Norwegian Success...

Towards the end of last week, three named storms followed each other across the British Isles.  Where I live in Ballymena, the first two hardly touched us.  I could not get out on Saturday, but by Sunday the third of the storms - Storm Franklin had set in with strong winds and some heavy rain.  I decided to remain at home, as it would have been extremely hard to keep a telescope steady under the conditions.

Having said that, I had plenty of ring sightings to work with.  From Friday evening, through to Saturday evening, a total of 13 ringed gulls were reported to me, these being a mix of new birds and some re-sightings of interest.  This led to several emails having to be replied to, as well as downloading and editing photos, as well as adding the sightings onto my spreadsheet and Black-headed Gull Database.  I was unable to submit sightings onto the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, as it was down, and the problem was not rectified until Tuesday.

My weekly visit to Antrim Marina, was carried out on Monday morning as usual, but once again I had many absentees.  On my arrival, no gulls were present at all, but eventually their numbers did increase.  Of note, were several birds carrying leg injuries.  A number of gulls were limping, possibly caused by the storms.  The strong winds may have caused the gulls to hit obstacles such as wires. 

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Antrim Marina - Monday 21st February 2022

When I arrived at Antrim Marina this morning, the tail end of Storm Franklin was passing by.  Strong overnight winds and I presume much rain, were now easing off, and by the time of my departure at a slightly later than planned time of 12:30, the wind had died down significantly.  Franklin was the third of three storms having arrived from just before the weekend, though where I live in Ballymena, Storms Dudley and Eunice did not effect the town.  I arrived at 09:15, with a 50/50 blue sky and cloud and no rain fell was I was at the Marina.

Once more, on the lookout for 55 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, 40 of which, have been ringed in previous winters, a further 15 were caught and ringed this winter to further my study.  I'm working with a wintering population, with the hope of birds being re-sighted during the breeding season in foreign countries, though I do have a number of year round individuals.  With each bird, I try to build up a profile of their comings and goings, their site fidelity and longevities if possible.

Not a single gull was present on my arrival, but I knew the gulls would eventually arrive.  Although a few small flocks of Black-headed Gulls wheeled around in the sky above the Marina, the first birds which landed came in at 10:05.  Landing on the low wooden jetty as I've always called it (heightened a number of months ago), the first colour-ring to be read, was that of -  2FFX , at 10:08.  Further birds arrived in 'dribs and drabs', with a total of 35 at 10:35, and my 8th ring, that of -  2ABN , was read at 10:42.

My 2nd colour-ring sighting, was of the juvenile -  2FIC , which I caught here on the 22nd November 2021.  It clearly had a badly injured right leg, and limped around very heavily.  Later in the morning, a second juvenile that I had caught and ringed here on the 18th October 2021,  2FHL , was also limping slightly.  Throughout the morning, a few other un-ringed gulls were also noted with leg injuries.  It would appear that strong winds have seen a few gulls having mishaps.

By 11:15 this morning, a second head count, gave me a total of 51 gulls, with most on the low wooden jetty, or on the car park beside it.  Having read my 9th ring,  2FIA  at 11:24, larger numbers of gulls began arriving, many having mud coated rings, which made for difficult reading.  Codes were often unrecognisable with the use of my binoculars and telescope, so I had to use my camera to really zoom in to read the characters.  By midday, just over a hundred gulls were now present, and by 12:30, I estimated 130 birds altogether.  I decided to stay for a further 15 minutes, and -  2AAN , was the 25th and last ring to be read at 12:39.

With just 25 rings read, this meant I had 30 absentees.  I reckoned that had I stayed for an hour longer, I would probably have added at least another 10 to my overall total.  One again, not the best of visits, but at least the gulls came.  Among today's re-sighting, a few stood out.  Firstly, was the continued presence of -  2FDJ , whose ring was read at 11:46.  In mid February last year, it had been recorded in Motherwell and the Kilmarnock in Scotland.  In Kilmarnock, the ring had easily been read, as -  2FDJ  was spotted standing on a frozen lake at Kay's Park.  Perhaps -  2FDJ  is holding back this year, so as not to see the same conditions.  By the 4th April 2021, it was then reported in eastern Estonia, before arriving back to Antrim Marina in mid October 2021.  

