Scottish Oystercatcher...

It is now Friday evening (18th February), and I'm now publishing this weeks post.  A slight accident at work last night sees me taking tonight off as a holiday.  Nothing serious I'm happy to report, just a slight strain after slipping last night.  Between yesterday evening and this morning, seven ring sightings have been reported to me.  Therefore, I spent today replying to emails and processing the sightings and photos.  I tried to submit all the sightings to the BTO, but they are experiencing difficulties due to a technical issue which cannot be resolved until Monday at the earliest.  I will report on these sighting on my next post, and hopefully I will have recovery data by the time I publish my next post.

The sighting of a metal-rung Blackbird back in December has been accepted by the Norwegians, and to the delight of Anthony McGeehan, he now has the recovery details.  A bit of a story behind this one, so I'm delighted that Anthony's efforts have been rewarded.  Metal rings can be hard to read at the best of times, but to get a result from such a small ring is really superb.  More on this one in my next post as well.

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Antrim Marina - Monday 14th February 2022

As my wife was off work today, I decided to have a lie in, and aimed for my weekly visit to Antrim Marina to begin at 11am.  Having the lie-in is useful, as I do not have to grab a couple of hours sleep before I start my work on the evening shift beginning at 7pm.  Having reached Antrim at 10:45, I decided to make a quick visit to the car park at the Junction One Shopping Centre.  I have previously visited the car park on numerous occasions, which can have varying numbers of Black-headed Gulls, I had yet to record a ring at the site.

My main reason for these particular visits, is to try and re-sight one of my Antrim Marina BHGs - which was ringed as a 1st winter bird in January 2018 -   2CSS .    2CSS , had been recorded at the Marina until the 23rd March 2020, and then went off the 'radar' for a while.  On the 13th November 2020, I was informed by Debbie Nelson, that -   2CSS , had been recovered ill and was taken into her care.  Debbie, known as Debbie 'Doolittle' Nelson, runs a sanctuary in Northern Ireland, looking after sick and injured wildlife (Facebook).    2CSS , was picked up in the Massereene area of Antrim Town, and was diagnosed as having a bad case of 'Botulism'.  Following a period of medication and rest,   2CSS  was released by Debbie at Antrim Marina, on the 3rd December 2020.  As Massereene is very close to the car park at Junction One, I have always hoped to record the gull there.

On swinging into the car park today, just a handful, probably around two dozen Black-headed Gulls were standing about.  Parking well away from them, I used my binoculars to scan through them and then spotted an Orange Darvic.  My heart jumped, was this -   2CSS ?  Grabbing my camera, the bird was actually one of my regulars at Antrim Marina -   2CTC .  Again, looking through the rest of the gulls, which were widely dotted about, I then spotted a second Orange Darvic, but this one turned out to be -   2AFD , which we presume breeds in Latvia.  These day's,   2AFD  rarely visits the Marina, and is now normally found at the Castle Way car park in the centre of Antrim Town.  'Sugar', my first ever ringed birds at Junction One, but not the bird that I was after.

Black-headed Gull  -    2CTC   -  Junction One Shopping Centre, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (14 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 1st Winter Bird, on the 24th December 2018, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)

Black-headed Gull  -    2AFD   -  Junction One Shopping Centre, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (14 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 12th February 2014, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)

I then carried on to Antrim Marina, arriving at 11am, on the dot.  On arrival, I was surprised to find no gulls at all.  Weather-wise, there was a mixture of drizzle, sun, heavier showers, and quite a strong wind.  The conditions were ideal to find hungry gulls, but where were they.  A total of 15 Mute Swans and 7 cygnets, were either on the slipway or on the small sandy beach.  Around 30 Mallard, were also out of the water on the slipway.  Several of the ducks were calling in a low 'quack quack' call, which resembled an alarm call.  Not a single bird was on the river, which was running by at quite a speed, due to the heavy overnight rain.

