Surviving....

I've managed to keep abreast of matters this week, despite receiving a multitude of emails.  This is another lengthy post, which has seen a number of colour-ringed birds having been recorded here in Northern Ireland for the first time, as well as re-sightings of previously known birds.  I particularly like these re-sightings, as they add more time onto longevities, and there will be loads more of them during the coming winter months.

 

The downside of all these re-sightings, is that it becomes more difficult to present a full re-sighting history in my posts, as they would take up far too much space.  My 'Ring Reading Spreadsheet', where I keep all records of ringing and re-sightings, is now approaching 15,500 records in all.  I'm always bragging on about time, but time is what I'm really short off.

 

I need to get into the field myself, to find material for my posts, which is boosted with sightings from other observers.  Every sighting goes onto my main Ring Reading Spreadsheet, but then some of these sightings are duplicated across onto my Rathlin Island Common Gull Spreadsheet, my new Northern Ireland Common Gull Database, my Antrim Marina Black-headed Gull Spreadsheet, and the continuation of Adam McClure's Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Database.

Every photo has to be chosen, labelled and then edited (cutting, cropping, re-sizing rings, and pasted back onto the original photo).  All these photos are then moved from either my downloads, or picture folders, into a folder unique to each bird, this, only after the photos are added onto my blog post.  I submit every re-sighting onto the BTO's DemOn ringing database, and then the links to those recoveries are added to my main spreadsheet as 'hyer-links'.  Durations for every sighting has to be worked out, as well as in some instances distances from ringing to recovery sites.  A constant flow of emails need replying to, and last of all, I have to write up onto my post before publishing.

 

At work, I have applied to drop a day, from a five to a four day working week, but I've requested this by an unusual route.  Each evening (Mon to Fri), starting at 7pm, we work a seven and a half hour shift, with a half hour tea break in the middle, and would therefore finish at 3am in the morning.  By the time I reach home, have some downtime, 5:30 or even 6am comes quickly, but this is 'my time' where I try to avoid anything to do with birdwatching.  I have requested to keep on working over the five nights, but finish at 1:30am, which would see me losing the seven and a half hours over the week, which equates to the length of one shift.  Gaining the new found time, will be immense, as I can get up earlier each day to work on my material - 'the things we have to do'.  On the whole, I do not go through a lot of money, and to be fair, I will not miss a day's wage.  I don't do holidays as such, and when I do use my holidays - guess what - I just go out birdwatching or ring reading.  This is far more enjoyable, than lying on an exotic beach with nothing to do but laze about.

 

Yep, time is something that I need more of, but I'm always happy to see the posts published, as we can read about our 'Ringed' friends here in Northern Ireland.  It is great to be able to follow some of these birds throughout their lives, and their comings and goings.  Just think, while most of us are nice and snug at home over the winter months, these critters are out in all weathers just to survive for another day, and then waiting patiently for the drive of the breeding season to begin.  For them, survival and reproduction is what's it all about.

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Antrim Marina - Monday 30th August 2021

Today saw the fourth of my Autumn/Winter weekly visits to Antrim Marina, but I would have probably been better staying in my bed.  Having delivered my wife to her work first, I arrived at the Marina at 09:05.  The morning throughout, was clear and sunny, with a slight south-easterly breeze.  Around 30 Black-headed Gulls were already present, with most perched on the long wooden jetty.  However, as time passed by, numbers never exceeded the 40 mark, which made for a very boring visit.  Things were not helped too much, as several people arrived including kids, and some spent ages paddle-boarding along the length of the Marina, which the gulls did not like at all.

Most of the gulls that were present, decided to rest up on the roof of the 'Gateway Centre', and I had no clue as to how many birds were up there, and worse still, I could not see 'legs'.  Having already recorded a total of 25 colour-ringed individuals over the previous weeks, at 10:53, my sixth sighting of the day was another to be added to the list -   2FDT .  There were far too many people about, especially with children, which was likely to be a 'knock on' effect, as this was a Bank Holiday weekend, and some folk were off work today.  I departed at midday, having recorded just 13 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, and there were 13 absentees.

