the Connswater car park, is 745 kms / 463 miles (WNW).
 
Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  EAK9  -  Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast  (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 13th June 2012, at Benthuizerplas, Zoetermeer, Holland)
 
I now continued to throw out more bits of bread, and every time that I saw a White Darvic, it was always (White) EAK9.  I was nearing the end of the first of four loaves that I brought with me, when I then noticed two White Darvic's.  Zooming in with my camera once again, the first looked at, was (White) EAK9, but happy days, the second bird was the Norwegian (White) J4TJ.  (White) J4TJ, was ringed at Texburger Vekerø, on the outskirts of Oslo, on the 19th April 2013.  The duration since being ringed, is now 7 years, 8 months and 6 days.  The distance from Oslo, is 1,154 kms / 717 miles (SW).  I was well pleased, having 'bagged' another returnee for the winter, and makes the Christmas Day trip worthwhile.  The full re-sighting history for (White) J4TJ, can be read (here).
 
Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  J4TJ  -  Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast  (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 19th April 2013, at Texburger Vekerø, Oslo, Norway)
 
I then drove over towards a different part of the Connswater Shopping Centre, and parked fairly close to the McDonalds outlet.  A number of Black-headed Gulls were perched on the roof of a nearby building, so I scoped these, and spotted another White Darvic.  I had problems with the light whilst zooming in with my camera.  Bright sunshine was reflecting off the Darvic, but I was fairly sure that this was the Danish bird (White) VX18.  I hopped back into my car, and began throwing out bread again.  Shortly afterwards, most of the gulls came down, and I was able to confirm that this gull was indeed (White) VX18.

This was my second sighting of (White) VX18 this winter, having recorded the gull on the Connswater mudflats on the 28th November 2020.  (White) VX18, was ringed on the Island of Hirsholm in Denmark, on the 13th June 2013, and has a limited re-sighting history.  In fact, all five records so far, have all been made in Belfast.  It's first ever re-sighting was on the 30th August 2013, when spotted by Aaron Devlin at the Connswater Shopping Centre.  The next, was made on the 13th January 2015, when Brian Douglas saw the gull at Belfast's Victoria Park.  Then on the 25th December 2018, I made my first sighting of (White) VX18, at Connsbank Road, which is where I park my car when visiting the mudflats.

The duration since being ringed, is now 7 years, 6 months and 12 days, and the distance from Hirsholm to the Connswater Shopping Centre, is 1,073 kms / 666 miles (WSW).  To read three colour-rings in the same car park was quite amazing, especially as there were only 40 to 60 Black-headed Gulls in total.
 
Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  VX18  -  Connswater Shopping Centre, Belfast  (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 13th June 2013, at Hirsholm Island, Frederikshavn, Denmark)
 
On leaving the Connswater Shopping Centre, it only takes a few minutes to drive to Victoria Park.  Here again, there were 40 to 60 BHGs, either bobbing about on the lake, or perched on the small island.  Having the car park, more or less to myself, I parked well clear of other vehicles and began throwing out bread.  I soon had a number of birds landing beside my car.
 
Straight away, I noticed a metal-rung adult, which I was hoping was another re-sighting of a Yorkshire bred bird.  I began taking photos of the metal ring, and as soon as I spotted the letters '  EL ', I knew this would be the same bird.  I used bread to keep this gull moving, so as I had a greater chance of completing the whole ring number.  At the same time, I noticed a BHG with an Orange Darvic, and then right underneath my nose, a juvenile with a metal ring.  I quickly took a couple of photos of the Darvic-rung bird, and then concentrated on the metal-rung adult.  Once I had enough photos of the adult, I then turned my attention to the juvenile.
 
On checking my photos before I left, I had completed the numbers for all three birds.  My adult from Yorkshire, was indeed -   EL97734 , which I should also call 'a Christmas Day Gull', as I've recorded this one several times on Christmas Day.  As with most of Belfast, it is very hard to get peace and quite in a car park except for Christmas Day.
 
I have a monopoly on   EL97734 , as all eight re-sightings have been made by me.  My first encounter with the gull, was made on the 14th November 2015.  Although   EL97734 , had been ringed as a chick, in June 2007, there's no doubting that this bird had wintered at Victoria Park, for years before I discovered it here.
 
My other sightings were made on the 25th December 2015, 25th December 2016, 29th November 2017, 18th December 2017, 25th December 2018, and on the 25th December 2019.    EL97734 , was ringed as a chick, on the 12th June 2007, at Downholme in Yorkshire, England, which takes the duration to, 13 years, 6 months and 13 days.  The distance from Downholme, is 264 kms / 164 miles (W).
 
