New 'One Leg'...

Having stayed at home last weekend as a 'knock on' from having received my 'Booster Jab', I still undertook my weekly visit to Antrim Marina.  One problem that I've noticed having had my jabs, is that I seem to tire far more easily.  My first jab was ok, but the second and the booster both made me feel really unwell, though only for a day or two.

 

I'm still working on my old laptop, and progress with my new laptop is slow, mainly as I am struggling to find the time to work with it.  I have thousands of photos, files etc., to transfer, but Rome was not built in a day as they say.  I really need everything in the one place, as to be able to work more efficiently, so hopefully this will not take too long.

 

How is it, that when a new laptop is purchased, my existing laptop is suddenly working far better than in recent months.  Having damaged the lid due to a seized hinge, it has been a few weeks now since the last time the screen froze, which meant a forced close down and restart.  Another saying - 'Sods Law'.

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Antrim Marina - Monday 24th January 2022

Today's visit to Antrim Marina saw very calm conditions, dry, sunny and practically no wind.  Just 22 Black-headed Gulls were present on my arrival, and I was on the lookout for 54 colour-ringed birds, with 15 of them having been ringed this winter.  Today was also going to be my last chance this winter to ring new gulls, as I am in the process of changing my ringing trainer.  My current trainer is retiring from ringing, so I was going to have to look for another trainer.  I did not even get a chance to find someone, when an email arrived from Richard Donaghey.  Richard is a member of the Causeway Ringing Group here in Northern Ireland, as was my current trainer - John Clarke.  Richard was willing to take me on as my new 'A' ringer, which I was quick to accept.  

 

As a 'C' Permit holder, any metal rings I use, are registered to an 'A' ringer, and once used, the ringing details have to be submitted through their DemOn Ringing Account.  This past weekend, I provided Richard with a list of rings that I am holding, which range from size 'AA' for warblers, through to 'M', used on the likes of Mute Swans.  Those rings will now have to be transferred from John's account, to Richard's account, therefore until I receive confirmation of the change, it will perhaps be wiser not to ring any more birds in the meantime.  While this is ongoing, we are at that time of year, where permit's have to be renewed to cover us from March 2022 until March 2023.

My last attempt at catching new gulls, saw me catching one bird, only to realise that it was already ringed.  More often than not, when gulls slip through between the legs of the swans, it is not possible to see if they have already been ringed.  I did not even take the time to see which gull I had caught (Blue Darvic), I released it again immediately.

 

On the whole, this was another disappointing visit, as overall numbers of Black-headed Gulls did not quite reach the hundred mark, though colour-ringed birds were clearly coming and going, so others therefore were doing likewise.  If all had stayed, numbers may have topped the 150 mark.  Recording the colour-rings, was a long drawn out affair, as new arrivals appeared at a very slow rate.  Having arrived at 9:15, the first ring read was that of -   2FIF .  This gave me my chance to obtain my first photo for this bird.    2FIF , was caught and ringed here on the 29th November 2021, and it' first re-sighting was made on the 3rd December 2021, and I later realised that I did not have a photo of the gull.  Having made a note,   2FIF , was not seen again until today, so I now have my photo.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2FIF   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (24 Jan 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 29th November 2021, at Antrim Marina)

 

My 27th, and final sighting, was that of -   2FIA  at 12:15.  I departed from the Marina at 12:40, leaving me with 27 absentees.  My star bird at present is -   2FDJ , which was spotted in eastern Estonia in April (4th) of last year.  The gull was present today, but I'm keeping a close watch on this bird, as it may depart any time soon.  Last year, on it's way to Estonia,   2FDJ  was spotted in Motherwell in Scotland on the 5th February, and then recorded on the 11th, 13th and 14th February in Kilmarnock, Scotland.  If these dates are anything to go by, the gull may well have 'itchy feet' or should I say 'wings'.