My 21st ring sighting, was that of -  2CTA  at 12:09.  Having returned to the Marina on the 25th October 2021, today's sighting was only the fourth for the gull this autumn/winter, having recorded it on the 1st and 15th November 2021.  I had a chat today with a local Antrim man, who I have spoken to on many occasions.  I asked if he knew any other sites in Antrim where gulls could be found in good numbers.  He named all my usual spots, but came up with nothing new.  Surely the gulls which visit the Marina on an infrequent basis, can be found somewhere else in the town, but where?

One of those infrequent birds to the Marina, is the Latvian -  2AFD .  Although -   2AFD  had been caught and ringed at the Marina, in recent years, he does not visit so often.  Just by chance in March 2019, I discovered that -  2AFD  can now be found at the Castle Way car park in the centre of Antrim Town.  Just last Monday, I spotted -  2AFD  at a new site, the car park at the Junction One Shopping Centre on the northern edge of Antrim Town.  This winter, having tried to record the return of -  2AFD  at Castle Way, he announced his arrival by appearing at Antrim Marina on the 22nd November 2021, a year to the day when I had last seen him.  Today at 12:11,  2AFD  became my 22nd sighting of the day, and this is now his third appearance at the Marina this winter, and the 6th sighting overall for the winter.

My penultimate sighting at 12:27, was that of -  2ABA  for a third week running.  I recorded this gulls return on the 27th September 2021, with my 5th re-sighting having been made on the 1st November 2021.  A long period of absence lasted until the 7th February 2022, and today's sighting was my 8th record for this winter.

Strange how three rarer visitors were all recorded one after another towards the end of my weekly visit.  One thing that struck me today, was the feeling that totally new birds were on the scene.  One very large Black-headed Gull, looked long and slim, which was very eye catching - a really nice looking gull.  A couple of others had very deep scarlet coloured legs, bordering on looking towards being dark brown.  These looked as if they could be quite old gulls, which made me wonder if these were perhaps birds on the move towards their breeding sites.  I'm not overly sure about the answer to that question.  I am not particularly bothered about catching and ringing any new birds, but if I catch some in late March, I could well be ringing summer visitors - perhaps worth a try!!

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 21st February 2022

2FFX	2FIC	2CJT	2ABK	2AAA	2FFF	2AAK	2ABN	2FIA
2BRA	2CTC	2AAB	2FHA	2FHP	2FHL	2FDK	2FDJ	2CSB
2CSK	2FDT	2CTA	2AFD	2CSR	2ABA	2AAN

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

2AAR	2ABL	2ABS	2ACV	2BRD	2CSA	2CSJ	2CSL	2CSX	2FDL
2FDV	2FFA	2FFC	2FFJ	2FFL	2FFN	2FFP	2FFT	2FHC	2FHF
2FHH	2FHJ	2FHK	2FHN	2FHT	2FHV	2FHX	2FIF	2FIH	2FIJ

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As mentioned above, I had to wait quite a while before the first of the Black-headed Gulls began to arrive, but not a single Common Gull or the resident Herring Gull appeared today.  As stated previously, this winter has been the worst for Common Gull numbers overall.  Although numbers are never great, less than half of the expected total have appeared this winter.  If I'm right in thinking, seven was the best so far.

On arrival, with no gulls about, I had plenty of time to work with the Mute Swans.  A total of 16 birds and 6 cygnets were already on site, with no further arrivals.  All legs were checked for rings, with the usual -  Z78574  &  Z78580  being recorded.  In the coming weeks, I will be keeping an eye out for another bird which would normally arrive back here in March, but has on occasions returned during February.  This bird is  W34156 , which was caught and ringed here as an adult male, on the 17th March 2014.  My last sighting of this swan was made on the 23rd March 2020, and last spring, I was unable to visit the Marina due to the second 'Covid Lockdown'.  Would be really fantastic to record that one again.

Around 30 Mallards were also counted on my arrival, with numbers slowly building up to around 55 birds, an overall total still well down from expected.  Again no rings, but Suzanne Belshaw has re-sighted one of those Monaghan Gun Clubs birds at Lurgan Park Lake.  The Gun Club, normally rings farm reared ducklings into the wild, which replaces birds that would be shot.  They use a special metal-ring, which has a telephone number, as well as a alpha/numeric code.  It has been a long time now since I last recorded one of those Mallards here at Antrim Marina.  At present, Suzanne has been unable to nail down the number of her duck at Lurgan Park.  You never know, it could be a bird which was once recorded here at the Marina.