Black-headed Gull  -    EL97734   -  Victoria Park, Belfast  (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 12th June 2007, at Downholme, North Yorkshire, England)
 
The colour-ringed Black-headed Gull, was my third sighting this winter of   2AJV , and the tenth record for the bird altogether.    2AJV , belongs to Adam McClure's former NI BHG Study, and was ringed as a chick, on the 19th June 2014, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down.  The first re-sighting of   2AJV , was made on the 30th October 2014, when a Scott O'Hara spotted the then juvenile, at the Connswater Shopping Centre car park.
 
The other nine sightings have all been made by me.  After Scott's sighting, the next four were made here at Victoria Park, on the 14th November 2015, 4th September 2016, 25th December 2016, and on the 25th December 2018.  On the 25th May 2019, I then spotted   2AJV  among the breeding gulls back at it's natal colony at Castle Espie.  On the 23rd February 2020, the gull was spotted on the Connswater mudflats, which are situated along the edge of Victoria Park.
 
Due to the Coronavirus Lockdown, the Castle Espie Wetland Centre, remained closed during the 2020 breeding season, so I was not able to record the breeding Black-headed Gulls there.  This winter, my two sightings prior to today, were also made on the Connswater mudflats (27th September 2020 & 22nd November 2020).  The duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 6 months and 6 days.  The distance from Castle Espie to Victoria Park, is 14 kms / 8 miles (WNW).
 
Black-headed Gull  -    2AJV   -  Victoria Park, Belfast  (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 19th June 2014, at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)
 
The juvenile metal-rung Black-headed Gull, was easily sorted.  There was no doubting that this bird had become very people friendly, as it was always the closet gull to my car.  Grabbing it's share of the bread offerings, it was easy to photograph the ring, and I was 'gob-smacked' after capturing the full ring number -   EX50401 .  The '  EX ' series of rings are quite old now, as most ringers are using '  EA ', having gone through the '  EY ' & '  EZ ' series.  Due to this, I easily remembered, that I had spotted -   EX50405 , on a juvenile BHG, back on the 5th September 2020, at Whitehead in County Antrim.    EX50505 , was later spotted by Suzanne Belshaw, after the young gull had moved inland, to Lurgan Park Lake in County Armagh.

Although I submitted my sighting of   EX50401  to the BTO, it may take a few weeks to obtain recovery details due to the Christmas Holidays.  However, there's no doubting that both juveniles were ringed on the same day, and at the same colony.  Therefore, using the details for   EX50505 ,   EX50401  , was ringed as a chick, on the 7th June 2020, at Whitaside Tarn, on the North York Hills in England.  The duration, is now 6 months and 18 days, and the distance to Victoria Park, is 250 kms / 155 miles (W).  This was a nice sighting, having recorded two juveniles this winter, both of which originated from the same breeding colony.
 
Juvenile Black-headed Gull  -    EX50401   -  Victoria Park, Belfast  (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 7th June 2020, at Whitaside Tarn, North Yorkshire, England)
 
From Victoria Park, it takes around ten minutes to get to Kinnegar Beach on Belfast Lough, which was my next stop.  Very few birds were present on my arrival, as a couple with their dog was already on the beach.  Once they departed the birds began to return, with eventually several hundreds of gulls and waders arriving.  Scoping for a good hour or more, whilst the tide was receding, not a single ring was spotted.  This was unbelievable, as I had just recorded six rings at two sites, with a minimal number of gulls present.
 
After checking the nearby pond, I slowly walked along the road towards the army camp.  Among the rocks and boulders, were a few Turnstones and Oystercatchers, and I soon spotted an Oystercatcher with a metal-ring.  Resting my camera on top of my telescope, this bird was very difficult to follow, as it wouldn't stay still.  Having taken loads of pictures, I returned to my car.  Looking through the photos before I departed, I had enough to obtain the ring number, but there was a slight problem.  The first two letters before the five numbers -   80656 , had worn away.
 
On returning home, I ran the number through the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, using several combinations for the first two letters, beginning with the usual letter 'F'.  I found one match, which was   FH80656 , which belonged to an Oystercatcher chick, ringed on the 12th June 2014.  Unfortunately, DemOn does not show the ringing locations, so I've no idea where the bird was from, other than it having been ringed within the British Isles.
 
I sent an email to the Ringing Department at the BTO, to see if they can generate a recovery for this bird.  It may takes a few weeks, due to the holiday period, but I'll publish the results once I obtain them.  Other than this sighting, this was an extremely poor visit to a beach which normally provides a few ringed birds.
 