 

  2FDT , was caught and ringed as a juvenile/1st winter bird at Antrim Marina, on the 9th November 2020.  Over the following weekly visits, I recorded the young gull on 10 occasions, with my final sighting having been made on the 4th January 2021, which was when the second 'Coronavirus Lockdown' kicked in.  With the easing of restrictions in early April, this bird was not re-sighted again until today.    2FDT , is now the 9th of the 18 Black-headed Gulls that were caught and ringed last winter, to now been re-sighted during this autumn and winter season.  Good to see that another juvenile has survived this far, and the duration since being ringed, is now 9 months and 21 days.  The photo of -   2FDT  in it's juvenile plumage was taken on the same day that it was ringed, and I wonder where it spent it's summer holidays!!!

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2FDT    - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (30 Aug 2021)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 9th November 2020, at Antrim Marina)

 

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 30th August 2021

2CSB	2CJT	2CTC	2FFF	2ACV	2FDT	2AAN
2ABN	2FFL	2FHC	2CSR	2FFJ	2FHA

Black-headed Gulls Recorded This Winter but Absent Today

2AAA	2AAK	2ABK	2AAB	2ABL	2ABS	2BRA
2CSA	2CSJ	2FDK	2FFA	2FFP	2FFX

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On my arrival, pairs of both Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were present, with all but one of the Lesser Black-backed's being present throughout today's visit.  They perched on the roof of the Gateway Centre, but later in the morning, the Lesser Black-backed spotted a large dead fish on the river.  Managing to bring it ashore by the slipway, it hammered into the fish with it's beak and had a really good feed.  Not a single Common Gull appeared today, and a juvenile Herring Gull landed on the small Sandy Beach, at 10:40, but was off again around 10 minutes later.

Not a single swan ventured near the Marina today, though 10 adults were noticed swimming from left to right past the distant breakwater, and a short time later, made the return trip from right to left.  Mallards numbered around 40 birds on my arrival, with numbers having steadily increased to around the 80 mark by the time of my departure.  Today, there was no sign of the last remaining late season ducklings.  After each visit, the numbers went from three, to two, and now none.  It has been a very long time now since I have recorded a metal-rung Mallard.  I can only assume, that the County Monaghan Gun Clubs, do not ring chicks before releasing them into the wild any more.

Other species included 8 Jackdaws and a single Magpie.  A juvenile Hooded Crow tried to have a go at the dead fish near the slipway, but to many people were walking about, though this did not deter the Lesser Black-backed Gull, which returned time after time, once the coast was clear.

 

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Saturday 28th August 2021

Having got up, and carrying out a few chores this morning, I headed out in the early afternoon knowing that high tide was forecasted for around 4pm.  The plan, was to visit Whitehead first, move southwards to Carrickfergus and back north again, to hopefully finish up at Carnlough.  This worked well until I reached Glynn on the shore of Larne Lough.  Having spent far, far longer than I had intended at Glynn, I finished the afternoon at Sandy Bay in Larne, by which time, a sea fog rolling down the coast was becoming thicker and thicker, so I never made it to Glenarm or Carnlough.

Stopping at Whitehead first, I was hoping to get good views of Terns, seeing as the tide would see them being pushed closer to the seafront, but when I arrived, there was hardly a bird of any sort to be seen.  The whole seafront was buzzing with people, including walkers, people fishing and swimmers.
 

With nothing to be got here, I then drove south to Carrickfergus Harbour.  Here too, I had the same problem with there being far to many people about, and even the wooden framework just over the harbour wall saw no high tide roosting gulls.  At the harbour, I was hoping to re-sighting two Black-headed Gulls in particular, these being -   2ADB  &   2ADD .  I hung around for a good half hour, and on realising that nothing was going to turn up, I then headed off inland to the Mill Ponds at Carrickfergus Leisure Centre.