A male Chaffinch was spotted for a second week in a row, which is in itself a rarity these days.  A male Pied Wagtail and just 6 Jackdaws were noted.  A Kingfisher whizzed by the Marina on several occasions.  The trees of the woodland opposite the Marina acted as a windbreak, which left the river flowing past looking like a sheet of glass, when compared to the big waves out on Lough Neagh.  A couple of Cormorants took full advantage of the calmer conditions in which to do a bit of fishing.

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From George Gordon

On the 17th February I received an email from George Gordon with re-sightings of two Black-headed Gulls which he has recorded previously.  The first of these, was now the 7th sighting of -  2CLV .   2CLV , was ringed as a chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Reserve, on Larne Lough in County Antrim.

The then juvenile (Photo), was first spotted by Cameron Moore, at the coastal town of Whitehead in County Antrim, on the 28th August 2017.  Whitehead, is just 10 kms / 6 miles (SE) from Larne Lough.  The second sighting was made by Suzanne Belshaw, when she recorded the gull at Ballyholme Yacht Club, situated at Luke's Point in Ballyholme, Co. Down.  Since then, Luke's Point appears to be the preferred wintering site for -  2CLV .

George reported the next two sightings at Luke's Point, on the 4th & 7th January 2021.  This was followed by a breeding season sighting made by Jim Wells on the 16th June 2021, when he spotted -  2CLV  at Bangor Harbour, just around the coast westwards from Ballyholme.  The nearest known breeding colony for Black-headed Gulls is at Groomsport, to the east of Ballyholme, though the gull may have bred elsewhere, failed, and was returning to Luke's Point when spotted by Jim.

On the 3rd October 2021, George made his third sighting of -  2CLV  at Luke's Point, and this sighting on the 17th February 2022, is the latest record.  The duration since being ringed, is now 4 years, 8 months and 1 day, and the distance from Blue Circle Island, is 19 kms / 11 miles (SE).  

Gulls often return to their natal sites to breed, but in the case of Blue Circle Island, the closest viewing points are too far away from the shore of Larne Lough.  The only possible chance of recording colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls nesting on Blue Circle Island, would be at low tide, when gulls come to the railway station at Glynn, where they can drink and bathe in the Glynn River which flows past the station and into Larne Lough.  A grand total of 242 Black-headed Gull chicks were colour-ringed on Blue Circle Island, but very few have ever been recorded at Glynn during the breeding season.

Black-headed Gull  -    2CLV   -  Luke's Point, Ballyholme, Co. Down

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

(Photo Courtesy of George Gordon taken on the 4th January 2021)

George's latest sighting of the Polish Black-headed Gull -  TRX9 , is a welcomed report, and was also recorded at Luke's Point on the 17th February 2022.   TRX9  was ringed as a chick, on the 5th June 2019, at Lake Rynskie in north-east Poland.  It's first re-sighting was made in the autumn of 2019, when spotted at Ringstone Edge Reservoir in West Yorkshire, England.  No further sightings were made until the 12th September 2021, with the gull having been spotted in Northern Ireland for the first time.

John O'Boyle spotted the bird at Luke's Point, at Ballyholme, Co. Down, and I wondered if it would remain there throughout the winter.  George, also fell in with the gull, on the 3rd October 2021 at Luke's Point, and a third sighting there was made by Anthony McGeehan on Christmas Day.  This latest sighting by George, proves that -  TRX9 , has remained in the Ballyholme area.  Would be good to obtain one further record before the gull departs for Poland, and hopefully it will return again next winter.

The duration since being ringed, is 2 years, 8 months and 12 days, and the distance from Lake Rynskie, is 1,760 kms / 1,093 miles (W).  My thanks goes to George for both sightings reports, and I've used the photo taken by Anthony McGeehan, which was taken on Christmas Day 2021. 