Oystercatcher  -    FH80656   -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (25 Dec 2020)
(Waiting for the Ringing Details)
 
On leaving the shore at Kinnegar, I then drove the short distance to the Connswater Mudflats.  I came here last Sunday trying to re-sight a Black-headed Gull with a Black Darvic, which I presume, was the return of a German-rung bird recorded last winter.  Having not recorded a single bird with a ring during my previous visit, I had another go today.  The mudflats here, have over past weeks, have thrown up quite a few ring sightings, but all I spotted this time, was a metal ring on a Lapwing.  I remained for a good hour to an hour and a half without any luck.

The afternoon was quickly passing by, so I moved on again.  Whilst walking back to my car, I pondered as to where to go next.  I fancied Belfast Waterworks, the Dargan mudflats or Whiteabbey Beach, but seeing as the Waterworks was closest, I decided to go there.  By now, Belfast had come back to life, and people were beginning to appear again.  Although I might not get peace and quite at the Waterworks, I took the risk, just in case one of my study gulls might be here.  This bird is   2CSX , who has gone absent from Antrim Marina over recent weeks.

My suspicions about the Waterworks was correct, as there were lots of people, especially families present.  Finding a quiet corner, I sat down on a park bench, and began throwing down bits of bread.  I was soon surrounded by Black-headed Gulls and a few juvenile Herring Gulls.  One Black-headed Gull with a metal-ring appeared among them, but all the gulls were soon scattered by a walker, with of course - a dog.

I had to wait for peace and quite again, so I looked around the concrete platforms on the lake.  On one of these, I spotted an Orange Darvic on a Mute Swan.  With my camera, I captured the code   NLH , but knew this bird was more than likely to have been ringed here by Debbie Nelson.  Back at home, I checked my spreadsheet, to find that the swan had been ringed here as an un-sexed adult, on the 19th March 2019, by Debbie. 
 
Also on my spreadsheet, were two previous sightings which were reported to me by Suzanne Belshaw, having been made on the 28th September 2020, and on the 17th November 2020.  The duration since being ringed, is 1 year, 9 months and 6 days.
 
Mute Swan  -    NLH   -  Belfast Waterworks, Cliftonville, Belfast  (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 19th March 2019, at Belfast Waterworks)
 
Eventually, I was able to resume with the bread, and once again the metal-rung Black-headed Gull appeared.  Using my camera to take photos of the ring, was not an easy job, as this bird kept moving about.  Once I thought that I had enough to complete the number, I then tried to take one of the bird itself, but once again they were all disturbed.  I never found my gull after this, and on checking my pictures, I had completed the ring number -   EZ28165 , but on the only photo of the bird itself, it had lifted it's right leg and the ring could not be seen.

On returning home, I ran the ring number through my spreadsheet, to find a match.  The single previous sighting was made here by me, on the 18th December 2017.    EZ28165 , had been ringed as a chick, on the 21st June 2015, at Shotten, in Flintshire, Wales.  Three years have now passed since I recorded this bird, so I was well pleased with this result.  On entering the ring number onto the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, there are no other records for this gull.  The duration since being ringed, is now 5 years, 6 months and 4 days.  The distance from Shotten to the Waterworks, is 246 kms / 152 miles (NW).
 
Black-headed Gull  -    EZ28165   -  Belfast Waterworks, Cliftonville, Belfast  (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 21st June 2015, at Shotten, Flintshire, Wales)
 
I walked all the way around the lower lake at the Waterworks, throwing down bread and the Black-headed Gulls followed me all the way.  Having completed the full circuit, there was no sign of   2CSX  or any other ringed gulls.  On reaching where I had started, a family were feeding the swans, and I then noticed that one bird standing on a concrete platform, had a metal-ring.  It was very difficult to get an angle and a clear view to photograph the ring, but I did capture the number -   Z90262 .  When I went to take a picture of the bird, whose ring was on the left leg, another swan (pictured), forced my bird off the platform, so the ring cannot be seen in the photo.

  Z90262 , was ringed as a 2nd Calendar Year Male, on the 12th February 2016, at Victoria Park in Belfast.  The bird was a new sighting for me, and when I submitted my sighting on DemOn, this was the first reported sighting since being ringed.  The duration since ringing, is 4 years, 10 months and 13 days, and the distance from Victoria Park, is just 3 kms / 2 miles (NW).
 
Mute Swan  -    Z90262   -  Belfast Waterworks, Cliftonville, Belfast  (25 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a 2nd Calendar Year Male, on the 12th February 2016, at Victoria Park, Belfast)
 
By now, it was so late into the afternoon, is was not worthwhile trying any other sites.  I was still pleased with my sightings for the day, especially having recorded my target bird, the Norwegian BHG (White) J4TJ.  Guess where I'll be on next Christmas Day?
 