 

My target here, was to re-sight a Northern Ireland, and a Norwegian Black-headed Gull.  On my arrival, I could see loads of gulls flying about, as some folk had just fed the birds here.  On walking over with a loaf of bread at hand, I soon had plenty of gulls and Greylag Geese around me begging for a feed.  Within feet from me, was -   2CPS , the first of my two targets.

 

Today's sighting of -   2CPS , is the 11th record to go onto my spreadsheet.  This bird clearly winters here every year, but a lack of visits by ring readers, means this bird has been under-recorded at this site.    2CPS , is a bird from Adam McClure's former NI project, and was ringed as a chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Reserve, on Larne Lough in County Antrim.  All 11 re-sightings have been made here at the Leisure Centre, which lies 12 kms / 7 miles (S) from Blue Circle Island.

 

Yearly sightings are :- November & December 2017, January, February and August 2018, February (x2) and September 2019, January & December 2020, and today's sighting.  The duration since being ringed, is now 4 years, two months and 12 days.  This re-sighting, though not spectacular, adds to the longevity of the bird, which is one of my main aims for all ring re-sightings.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2CPS   -  Carrickfergus Leisure Centre, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (28 Aug 2021)

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

 

Looking through the rest of the gulls for the Norwegian bird with it's Green Darvic, there was no sign of it, but after a while I noticed a juvenile Black-headed Gull with a White Darvic.  I had no trouble photographing this youngster, and when I read the code - (White) 2503, I knew straight away that this little fella belonged to the Lough Ree Gull Ringing Project in County Longford, Republic of Ireland.

 

On returning home, I emailed Brian Burke, to report my sighting, along with that of a second bird from the project, which I recorded later that afternoon.  Brian replied on Sunday morning to say that - (White) 2503, had been ringed on the 17th June 2021, on Goats Island on Lough Ree, and this was the first re-sighting of the gull.  Brian gave the distance as being 189 kms / 117 miles (NE) to reach the Mill Ponds.  The duration since ringing, was 2 months and 11 days.

 

This is the second juvenile from the project to be recorded in Northern Ireland of late, which were ringed as chicks at Lough Ree during this past summer.  On the 10th July, James McDowell recorded - (White) 2461, on the Bann Estuary at Castlerock in County Londonderry, with that bird having been ringed on Goats Island on the same day as - (White) 2503.

 

My thanks to Brian for his speedy reply, along with the ringing details.

 

Juvenile Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  2503  -  Carrickfergus Leisure Centre, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (28 Aug 2021)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 17th June 2021, at Goats Island, Lough Ree, Co. Longford, R. of Ireland)

 

Now heading back north again, I stopped by Whitehead for a second time.  Not a great deal had changed, as there were few birds about, so it was on again, my next stop being Glynn on the shore of Larne Lough.  Wow, so many birds!!!  Loads of gulls, with smaller numbers of waders and a splattering of both Common and Sandwich Terns.  Surely, there had to be rings here, but after an hour or more of scoping, I was becoming increasingly frustrated, and whilst I was scoping one particular bunch of Common Gulls, a colour-ringed Sandwich Tern landed in front of me.

How obliging was that.  Zooming in with my camera, I just about captured the code -   UCV .  On returning home, I checked the code against my spreadsheet, to find no matches.  I then went onto the cr-birding website, to find the bird belonged to Chris Redfern.  Emailing Chris, I received a reply on Sunday evening.

  UCV , had been ringed as a chick, on the 14th June 2014, on Inner Farne Island, The Farne Islands in Northumberland, England.  I submitted the sighting to the BTO, but as yet, I have not had a reply, so  I estimate the distance as being roughly 277 kms / 172 miles (WSW) from the Farne Islands, with the duration since being ringed, now 7 years, 2 months and 14 days.

Previous re-sighting of -   UCV , have been at :- Formby Beach, Liverpool, England (Jul 2017), Coquet Island, Northumberland, England (Aug 2017), Curragh Rock, Co. Waterford, R. of Ireland (Sep 2017), RSPB Hodbarrow, Cumbria, England (May 2018), Coquet Island (June 2018) and at Kingsbarn, Fife, Scotland (May 2020).  My thanks goes to Chris for the ringing and re-sighting history fo this bird.