Black-headed Gull  -    TRX9   -  Luke's Point, Ballyholme, Co. Down

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 5th June 2019, on Ptasia Wyspa Island, Lake Rynskie, Northern Poland)

(Photo Courtesy of Anthony McGeehan taken on the 25th December 2021)

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From Suzanne Belshaw

Another couple of ring sightings have been reported to me by Suzanne Belshaw.  The first of these was a Black-headed Gull, colour-ringed (White) 2BDN.  Suzanne spotted the gull on the 12th February 2022, at Groomsport Harbour in County Down, but this bird is no stranger to Northern Ireland.

(White) 2BDN, was ringed as a chick, on the 3rd June 2018, at a colony on Broad Law, in the Borders Region of Scotland.  The first ever re-sighting, was also made by Suzanne, when she spotted the gull at the Sprucefield Shopping Centre car park in County Antrim, on the 23rd July 2019.  I then recorded - (White) 2BDN, on the 2nd February 2020, at Whitehouse Lagoon, on the outskirts of Belfast.  In 2021, Tom Dougall (ringing coordinator) emailed me, to say that - (White) 2BDN had been spotted on the 16th July 2021, at Seton Burn, in the East Lothian area in Scotland.

On the 11th September 2021, (White) 2BDN, had returned to Northern Ireland. I spotted the gull on the mudflats beside Belfast's Dargan Industrial Estate, which is situated very close to Whitehouse Lagoon where I had seen the bird previously.  

This latest sighting made by Suzanne, is fairly interesting, as unlike most gulls, (White) 2BDN, does not seem to have a preferred wintering site, but appears to roam quite wildly.  The duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 8 months and 9 days.  The distance from Broad Law to Groomsport, is roughly 203 kms / 126 miles (SW).

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  2BDN  -  Groomsport Harbour, Groomsport, Co. Down  (12 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 3rd June 2018, at Broad Law, Moorfoot Hills, Borders Region, Scotland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

On the 17th February 2022, Suzanne paid another visit to Lurgan Park Lake in County Armagh, and whilst there she spotted Black-headed Gull -   2BRD .  This sighting came three days after I had recorded the gull at my study site at Antrim Marina, which I visit every Monday throughout the winter.  That sighting of -   2BRD , was actually the second sighting of the gull at the Marina all winter, having first recorded the bird there on the 23rd October 2021.  As stated in my previous blog post,   2BRD  usually visits Lurgan Park Lake shortly before the commencement of the breeding season.

Previously, the earliest date that -   2BRD  had been spotted at Lurgan Park, occurred on the 23rd February 2018, but most returns are usually recorded in early to mid March.    2BRD , was ringed as an adult male, on the 1st February 2015, at Antrim Marina in County Antrim.  This latest sighting made by Suzanne is now the 38th record since the bird was ringed, with all sightings having been made either at Antrim Marina or Lurgan Park.  The duration since ringing, is now 7 years and 16 days, and the distance from the Marina to Lurgan Park, is 28 kms / 17 miles (SSW).

Again, my thanks goes to Suzanne for her latest sightings along with the photos.

Black-headed Gull  -    2BRD   -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (17 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 1st February 2015, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

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From David Nixon

On Thursday 17th February 2022, David Nixon and Graham McElwaine, both visited the high tide roost at the South Inner Bay at Dundrum.  Both spotted colour-ringed gulls, though they only met up after having recorded their sightings.  David had a Herring Gull, whilst Graham scoped two Black-headed Gulls (Report Below).

David's Herring Gull -   U59:M , turned out to be a first sighting of the gull since being ringed.  Having emailed Mark Fitzpatrick (ringing coordinator for the Isle of Man), a reply was very quickly returned.  The gull was ringed as an un-sexed 3rd Calendar Year bird, on the 1st November 2021, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man.  As gulls often re-visit favoured sites, it could have been possible, that this bird had visited the South Inner Bay at Dundrum in the earlier years of it's life, before being caught and ringed.  Any future re-sightings would add strength to this idea.

The duration since being ringed, is a mere 3 months and 16 days, and the distance from the Calf of Man, is 71 kms / 44 miles (WNW).  My thanks goes again to David for sharing his sighting, along with the photograph.