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Friday 25 December 2020

Busy Day...

It is now late afternoon on Christmas Day, and having just completed this post, I must wish all my readers 'A Merry Christmas'.
 
I had hoped to publish this post yesterday, but I've been running slightly behind schedual.  I lost two days this week, having promised my next door neighbour, that I would power hose the flag stones along the front of her house, and also the steps leading up to her front door.  These were two days, where I should have been working on my post.  I must admit, I had a fair old job on my hand, as those flag stones were covered with a thick layer of moss and lichens.  When finished, I was told that I was amazing, and the flag stones looked like brand new.
 
Earlier today, I headed off to the Connswater Shopping Centre in Belfast, to see if I could record my Christmas Day Gull.  With all of the shops closed, it's my best time to lure the gulls into the car park, where I try to record one particular Norwegian Black-headed Gull which is colour-ringed.  The result - I got it.  I had an interesting day in Belfast, as I also re-sighted a few others from the past, and even managed to read a few metals rings as well, some of which, are first re-sightings.  All will be revealed in my next post.
 
Now, I shall begin the process of selecting today's photos for labelling and editing, and there are plenty of metal rings that need cropped and stitched back together.  There's spreadsheet entries to complete, durations to work out, and BTO submissions to make.
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      Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina - Monday 21st December 2020       
Having managed to get out on both Saturday and Sunday, my weekly visit to Antrim Marina, was made on Monday 21st December.  Arriving just after 9am, a good number of Black-headed Gulls were already present, with most birds perched on the long wooden jetty.  The conditions were very dull with light rain, with a not too breezy wind blowing in from Lough Neagh.  To my relief, no further work was undertaken on the long wooden jetty, so the gulls were largely undisturbed.  By 11am, somewhere between 150 and 200 Black-headed Gulls were dotted around the area, which didn't help with my efforts to read the rings.  As well as the jetty, some gulls foraged for worms where the former cafe once stood.  A digger, is being used there, as the site is being turned into another car parking area, which I don't think is really neccessary.  Other gulls were standing at the car park towards the caravan site, so were too far away to watch as well.

On my previous visit, I caught and ringed a further four Black-headed Gulls, which meant I was on the lookout today, for 38 colour-ringed birds, having either being ringed or re-sighted this winter.  Of those 38 birds, I recorded 25 during my latest visit, though I'm pretty sure that I missed a few, which no doubt, were just a short distance away.

Other than that, the visit was fairly good, and the dredging operations have now moved out as far as the entrance to the Lough.  The gulls, are taking all of this in their stride quite well now, which was of great use to me.  No more returnees were recorded today, and a further four gulls were caught and ringed.  The first two were adults, now rung -   2FFP  and   2FFT , whilst the second two were juvenile/1st winter birds, rung   2FFV  and   2FFX .  Interestingly, I have yet to catch any second year birds.  Although some do come in quite close to me, they appear too wary at the moment.  I think full adults, are so used to people, they have no fear in close approach, whilst juveniles are so hungry, they take a chance.  The total for my next visit has now increased to 42 birds.
 
The three photos below, are the first to be taken of two birds ringed here last week, whilst   2FFP  was caught and ringed today.
 
Black-headed Gull  -    2FFJ   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (21 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 14th December 2020, at Antrim Marina)
 
Black-headed Gull  -    2FFL   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (21 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 14th December 2020, at Antrim Marina)
 
Black-headed Gull  -    2FFP   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (21 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, Today (21st December 2020), at Antrim Marina)
 
Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina - Monday 21st December 2020
 2AAN   2CJT   2CSB   2FDV   2ABK   2AAR   2CSA   2CSR   2FFL 
 2FDT   2CSL   2ABN   2FFA   2BRA   2FDK   2CSK   2CTC   2FDJ 
 2ABL   2FFJ   2AAK   2FFH   2CSJ   2FFC   2AAB     

Black-headed Gulls Recorded or Ringed this Autumn/Winter, but Absent on the 21st December 2020
 2AAA   2ABA   2AAV   2ABS   2ACV   2BRD   2CSX 
 2CTA   2FDP   2FDX   2FFF   2FFK   2FFN   

Black-headed Gulls Caught and Ringed During this Autumn/Winter
 2FDP   2FDT   2FDV   2FFA   2FDX   2FFC   2FFF   2FFH 
 2FFJ   2FFK   2FFL   2FFN   2FFP   2FFT   2FFV   2FFX 
 