 

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 24th January 2022

2FIF	2AAB	2BRA	2ABK	2CTC	2ABL	2FDK	2CJT	2FHL
2AAK	2FFA	2FDT	2FFF	2CSA	2CSK	2FFL	2FDJ	2FHC
2AAN	2ABS	2FIH	2ACV	2FHP	2CSB	2CSL	2AAA	2FIA

Black-headed Gulls Recorded or Ringed at Antrim Marina This Autumn/Winter but Absent Today

2AAR	2ABA	2ABN	2AFD	2BRD	2CSJ	2CSR	2CSX	2CTA
2FDV	2FFC	2FFJ	2FFN	2FFP	2FFT	2FFX	2FHA	2FHF
2FHH	2FHJ	2FHK	2FHN	2FHT	2FHV	2FHX	2FIC	2FIJ

When I first started reading rings here at Antrim Marina which was way back in September 2013, there was a Black-headed Gull with just one leg (left leg), which I named 'One Leg'.  I used to take pity on that bird as it could not compete on the ground with other gulls trying to grab bread being thrown down to the ducks.  With every visit, I would throw bread into the air for 'One Leg', until it could take no more.  'One Leg' returned to the Marina every winter, but eventually the bird failed to return, hence I knew it had died.

Two weeks ago, I had another one legged Black-headed Gull here, this one also being left-legged.  Last week, saw the bird hovering by my car window, waiting for me to throw out bread, and here it was again today.  As with my original 'One Leg', it cannot cope in crowds, so my new found friend is now being fed by hand.  The bird is obviously benefiting from being at the Marina, so it will be interesting to see if it remains for the remainder of this winter, and perhaps return after the summer.

 

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Once again, there were plenty of Mute Swans present when I arrived this morning.  A quick count gave me 14 White birds and 4 cygnets.  At some point, a further two birds slipped in unnoticed which took the overall total to 20 birds.  I'm pretty sure that all legs were checked for rings, and the now usual two rings were read -   Z78574  and   Z78580 .

 

  Z78574 , first appeared at the Marina, on the 3rd January 2022, and today was it's fourth weekly re-sighting.  It was ringed as a juvenile at Ballyronan, Co. Londonderry on the 8th November 2020.  Ballyronan, lies 20 kms / 12 miles (W), from Antrim Marina.

 

  Z78580 , was ringed here at the Marina as a juvenile, on the 15th November 2020, and was recorded until the 26th April 2021.  The bird arrived back at Antrim Marina on the 6th December 2021, and has been recorded during most weekly visits since.

 

Mallard numbers were again very low.  Last week, no a single bird was present on my arrival, and today, just one female was present.  Numbers slowly built up to a high of around 40 birds, still well down of what would normally be expected.  As usual, most legs were checked for rings.

 

The first Common Gull to arrive, was a juvenile at 10:48.  It remained on site throughout my visit, and the first two adults were recoded at 11:10 and 12:08.  Moments later, I suddenly realised that a further three adults and a second juvenile had arrived.  A quick check before I departed, gave me 5 adults and two juveniles.  There was no sign of the Scottish metal-rung bird.

 

The resident Herring Gull appeared at 9:30 and remained through the remainder of my visit.  A second adult arrived at 11:20, but only stayed for around 10 minutes.

 

8 Jackdaws, and a pair of Pied Wagtails were the only other species noted today.

 

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From César Álvarez

On the 20th January 2022, I received another email from César Álvarez in Spain.  He informed me, that he had re-sighted my Black-headed Gull -   2FAA , on the 10th January 2022, this now being the second sighting of the bird this winter.

  2FAA , was ringed as a chick, on the 4th June 2019, at Inch Island Lake, County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.  The then juvenile, was first spotted by César, on the 13th February 2020, on the Avilés Estuary in Northern Spain, some 1,279 kms / 794 miles (S), from Inch Island. 

 

The following year,   2FAA  returned to the Avilés Estuary, where César recorded the gull on a further four occasions between the 21st January 2021 and the 24th February 2021.  This winter,   2FAA  appeared for the third winter running, when on the 30th December 2021, Manuel Marcos along with Guillermo Eguidazu, spotted the gull on the estuary, also providing the clearest photo to date.

 

There was no photo to go along with César's latest sighting, but the duration since being ringed, is now 2 years, 7 months and 6 days.  My thanks goes to César for this latest sighting.