Herring Gull  -    U59:M   -  Dundrum South Inner Bay, Strangford Lough, Co. Down  (17 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 3rd Calendar Year Bird, on the 1st November 2021, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man)

(Photo Courtesy of David Nixon)

On Saturday evening of the 19th February 2022, another email arrived with me from David Nixon.  Earlier that day, David led a RSPB Members Group outing to East Antrim, and afterwards, on his way back home, stopped by Whiteabbey situated on Belfast Lough.  Although it was late in the afternoon, hundreds of gulls were present on the river outlet which flows over Whiteabbey Beach.  Scoping through the birds, David had 5 colour-ringed gulls, one a first sighting, four re-sightings, and missed out on a possible second new sighting.  The four re-sightings, were especially good to receive, as they all added more time to the longevities of those gulls.  As by the time of David's visit, the light was beginning to go, so all credit to him for capturing the codes on these rings.

The sighting of a juvenile Mediterranean Gull, was by far the best of the bunch, as looking at it's colour-ring, I immediately knew the bird was from Germany.  I copied in Andreas Zours into my reply to David, and I said to David, if Andreas does not reply on Sunday morning, he would definitely receive a reply early on Monday morning.  Early on Monday morning, the reply from Andreas arrived.

 AS.JL , was ringed as a chick, on the 15th June 2021, at the Rehback Gravel Pits, just outside of Leipzig in eastern Germany.  David's sighting was the first since the youngster was ringed, having travelled 1,270 kms / 789 miles (WNW) to get to Whiteabbey.  The duration since ringing, is 8 months and 4 days.

This is not the first Med Gull from the Rehback Gravel Pits to be recorded in Northern Ireland.  Back in the autumn of 2018, three colour-ringed juveniles were recorded here.  Knowing Andreas, if there are any further sighting of   AS.JL , he will keep me informed to where the gull turns up next.

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull  -    AS.JL   -  Whiteabbey Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (19 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 15th June 2021, at Rehback Gravel Pits, Leipzig, Germany)

(Photo Courtesy of David Nixon)

As well as the juvenile -   AS.JL , there were also four adult Mediterranean Gulls on Whiteabbey Beach, and one of them was also colour-ringed.  David was unsure of the full code, having noted -  PPN* , he reckoned the final character was a ' 5 '.  The code -  PPN5 , was easily recognisable, as this gull is now a regular on the east County Antrim coast.

 PPN5 , was ringed as a chick, on the 20th May 2014, on Lake Rynskie in northern Poland.  Since 2018, all recent sightings of this bird has been recorded here in Northern Ireland :-

18th July 2018 - Millquarter Bay, Strangford Lough, Co. Down by Graham McElwaine

11th August 2019 - Kilclief Bay, Strangford Lough, Co. Down by Graham McElwaine

14th December 2019 - Whiteabbey Beach, Belfast Lough by Suzanne Belshaw

3rd August 2021 - Whitehead, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim by Cameron Moore

19th September 2021 - Whitehead by Cameron Moore

13th October 2021 - Loughshore Park, Belfast Lough by Suzanne Belshaw

19th February 2022 - Whiteabbey Beach by David Nixon

Before 2018,  PPN5  was spotted in the following locations :-

July 2014 - Suffolk, England

September and October 2015 - Argyll & Bute, Scotland

March 2016 - Beauport, France

May 2016 - Polder Sątopy-Samulewo, Poland

Overall,  PPN5  has gathered a nice list of re-sightings and has travelled quite extensively.  The duration since being ringed, is now 7 years, 8 months and 30 days, and the distance to Whiteabbey Beach, is 1,767 kms / 1,097 miles (W).  I have no doubts, PPN5 will be recorded again in the future.  As David was not able to photograph this one, I've added a photo taken by Suzanne Belshaw (Dec 2019).

Mediterranean Gull  -    PPN5   -  Whiteabbey Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw taken on the 14th December 2019)

A colour-ringed Herring Gull -  298:D , is also no stranger to Northern Ireland, and is another bird gathering a good list of re-sightings.

 298:D , was ringed as a chick, on the 22nd June 2018, on the roof of the Mater Hospital in the City of Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland.  So far as I know, all sightings of the gull have been recorded here in Northern Ireland, though I'm waiting on an updated PDF File from Graham Prole who is the ringing coordinator for the Irish Midlands Ringing Group.