Other Birds at Antrim Marina
The Mute Swans were a great source of interest today.  On my arrival, just six cygnets and one adult were present, the adult being a female.  Among these six cygnets, one was colour-ringed -  NJZ , whilst a second juvenile had the metal ring -   Z78580 .  At 9:40, a second pair of adults arrived in from the Lough, and five minutes later a third pair arrived from up-river along with one cygnet.  This took the total to 5 adults, and seven cygnets.  At 10:37, a further pair along with two cynets, also arrived from upriver, and one of those two cygnets was ringed -   NJY .  At this point, I conducted another head count, to find I had 9 cygnets, which was fine, but now I had 10 adults, so three had slipped in un-noticed.  Worse still, when I made another head count at midday, I missed a further two adults arriving, as I now had 12 adults and 9 cygnets.  The digger which is used to unload the silt from the barge, is obstructing my view upriver, therefore the swans are slipping in un-noticed.  None of the adults were ringed, but with an overall total of 21 swans, this is by far the highest total so far this winter.  All three ringed juveniles, mentioned above, were ringed by Debbie Nelson and Aidan Crean, on the 15th November 2020.
 
Common Gull numbers were down this week, with a maximum total of 5 adults and 1 juvenile.  The Scottish-rung female did not show up today.  The adult Herring Gull appeared very late this morning, arriving just after 11am.
 
Just 13 Mallards were counted on my arrival, and by 10am, I made a head count totalling 22 birds.  By 11am, the total had risen to just over 40 birds, which thereafter was fairly constant.
 
Other species noted, were 12 Jackdaws, 1 Hooded Crow, 1 Magpie, and a pair of Pied Wagtails.
 
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      Saturday 19th December 2020       
Saturday was a poor day weather wise, as it was very dull, and there were frequent showers of rain, some of which were prolonged.  The tides were also not in my favour, as I prefer to look for rings on a receding tide, rather than an incoming tide, as it was today.  Wondering where to go, to keep both myself and my optical equipment dry, I eventually decided to head for the Myroe Levels, at Lough Foyle in County Londonderry.  Here, I could remain in my car, and scope the Whooper Swans, Brent Geese and waders, perhaps re-sighting a few birds from past years.

Arriving at Myroe Levels, I drove slowly around the track beside the sea wall, scoping the birds as I went along.  Whooper Swans were the first birds of note, with around 100 feeding on the potatoes which had been left behind after harvesting.  Scoping through them, I spotted two with Yellow Darvics.  I easily captured the code -   L7K , on a bird fairly near to me, but failed on the more distant second bird.  I tried for that second bird later in the afternoon, but this time, there were no Darvic's to be seen at all.

As with all Whooper Swans, 'Ring Readers', no doubt hope their colour-ring sightings originate in Iceland, but good numbers are caught and ringed at British reserves in the winter, the majority by members of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.  I emailed Kane Brides to report my sighting, and in his reply, I was in for quite a surprise.    L7K , had actually been caught and ringed here in Northern Ireland, as a juvenile, on the 17th December 2019 at Toomebridge, which is also in County Londonderry.  Toomebridge is situated at the northern end of Lough Neagh, and the fields are a regular wintering haunt for Whooper Swans.

I then checked out the BTO's Online Ringing Database, to discover a few Whooper Swans are ringed in Northern Ireland each year, something I'd never looked at before.  After ringing,   L7K  was re-sighted on five occasions from the 18th January 2020, until the 8th March 2020, still at Toomebridge, after which time it had not been seen until now.  The distance between Toomebridge and the Myroe levels, is just 50 miles / 31 kms (NW), but surely the bird spent the past summer in Iceland!!  The duration since being ringed, is now 1 year and 2 days, but hopefully, I'll come across this one again in the future. 
 
Whooper Swan  -    L7K   -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (19 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 17th December 2019, at Toomebridge, Co. Londonderry)
 
Moving on further round the track, I came upon a largish flock of Brent Geese, possible numbering around 300 birds altogether.  At present, I'm not really interested in Brents, but more about that can be read below.  In the same field, which is at least the length of three football pitches, were Oystercatchers, Curlews, and away at the far end, good numbers of both Lapwings and Golden Plovers.  Scoping through the birds closest to me, no rings were spotted on the Curlews, but I did get two colour-ringed Oystercatchers.

After returning home, and checking my spreadsheet, both Oystercatchers were new sightings for me, and I knew both were from Iceland.  The first bird, ringed Red over Yellow on the left leg, with a yellow ring on the right leg, was from the beginning of the Icelandic colour-ringing study, at which time a coloured-flag was also placed onto the birds right leg.  The use of coloured-flags was dis-continued, as many of the birds managed to lose or pull off the flags, as in the case of this bird that I recorded today.  Instead, a solid coded colour-ring is used nowadays, as with my second Oystercatcher sighting below.