 

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From Tom Carroll

Tom Carroll sent me an email on the 19th January 2022, to say that earlier that day, he spotted Black-headed Gull -   2CJF , at the 'water feature', at the Grangecastle Business Park in Dublin City.  This is now the second sighting of -   2CJF  at the site, as on the 30th December 2021, Graham Prole had also recorded the gull there.

 

  2CJF , was ringed as a chick, on the 3rd July 2016, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Reserve, on Larne Lough, Co. Antrim.  I made the first re-sighting of the bird, on the 26th August 2018, on Kinnegar Beach situated on the southern shore of Belfast Lough - 22 kms / 13 miles (SSW), from Larne Lough.  In March 2019,   2CJF  was then spotted on the breeding platforms, at the RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve, which is more or less, a stone's throw away from Kinnegar Beach.

During 2020,   2CJF  was spotted in the spring and autumn on Kinnegar Beach, and though spotted on the RSPB's WoW Reserve during the summer, whether it bred there was not confirmed.  In 2021, no sightings were reported until the 25th September, when David Nixon, along with John O'Boyle spotted -   2CJF  on Kinnegar Beach, which happened to be the gull's last sighting in Northern Ireland.  During the summer, the RSPB kept their viewing hides on their WoW Reserve locked, as a precaution against Covid.

 

Grangecastle Business Park in Dublin, is 171 kms / 106 miles (SSW), and the duration since being ringed, was 5 years, 6 months and 16 days.  Judging by previous re-sighting records,   2CJF  should return to either Kinnegar Beach or the RSPB Reserve, by early March.

 

My thanks goes to Tom for both the re-sighting report and the photo.

 

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2CJF   -  Grangecastle Business Park, Dublin City, Republic of Ireland  (19 Jan 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 3rd July 2016, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island NR, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim)

(Photo Courtesy of Tom Carroll)

 

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From Jan Rod

In my previous post, I reported on a Common Gull sighting made by Jan Rod.  What I did not mention in my report, was the possibility that the code had been read incorrectly.  The gull that Jan reported, was colour-ringed -   2BJX , which happened to be a first re-sighting of a bird ringed as a chick in 2019.  I also have a Common Gull which was also ringed as a chick in 2019,   2BJK , but this bird has already had four re-sightings.

In my return email to Jan, I posed the question of the code possibly being read incorrectly, seeing as the gull flew off before a photo could be taken.  This of course, put the 'seeds of doubt' in Jan's mind, but he stated that he would be 95% sure, that the gull was indeed -   2BJX , and even suggested that I should scrap the sighting just in case.  I've known Jan for quite some time now, and he is an excellent 'Ring Reader', therefore I submitted his sighting.

I reckoned that, if -   2BJX  was indeed still alive, it should return to Rathlin Island this summer, either to prospect a nest-site, or even breed on it's native island.  This would confirm that the gull was alive when spotted by Jan on the 17th January 2022, in County Meath.

 

On the 27th January 2022, I received another email from Jan, this time with photos which were taken earlier that day with his phone via a telescope.  The bird in question, was confirmed as -   2BJX .  I have since given these codes some thought.  To save any further confusion in the future, I will colour-ring my gulls with the codes reading in different directions -   2**K  will read upwards, and -   2**X  will read downwards.  If the 'leads' of any other colour-ringing projects should read this, perhaps they will do the same with their colour-rings, if they have both the letters 'K' and 'X' in their ring series.

 

  2BJX , was still at Gormanston Strand, in County Meath, which is 184 kms / 114 miles (S), from Rathlin Island, where it was ringed as a chick in June 2019.  The duration since being ringed, is now 2 years, 7 months and 3 days.

 

I very much appreciate the efforts made by Jan, along with the photos.  You cannot beat a photo when it comes to reporting ring sightings.

 

Common Gull  -    2BJX   -  Gormanston Strand, County Meath, Republic of Ireland  (27 Jan 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 24th June 2019, at Arkill Bay, Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland)

(Photo Courtesy of Jan Rod)

 

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