Northern Ireland sightings are as follows :-

4th April 2019 - Dargan Mudflats, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim by Suzanne Belshaw

23rd November 2019 - Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough by myself

13th July 2020 - Cloughey Bay, Co. Down by Nigel Ireland

13th July 2020 - Millquarter Bay, Strangford Lough, Co. Down by Graham McElwaine

(Both these sites are fairly near to each other)

9th September 2020 - Tyrella Beach, Co. Down by Suzanne Belshaw

3rd October 2021 - Whitehouse Lagoon by myself

19th February 2022 - Whiteabbey Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim by David Nixon

Whiteabbey Beach just pips Whitehouse Lagoon, as the most northerly site that -  298:D  has been recorded at, and again, I do not think we've seen the last of this gull yet.  Whiteabbey Beach, is 147 kms / 91 miles (N), from the City of Dublin, and the duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 7 months and 28 days.

Herring Gull  -    298:D   -  Whiteabbey Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (19 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 22nd June 2018, at the City of Dublin's Mater Hospital, Republic of Ireland)

(Photo taken by David Nixon, and he assures me that the gull does have a head)

Two colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls from Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Study, were also recorded by David on Whiteabbey Beach.  Now that I respond to sightings from Adam's former study, I was really pleased about the sighting of -  2BHB .

 2BHB , was ringed as a chick, on the 2nd June 2014, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Nature Reserve, on Larne Lough in County Antrim.  David's sighting is now the 13th record for this gull, with all sightings having been made on or close to Belfast Lough.  Six of the sightings, have been made at the RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve, on the Belfast Harbour Industrial Estate, where -  2BHB  has nested on one of the breeding platforms (2017, 2018 & 2020).  

The other sightings have been made at sites along the shore of Belfast Lough (Kinnegar Beach, Whitehouse Lagoon and Whiteabbey Beach).  The last sighting of -  2BHB , was made by myself on the 20th November 2020, at Whitehouse Lagoon, so David's sighting was welcomed news.  Although 'Covid Restrictions' were lifted in April 2021, the RSPB kept their viewing hides on their Window on Wildlife Reserve locked during the breeding season, therefore, whether -  2BHB  bred there or not is unknown.

It is now 7 years, 8 months and 17 days since the gull was ringed as a chick, and the distance to Whiteabbey Beach from Larne Lough, is 19 kms / 11 miles (SSW).  I've added my photo of -  2BHB , which I took in November 2016, at Whitehouse Lagoon.

Black-headed Gull  -    2BHB   -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim)

(Photo I took on the 27th November 2016)

The second Black-headed Gull with an Orange Darvic, was a bird that David was unable to capture the full code, though he did read -  2C** .  For me, this was a 'nailed on' sighting of -  2CPN .  All sixteen previous sightings of -  2CPN , have all been made at Whiteabbey Beach.  The gull was ringed as a chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Nature Reserve on Larne Lough, Co. Antrim.  Whiteabbey Beach lies 19 kms / 11 miles (SSW), from Larne Lough, and the duration since being ringed, is now 4 years, 8 months and 3 days.  I'm hoping that a breeding season sighting will be made at some point in the future.  

Black-headed Gull  -    2CPN   -  Whiteabbey Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim

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

(Photo I took on the 16th August 2020)

A Black-headed Gull with a Blue Darvic was also spotted by David.  Standing in water, David could only see the top two letters, which he thinks read ' EN '.  The light was very poor, as it was very late into the afternoon, which did not aid good observation.  While David checked for other ringed gulls, this bird slipped away and could not be found again.  I use Blue Darvics on my Black-headed Gulls, but the letter ' E ', is not among the character set for my rings.  I checked the cr-birding site for British rung Black-headed Gulls using Blue Darvics, and the only match that I could find, would belong to Lloyd Park, who uses Blue 2 followed by three letters.  

Since communicating with David, I had a look at my own Blue Darvics.  Should David had been mistaken, with the ring actually reading ' FN ', then this could have been one of my gulls -  2FFN .  I caught and ringed -  2FFN , as an adult bird at Antrim Marina, on the 14th December 2020.  Since being ringed, -  2FFN  has only been re-sighted on one occasion, and that was at Antrim Marina on the 11th October 2021.  Pity that this gull got away, whether the bird belonged to Lloyd or myself, this would have been a good sighting record.

My thanks goes to David for these sightings - an impressive and very useful haul.