 

Sandwich Tern  -    UCV   -  Glynn, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim  (28 Aug 2021)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 14th June 2014, on Inner Farne Island, Northumberland, England)

 

Things were beginning to look up, as soon afterwards, I spotted a Black-headed Gull with a White Darvic.  Again, I took a photo from distance, as I was on the railway platform of Glynn station, and managed to capture the code on a second Lough Ree bird to be recorded today, this one being - (White) 2066.

Having contacted Brian Burke about both my sightings, Brian commented, that it was rare for two of their birds to be reported by the same person on the same day.  The was another first re-sighting, with the gull having been ringed as a chick, on the 10th June 2019, on Goats Island, Lough Ree in County Longford, Republic of Ireland.  Brian calculated the distance as being 196 kms / 121 miles (NE), and the duration since being ringed, now being 2 years, 2 months and 18 days.  Again, my thanks goes to Brian for supplying all of the details.

 

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  2066  -  Glynn, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim  (28 Aug 2021)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 10th June 2019, on Goats Island, Lough Ree, Co. Longford, R. of Ireland)

 

With around 200 Common Gulls present on the foreshore at Glynn, surely one or two of my Rathlin Island birds had to be here.  Having already captured two colour-ringed birds, time was quickly running out, as the incoming fog was beginning to thicken.  I was about to head home, when at last, I scoped a Blue Darvic.  Zooming in with my camera, I captured the code -   2BSC , and was fairly confident that I had recorded the same bird here in the past.

On returning home and checking my spreadsheet, my suspicions were correct.    2BSC , was ringed as a chick, on the 29th June 2019, at the Arkill Bay colony on Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim.  The then juvenile, was still on Rathlin Island, on the 7th December 2019, when spotted by Ric Else who formerly worked with the RSPB on Rathlin.

The second re-sighting occurred on the 28th June 2020, when Gillian McCormick spotted -   2BSC  at Sandy Bay in Larne, which is just a few kilometres north of Glynn, where I first spotted this bird, on the 26th September 2020.  Today's latest sighting at Glynn, takes the duration since being ringed, to 2 years, 1 month and 30 days.  Glynn, on Larne Lough, lies 56 kms / 34 miles (SSE) from Rathlin Island.

  2BSC , will be of breeding age next summer, so hopefully it will return to Rathlin Island to find a nest site.  At least for now, it's good to know that it is still alive.

 

Common Gull  -    2BSC   -  Glynn, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim  (28 Aug 2021)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 29th June 2019, at Arkill Bay, Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim)

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Sunday 29th August 2021

As mentioned in my previous post, I spent last weekend working on data concerning ringing or ring sightings of birds at the Castle Espie Wetland Reserve in County Down, which had been requested by the head warden Ross McIlwrath.  On meeting Ross at Castle Espie during the summer, I said I would do this in July, once the breeding season draws to an end.  However, between one thing and another, I had been kept busy, so I had to 'draw the line' and get this done.

 

So my priority today, was to deliver the memory stick to Castle Espie, and following that, I would head off to Millisle to hopefully record some more ringed Common Gulls.  On my way to Castle Espie, I first of all, called by Whitehouse Lagoon and Kinnegar Beach, situated on opposite sides of Belfast Lough.  As the tide was on it's way in, I though that I had a good chance of reading a ring or two.  Kinnegar Beach, was especially packed out with both gulls and waders, but no rings were spotted.

 

Moving on to Castle Espie, I delivered the memory stick at reception, and then went onto the reserve for a quick look around.  There were very few birds about, and the tide was still well out from the hide overlooking Strangford Lough.  Scoping from the hide, I did spot one very distant colour-ringed Black-headed Gull.  Zooming out with my camera, which has a very long reach right into digital mode, I captured a 'hazy' looking code which looked to be -   2ARL .  Having said that, I will not except my own sighting as 100%, though you can just about make out the characters on the ring.  On my spreadsheet, this sighting will be entered in 'Grey', which is used for partial ring numbers and numbers or codes that are not confirmed.