I emailed Böddi in Iceland, to report both sightings.  I was not really expecting a result with this first bird, seeing as it had lost it's colour-flag.  On the 22nd August 2020, I spotted an Oystercatcher at Kinnegar Beach, on Belfast Lough, which had also lost a colour-flag.  Ringed - Orange over Black, on the left leg, with an Orange ring on the right leg, Boddi explained, that there were a few possibilities for that bird, so it was not possible to say when and where it had been ringed.
 
This time I was lucky, as Böddi, was able to confirm both of my sightings.  My bird was missing a Green-flag, and was caught and ringed as a breeding male, on the 9th June 2015, at Merkjá in the south of the island.  I'm still waiting for an offical distance from the BTO, but I estimate it to be 1,189 kms / 744 miles (SE), and the duration since ringing, is 5 years, 6 months and 10 days.  My sighting of RY-GfY, was the first outside of Iceland, and the birds history can be read (here).
 
Oystercatcher  -  RY-(Gf)Y  -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (19 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Adult Breeding Male, on the 9th June 2015, at Merkjá, Fljótshlíð, Ranga., Southern Iceland)
 
My second Ostercatcher, was more straightforward.  Another first sighting outside of Iceland - Orange over White - White (TA), was ringed as a breeding adult on the 1st June 2018, at KirkjubĂłlsvöllur (golfcourse), in SW Iceland.  Again, I'm waiting for an offical distance from the BTO, but I estimate it as 1,324 kms / 822 miles (SE), and the duration since ringing, 2 years, 6 months and 18 days.  The bird has had few re-sightings, though the full history can be read (here).

My thanks goes to Böddi once again, who supplied the PDF Files for both of my Oystercatchers.
 
Oystercatcher  -  OW-W(TA)  -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (19 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 1st June 2018, at Kirkjubólsvöllur (golfcourse), SW Iceland)
 
Despite a large number of Brent Geese being present, I'm reluctant to record these nowadays, as I've been getting nothing back for more recent sightings.  Graham McElwaine, was the ringing co-ordinator for the Irish Brent Goose Research Group, but gave up that role, as a new 'Online' reporting system was supposed to go 'Live' in 2019.  Despite apologies, and links on how to report sightings, it's dis-heartening not to receive any sort of data in return.

Anyway, today I recorded 10 colour-ringed Brents, though there were far more ringed birds present.  On returning home, and checking the codes on my spreadsheet, I had seven new sightings, and three re-sightings of birds that I recorded here last January.  As for the three re-sightings, I have not received anything for these birds.  Among the seven new birds, was one bearing a metal ring, which I know would likely have been ringed in Iceland.  Brents, that are caught and ringed, on the island of Ireland, are not metal-rung.

I contacted Graham, who was able to provide details for two birds, including the Icelandic-rung - Blue (J), Yellow (Z).  B(J)Y(Z), was ringed as an un-sexed adult, on the 19th May 2015, at Jörfavegur in south-west Iceland, which is a distance of 1,302 kms / 809 miles (SE), to the Myroe Levels.  Of interest among the re-sighting history for this bird, is that most sightings had been reported on the west coast of Ireland, specifically in the counties of Galway and Sligo, as well as back home in Iceland.  The details only go back to May 2018, but at the minute, this appears to be the first time that B(J)Y(Z), has been recorded in Northern Ireland.  Hopefully, some day I'll receive some more information from those that now deal with Brent Goose sightings.  The duration since being ringed, is 5 years and 7 months exactly.  My thanks goes to Graham for providing me with some data.

I spent the whole afternoon on the levels, hoping that some of the more distant birds, especially the Lapwings and Golden Plovers, would come nearer to me.  Having been spooked on numerous occasions, these birds kept returning to the far end of the field.  Nonetheless, I was happy enough with my new ring sightings.
 
Brent Goose  -  B(J)-Y(Z)  -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (19 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 19th May 2015, at Jörfavegur, SW Iceland)
 
Despite a large number of Brent Geese being present, I'm reluctant to record these nowadays, as I've been getting nothing back for more recent sightings.  Graham McElwaine, was the ringing co-ordinator for the Irish Brent Goose Research Group, but gave up that role, as a new 'Online' reporting system was supposed to go 'Live' in 2019.  Despite apologies, and links on how to report sightings, it's dis-heartening not to receive any sort of data in return.