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From Graham McElwaine

The first of two Black-headed Gull sighting made by Graham McElwaine at the South Inner Bay at Dundrum, was for me, of great interest.    2CAV , had been ringed as a chick, on the 24th June 2016, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down.  The first re-sighting of the bird was made by me on the 10th March 2019, when I spotted the gull on the pier at Strangford village, also in County Down.  A small car ferry operates from the pier, making the short crossing over to the village of Portaferry.  A small island, known as Swan Island is situated very close to the pier, and has a large colony of nesting Black-headed Gulls, plus smaller numbers of nesting Sandwich Terns, Common Terns, and a few pairs of Common Gulls.

In the years since I first spotted -   2CAV , I have tried on a couple of occasions, to try and obtain further re-sightings in both the summer and winter without any luck.  Therefore, I was really delighted by this sighting report from Graham, as I now know the gull is still with us.  The duration since being ringed, is now 5 years, 7 months and 24 days, and the distance from the Castle Espie Wetland Centre, is 33 kms / 20 miles (SSW).

Graham rarely takes photographs, but uses a Questar Astronomical Telescope when searching for ringed birds.  Below is my photo of -   2CAV , taken at Strangford Pier in 2019.

Black-headed Gull  -    2CAV   -  Strangford Pier, Strangford Village, Co. Down  (10 Mar 2019)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 24th June 2016, at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)

Graham's sighting of Black-headed Gull -   2P91 , is now the third record of the bird, having been spotted at the South Inner Bay at Dundrum.  The previous two sightings were made by David Nixon, on the 5th March 2021, and on the 25th November 2021.  The gull was ringed as a chick, on the 18th June 2019, at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire in Scotland.  In my reply to Graham, I also copied in Iain Livingstone who has yet to reply.  It's more than likely, that these three sightings here, are still the only records since the bird was ringed.  The distance from Elvanfoot, is 192 kms / 119 miles (SW), and the duration since being ringed, is now 2 years, 7 months and 30 days.

My thanks to Graham for both of his sightings, and I have added David Nixon's photo which was taken here on the 5th March 2021.  It now looks likely that -   2P91  will become a regular visitor to the area every winter.

Black-headed Gull  -    2P91   -  Dundrum South Inner Bay, Strangford Lough, Co. Down

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 18th June 2019, at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire, Scotland)

(Photo Courtesy of David Nixon taken on the 5th March 2021)

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From Anthony McGeehan

Back in December 2021, I received an email from a relatively new contact - Anthony McGeehan.  During the winter months, Anthony regularly leaves out food in his garden, which attracts large numbers of Blackbirds.  Some of these birds can be looked at as individuals, as some have white in their plumage.  This winter, one bird appeared with a metal ring.  Having painstakingly tried to read the number, Anthony finally read the seven numbers, but the address on the ring could not be identified.  Anthony's Blackbird was a juvenile female.

Anthony sent me the number, hoping I could find from where the bird had come from.  The number read -  7393163 , so I knew this was not a British ring, as our rings start with two letters followed by five numbers.  I immediately suggested that the bird may have come from Norway, but on doing some research, I found that German and Danish Blackbirds, also had rings with seven numbers.  I stuck to my guns and reported Anthony's Blackbird to Norway, while Anthony himself contacted a know birdwatcher in Germany.

We received a reply from Stavanger, to say the number would belong to an old series, and they would have to contact the ringer who was holding the rings.  Recently, the Norwegians got back to Anthony, and his sighting was accepted, as the ringer concerned, had ringed a juvenile female Blackbird on the 22nd October 2021, using number -  7393163  (PDF).

I was really pleased for Anthony, as metals at the best of times can be difficult to read, never mind the size of rings on Blackbirds and the like.  The bird had travelled 1,054 kms / 654 miles (SW), to reach Anthony's home in Bangor, Co. Down, and the duration since being ringed was 1 month and 20 days.  I'm fairly sure that Anthony sent me an email with photos of the ring, and if he did, I have seemingly deleted these by mistake.

In February 2020, Suzanne Belshaw, also read the metal of a Norwegian Blackbird at Dundrod in Co. Antrim.  That bird had been ringed as a juvenile male in October 2018.

Anthony has produced this nice graphic outlining the sighting - a great result.

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