 

Just for the sake of it,   2ARL , was ringed as a chick at Castle Espie, on the 15th June 2015.  The last of five previous re-sightings of the gull, was made by Suzanne Belshaw, when she reported -   2ARL , on the 31st August 2020, the gull being at Islandhill car park, which is only a short distance away from the Castle Espie Reserve.  The other four sightings were made on the reserve in May 2018 (x2), and in April 2019 (x2).  The duration as of today, would be 6 years, 2 months and 14 days.   

Black-headed Gull  -      2ARL   -  WWT Castle Espie Wetland Reserve, Co. Down  (29 Aug 2021)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 15th June 2015, at Castle Espie)

After my 'lightening' visit at Castle Espie, I then proceeded to the seafront at Millisle.  Although the tide was at or pretty much at high tide, very few gulls were present.  The whole area was buzzing with people, and a few people were out swimming and a couple of Jet Ski's very buzzing about.  A small group of Common Gulls were on a tiny bit of the beach well away from any people.  One had a colour-ring in poor condition, and on zooming in with my camera, the bird was -   2ADX .

  2ADX , was ringed as a chick, on the 1st June 2010, on Big Copeland Island, situated 8 kms / 5 miles to the north of Millisle.  My sighting today, is the 28th re-sighting record on my spreadsheet, with all but one, having been recorded here on the Millisle seafront.  The one exception occurred on the 30th May 2021, as I I discovered -   2ADX , on a nest on Big Copeland Island, and therefore confirmed the bird as a breeder back at it's natal colony for the first time.  The duration since being ringed, is now 11 years, 2 months and 28 days.  Looking at the ring, which is now extremely poor condition, a lengthy crack can be seen and I would doubt that the ring will remain in place for much longer.

Common Gull  -    2ADX   -  Millisle Seafront, Drumfad Bay, Co. Down  (29 Aug 2021)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 1st June 2010, on Big Copeland Island, The Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

At this time, I was tempted to travel on south towards Portavogie, but instead, headed back towards Belfast to make a second visit to Whitehouse Lagoon.  Except for an exceptionally high tide, parts of the Lagoon would remain clear of water, with birds at high tide being far closer to hand.

Two birds that have frequently been recorded here over the years, is a Black-headed Gull from Poland, and an Oystercatcher from Iceland.  Recently, I have tried to record the return of both birds without any luck.  However, on today's second visit to the Lagoon, I got the Oystercatcher - GW-GfN.  Originally, this Oystercatcher was ringed with a combination of colour-rings and a colour-flag - Green over White on the left leg, and Green Flag over Niger/Black on the right leg.  Over the years since being ringed, the Green Flag has fallen off, whilst the plain Green ring, had slipped inside of the plain White Ring.

GW-GfN, was ringed as an un-sexed breeding adult, on the 5th June 2015, at Mjóanef in Southern Iceland.  The first ever re-sighting of the bird was made by me here at Whitehouse Lagoon, on the 6th September 2015.  This Oystercatcher has been recorded wintering here every year since, and over the years, there have been many summer sightings of the bird back in Iceland.

 

Having contacted Boddi about my latest sighting, he replied to say that the database has not been fully updated with this summer's sightings, but he had personally recorded - GW-GfN, back on it's nesting territory on the 4th May 2021.  My thanks goes to Boddi for the info, and I'm looking forwards to receiving an updated account.

 

The duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 2 months and 24 days, with the distance from Iceland to Whitehouse Lagoon, being 1,294 kms / 804 miles (SE).  My spreadsheet, now has 41 re-sighting records for this bird.

Oystercatcher  -  GW-GfN  -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (29 Aug 2021)

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

Despite a large number of Black-headed Gulls present, there was no sign of the Polish-rung bird, and my attention was drawn to a large number of mixed Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits, which were in a large roosting 'huddle' in the distance.  Constantly scoping through these, I eventually spotted a colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwit standing on one leg.  It was standing at the back of the 'huddle', and I could see Red over Blue on the bird's left tibia.  I knew there should be more colour-rings on the right leg, but after nearly two hours of watching, I never got to view the other leg.  By this time, the tide was going out again, but my bird remained static.  Eventually, as the light began to fade with the night drawing in, I had to give up on that bird.