Anyway, today I recorded 10 colour-ringed Brents, though there were far more ringed birds present.  On returning home, and checking the codes on my spreadsheet, I had seven new sightings, and three re-sightings of birds that I recorded here last January, and I have not received anything for these birds.  Among the seven new birds, was one bearing a metal ring, which I know would likely have been ringed in Iceland.  Brents, that are caught and ringed, on the island of Ireland, are not metal-rung.

I contacted Graham, who was able to provide details for two birds, including the Icelandic-rung - Blue (J), Yellow (Z).  B(J)Y(Z), was ringed as an un-sexed adult, on the 19th May 2015, at Jörfavegur in south-west Iceland, which is a distance of 1,302 kms / 809 miles (SE), to the Myroe Levels.  Of interest among the re-sighting history for this bird, is that most sightings had been reported on the west coast of Ireland, specifically in the counties of Galway and Sligo, as well as back home in Iceland.  The details only go back to May 2018, but at the minute, this appears to be the first time that B(J)Y(Z), has been recorded in Northern Ireland.  Hopefully, some day I'll receive some more information from those that now deal with Brent Goose sightings.  The duration since being ringed, is 5 years and 7 months exactly.  My thanks goes to Graham for providing me with some data.

I spent the whole afternoon on the levels, hoping that some of the more distant birds, especially the Lapwings and Golden Plovers, would come nearer to me.  Having been spooked on numerous occasions, these birds kept returning to the far end of the field.  Nonetheless, I was happy enough with my new ring sightings.
 
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      Sunday 20th December 2020       
Today, I waited at home, until the tide was on the turn before heading off towards Belfast.  With high tide forcasted for around 3pm, I arrived on the shore of Kinnegar Beach, just after 11am.  Hardly a single bird was to be seen, due to people walking around on the beach.  Oh, I do so wish that this stretch of shoreline could be turned into a nature reserve.

My attention then turned onto the pond, over the private road that leads to an army base.  Here there were any amount of birds, and despite scoping for ages, not even a 'metal' was spotted.  With the high number of Black-headed Gulls on view, surely there had to be a foreign rung bird here I thought.  What was even worse, was the matter of serval hundreds of Black-headed Gulls on the grounds of the adjacent sewage works, and I couldn't get near to any of them.  After scoping numerous Oystercatchers and Bar-tailed Godwits as well, I left with huge disappointment.


I drove down the road to the nearby Connswater Mudflats.  A scene for several ring sightings in recent weeks, not a single ring was read here either.  The only one I did spot, was the tip of an Orange Darvic on a Black-headed Gull, just poking out of the water.  I remained here as the tide steadily crept in.  The gulls began to land on a stoney area, which is home for the lights at the beginning of the runway, for Belfast City Airport, now more commonly known, as the George Best Belfast City Airport.  I was especially hoping to spot a Black-headed Gull with a Black Darvic, seen on my last visit here.  I very much suspect, that this was a German-rung bird, recorded here last winter.  Eventually, I left, having seen no rings at all.

Whitehouse Lagoon, was my next stop.  On my arrival, the tide was steadily pouring in through the concrete pipes, which runs underneath the motorway from Belfast Lough.  Here, the Lagoon was half filled, with plenty of gulls and waders.  Among the waders, were good numbers of both Knots and Bar-tailed Godwits.  I have been keeping a watch for a Dutch-rung Bar-tailed Godwit, which over previous winters, has been spotted at Kinnegar, on the shore of Belfast Lough, and here in the Lagoon.  It struck me, that an Icelandic-rung Oystercatcher, has not been seen during my more recent visits, though I have recorded it's return this winter.

Constantly scoping through the birds, I eventually spotted a juvenile Black-headed Gull with a White Darvic.  My first thoughts, was that this was a Norwegian bird, but zooming in with my camera, the code (White) 2BVL, told me it was British-rung, as the code on both our Common and Black-headed Gulls, begin with the number '2'.  Not only that, I reckoned this was a Scottish bird, and after checking similar codes on my spreadsheet, this youngster would have come from the Broad Law colony, in the Borders Region of Scotland.

I emailed Tom Dougall, who replied to say, that (White) 2BVL, was ringed as a chick, on the 8th June 2020, at Broad Law.  My sighting was the first since being ringed, with the distance estimated at 219 kms / 136 miles (SW).  The duration from ringing, is now 6 months and 12 days.  My thanks goes to Tom for supplying me with the ringing info.