Despite the disappointment here, I fared better with other Black-tailed Godwits, as I spotted a couple of colour-ringed birds among them.  At first, they too, were standing on one leg, with at least two sporting a solid Orange rings that had two black bars.  As the tide began to recede, they began to move about, and I was able to photograph the hidden colour-rings.

Two birds were confirmed, but I was not so sure about a third.  This third bird appeared to have White over Green, and I wondered if the distance and light conditions, made a Yellow ring, look White.  Having said that, I may well have recorded three birds.

Here at home, I have a copy of the 'International Wader Study Ringing Database', but looking through it, I was unsure about the solid Orange Rings, and decided to contact Richard de Feu, who is an expert concerning colour-ringed waders.  As always, Richard replied in no time at all.  He stated the these Godwit's were ringed in Northern Ireland, and he had copied in Pete Potts into the reply, which means that these rings are registered to him.  However, I reckon another person is involved with these rings, and if my suspicions are true, it may be extremely difficult to get any ringing data.

 

Richard went on to say that one of the Godwits - YG-O(=), was spotted in Lancashire, England, back in July.  I have already submitted my three birds to the BTO, so I'll have to wait on the outcome.

 

It is now Friday afternoon, and I'm almost ready to publish this post.  A short time ago, three emails had arrived with me from the BTO.  I was copied in, to three requests for ringing information concerning my three Godwit sightings.  Clearly, the ringing info has not been submitted to the BTO, hence the request.  Having said that, I did receive an email from Pete Potts last night requesting a Grid Reference or the co-ordinates of Whitehouse Lagoon, so perhaps I'll receive the ringing information sooner than I had bargained for.

Black-tailed Godwit  -  GG-O(=)  -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (29 Aug 2021)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details)

Black-tailed Godwit  -  YG-O(=)  -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (29 Aug 2021)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details)

Black-tailed Godwit  -  WG-O(=)  -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (29 Aug 2021)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details)

Black-tailed Godwit  -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (29 Aug 2021)

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From Jonathan Clark

Whilst I was editing my photos on Sunday evening, an email came in from Jonathan Clarke.  Jonathan and I, met each other at the Castle Espie Wetland Reserve during the summer, with Jonathan having previously reported several Black-headed Gull colour-ring sightings at the site, which belonged to Adam McClure's former NI project.  At the time, it was good to add another face to the name.

On this occasion, Jonathan was reporting on a colour-ringed juvenile Common Gull, which he spotted on the seafront at Ballyholme in County Down.  I caught and ringed -   2HBK , as a chick, on the 13th June 2021, on Big Copeland Island in County Down.  That particular visit, was the first of three planned visits to ring chicks, and on that first visit, I had ringed 19 of the largest chicks that I could find, before I ran into problems.

I was confronted by whom I believed was the island's gamekeeper, and he challenged me about having authorisation to be on the island.  Having explained that the owner of the island, had given me permission to visit at any time, things had changed, as the son was now in charge of who visits the island, and of course, I did not have his permission.  I had to stop my activities that day, and as I could not find a way of getting in touch with the son, I had to cancel my second two visits.

Jonathan's sighting of -   2HBK , is the first of those 19 chicks to have been sighted since being ringed.  The duration since ringing, is 2 months and 16 days, and the distance from Big Copeland Island to Ballyholme, is roughly 7 kms / 4 miles (W).  My thanks goes to Jonathan for this sighting along with a great looking photograph.

 

Juvenile Common Gull  -    2HBK   -  Ballyholme, Co. Down  (29 Aug 2021)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 13th June 2021, on Big Copeland Island, The Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

(Photo Courtesy of Jonathan Clarke)

 

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From Suzanne Belshaw

Suzanne Belshaw has been in touch again, offering up her latest ring sightings.  The first two of these, belonged to Herring Gulls spotted near her home in Lisburn, Co. Antrim.  The re-sighting of -   GY32513 , is Suzanne's second for this bird, having first recorded the bird, on the 16th May 2021.    GY32513 , was ringed as a chick, on the 12th July 2020, on Lighthouse Island in County Down, which is home to Copeland Bird Observatory.  The duration since ringing, is now 1 year, 1 month and 3 days.  The distance from the CBO, is 40 kms / 24 miles (WSW).

 

Herring Gull  -    GY32513   -  Drumbeg Drive, Lisburn, Co. Antrim  (15 Aug 2021)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 12th July 2020, on Lighthouse Island, The Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

The second bird, was described by Suzanne as being a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull, though I have submitted the sighting as a Herring Gull.  This one bore the metal-number -   GY32604 , and this young gull would have been ringed this summer.  On entering the number on the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, I could see that the ringing information, has yet to be submitted to the BTO.  They will now have to contact the ringer/project lead, for these details.  It seems likely, that this is a Copeland-rung bird, but we will have to wait for more information.

 

Herring Gull  -    GY32604   -  Drumbeg Drive, Lisburn, Co. Antrim  (29 Aug 2021)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

Black-headed Gull -   2ACP , was one of the earliest Black-headed Gulls to be ringed, which belongs to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Project.  The bird was caught and ringed, as an un-sexed adult, on the 9th February 2013, at Sprucefield Shopping Centre car park, just outside of Lisburn in County Antrim.  Suzanne's latest sighting, is now the 29th record for the gull on my spreadsheet.  Over the year's, the gull has been recorded at least once every year, with all re-sightings except for three, having been made at the Sprucefield Shopping Centre.  The three exceptions, were at or close to Suzanne's home in Lisburn itself.  Good to hear that this one is still going strong, and the duration since ringing, is now 8 years, 6 months and 10 days.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2ACP   -   Sprucefield Shopping Centre, Lisburn, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2021)

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

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

 

Also included in Suzanne's email, was Black-headed Gull -   250B , and Mute Swan -   NLB , though there was no photos included for them.  In my post '30 Hour Day', which was published on the 7th August 2021, I dealt with a number of Suzanne's previous colour-ring sightings which included Black-headed Gull -   250B .  The bird had returned to the Sprucefield Shopping Centre Car Park, having last been recorded there on the 7th July 2020.  Suzanne made two re-sightings of the gull in July this year, having spotted the bird on the 22nd & 28th July 2021.  The latest sightings made by Suzanne, were recorded on the 11th & 25th August 2021, the 25th having been the latest date that the gull has ever been recorded at Sprucefield before moving on.

It seems that -   250B  uses Sprucefield as a staging point before heading off to it's wintering site, wherever that may be.  The bird was ringed as a chick, on the 6th June 2008, at Lough Mask in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland.  The gull has over the years, been recorded back at Lough Mask in the breeding season, before heading towards Sprucefield which is a movement of 232 kms / 144 miles (ENE), post breeding season.  As mentioned, the wintering site is unknown, but the continuation of the line drawn from Lough Mask through Sprucefield, could see the gull wintering in Dumfries & Galloway in Scotland.  Back in 2016, there was a run of four re-sightings at Sprucefield from the 17th February to the 4th March, which clearly showed that the bird was staging there again before moving back home to Lough Mask.  These have been the only spring re-sightings to have been recorded over the years.  Suzanne's sighting on the 25th August 2021, takes the duration since being ringed, to 13 years, 2 months and 19 days. 

 

There have been no spectacular movements of Mute Swan -   NLB .  The bird was ringed as an adult male, on the 2nd March 2019, at Hillsborough Park Lake in County Down.  Suzanne's latest sighting is the fifth record of the swan at the lake, and was made on the 19th August 2021.  The previous re-sighting was also made by Suzanne, on the 28th February 2021.  Clearly a resident on the lake, the duration since being ringed, is 2 years, 5 months and 17 days.

 

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