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  2BVL  -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (20 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 8th June 2020, at Broad Law, Moorfoot Hills, Borders Region, Scotland)
 
With one ring 'bagged', I continued to scope and in the distance, spotted an Orange Darvic on a Black-headed Gull.  Zooming in with my camera, I just about captured the code -   2APT .  I knew I'd seen this bird before, and on checking my spreadsheet, I last saw this one on the 10th June 2018, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down.
 
  2APT  belongs to Adam McClure's former NI project, and was ringed as a chick at Castle Espie, on the 15th June 2015.  The first re-sighting of   2APT , was made by me, on the 20th August 2016, having spotted the gull on Whiteabbey Beach, just to the north from Whitehouse Lagoon.  The next three sightings were also made by me, this time, here at the Lagoon, on the 27th August 2016, 4th September 2016, and on the 19th October 2016.  Whitehouse Lagoon, was also the scene for the next sighting of   2APT , on the 13th March 2018, when spotted by David Nixon, accompianied by Philip McHaffie.
 
On the 13th May 2018, I then recorded   2APT , as breeding at the Castle Espie Wetand Centre, where I also spotted it again in the following month.  Despite several visits to Castle Espie during the breeding season in 2019, there was no sign of   2APT , and I could not visit the site this past summer, due to the Covid lockdown.  I was well pleased with this re-sighting, which comes 5 years, 6 months and 5 days since being ringed.  The distance from Castle Espie to Whitehouse Lagoon, is 19 kms / 12 miles (NW).
 
Black-headed Gull  -    2APT   -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (20 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 15th June 2015, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)
 
I remained at Whitehouse Lagoon, until it was nearly full, and with no more rings spotted, my next stop was at Carrickfergus.  By now, it was high tide on the coast, and a quick look for a Norwegian-rung Black-headed Gull at Rhanbouy Park was a waste of time, as there was hardly a gull in sight.  Moving on to Carrickfergus Harbour, I recorded two more of Adam's Black-headed Gulls -   2ADB  &   2ADD .
 
These two, are the only surviving birds from a handful that was ringed at the harbour during the early days of Adam's former NI BHG Study.    2ADD  is known to breed on Lough Neagh, where it can often be seen at Antrim Marina during the summer months.  Prior to the breeding season, and just after the season has ended,   2ADD , would frequent Antrim's KFC outlet for a couple of weeks.  I have suspected that   2ADB , actually breeds in Carrickfergus, at a derelict site just behind the town's Lidl shopping centre.  The Covid lockdown, prevented me from going to the site during the past breeding season.
 
  2ADB  &   2ADD , were both ringed at Carrickfergus Harbour in November 2013.  Ringed four days apart, their durations are 7 years and 25 days, and 7 years and 21 days respectively. 
 
Black-headed Gull  -    2ADB   -  Carrickfergus Harbour, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (20 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 25th November 2013, at Carrickfergus Harbour)
 
Black-headed Gull  -    2ADD   -  Carrickfergus Harbour, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (20 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 29th November 2013, at Carrickfergus Harbour)
 
My final stop for the day, was at the Carrickfergus Leisure Centre, where I was trying once again, to record another one of Adam's Black-headed Gulls -   2CPS .  During my previous visit, I recorded my second sighting of this winter of the Norwegian-rung BHG -   JZ01 .  As I had no bread with me, it was nigh impossible to gather birds around me, and I had to wait on other people arriving with some bread.  One couple did arrive, but I don't know why they even bothered, as they hadn't enough to even fill a 'hole in your tooth'.  There were loads of Black-headed Gulls present, but most remained on the waters of the pond.  One eceptionally friendly Common Gull, is a bird that I'm sure had a metal-ring at one time.  It has no doubt fallen off, as there was a large gap between the 'ring butts'.

I left empty handed, but my attempts to re-sight   2CPS , was answered two days later, when I received an email from Paul McCullough.  On the 22nd December, not only did Paul record   2ADB  at Carrickfergus Harbour, he also spotted   2CPS , at the Leisure Centre.  This was excellent news, as another bird now joins this winter's list of re-sightings.    2CPS , was ringed as a chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Reserve, here in County Antrim.  The sighting is my tenth record for   2CPS , with all sightings having been made here at the Leisure Centre.  Paul also made the first ever sighting of the gull as a juvenile, on the 27th November 2017.  The gull has been recorded at least twice every year since.
 
Blue Circle Island, lies 12 kms / 7 miles (N) from the Leisure Centre, and the duration, is now 3 years, 6 months and 6 days, since being ringed.  My thanks goes to Paul for reporting the two gulls, along with the photos.

Black-headed Gull  -    2CPS   -  Carrickfergus Leisure Centre, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (22 Dec 2020)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Reserve, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim)
(Photo Courtesy of Paul McCullough)
 
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