Standing about waiting, some small flocks of Black-headed Gulls came in and flew overhead, but seemingly had no intention of landing.  This continued on several occasions, and I could not understand or figure out any reason for them not to come down.  Further Mallards arrived, with most landing directly onto the slipway.  A few others swam in, and at one point, I heard a commotion in front of where I had parked my car.  The ducks took off, but in the middle of the river, a load of bubbles surfaced - had a duck been taken from below?

Nothing looked or seemed right, and then the problem was spotted.  At the end of the low wooden jetty, right beside the slipway, I spotted the head of an Otter.  As I went to get my camera, the Otter disappeared underneath the jetty.  I walked out onto the short concrete jetty and waited.  Every now and again, I could see ripples of water coming out from underneath the jetty, and could tell the animal was moving further away.  I then saw the Otter amongst the vegetation by the Crack Willow tree, which marks the furthest end of the jetty.  I walked around to the jetty, and the spotted the Otter making it's way back up the river.  Ever since I began coming to Antrim Marina, people have always informed me of Otters upriver, but this was only the second time that I've seen one here.  

An Otter at Antrim Marina  (14 Feb 2022)

As all this was happening, one small group of Black-headed Gulls landed briefly onto the small sandy beach at 11:25.  They had been drawn down by people feeding the swans with bread, so tried to get their share.  Four colour-rings were read at 11:28/11:29, being -   2CJT ,   2FFL ,   2ABA  and   2FFF , and soon afterwards they were gone.    2ABA , was the most interesting of the four gulls, in that sightings these days can be few and far between.  Today's sighting, is the 8th record of the gull here this winter.  I recorded it last Monday, having not been seen the 6th November 2021, when recorded by Kate McAllister at the Marina.

With the Otter having moved up-river, life began to return to normal again at the Marina.  Both the swans and the ducks began to swim out onto the river, and then at 12:30, the Black-headed Gulls finally touched down.  The first ring to be read, was that of -   2CTC , which I had read earlier at Junction One.

I was on the lookout for 55 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, which have either been recorded or ringed this autumn/winter.  My 23rd ring sighting at 1:42, was only the second sighting this winter of -   2BRD , with the previous sighting having been made on the 23rd October 2021.

  2BRD , was caught and ringed at Antrim Marina, when I first met Adam McClure, on the 1st February 2015.  It was Adam, who started the Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study in 2012, but had to give up on the project in the summer of 2018.  Not only did I decide to carry on with my project at Antrim Marina, but I now respond to sightings of Adam's study birds.

Initially after being ringed,   2BRD , was fairly regularly recorded at Antrim Marina until after the winter of 2016, when visits became more infrequent.  We learnt very quickly, that -   2BRD , would visit the lake at Lurgan Park in County Armagh, prior to the onset of the breeding season, though we still do not know where exactly it nests..

Anyway, it was great to get another sighting, and the duration since the gull was ringed, is now 6 years, 8 months and 22 days. 

Black-headed Gull  -    2BRD   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (14 Feb 2022)

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

One gull which I've been keeping my eye's on over the last couple of weeks is -   2FDJ .  I had planned to depart at 2:30pm, but time was running out, and at 2:23 I spotted -   2FDJ  on the long wooden jetty.  By this time last year, it had been spotted in Motherwell in Scotland (5th February), before three sightings in Kilmarnock, Scotland (11th, 13th and 14th February).  The next sighting came in April 2021, when -   2FDJ  was spotted in eastern Estonia, and returned to Antrim Marina, on the 16th October 2021, when spotted by Suzanne Belshaw.  Just to think, it is exactly one year to the day, since the final Scottish sighting.  Surely,   2FDJ  is about to go, though perhaps our weather conditions maybe holding it back.

I was about to pack up, when I spotted a metal-rung BHG.  I thought it would be -   2ABL , who lost it's colour-ring some time back, but I had to make sure in case it was another gull.  I had to chase after the gull, as there were so many people about, but it turned out to be -   2ABL , which became my 27th and final ring sighting at 2:29.  Today, I had 28 absentees, 13 of which were among the 15 that I caught and ringed this winter.  Overall numbers managed to hit the one hundred mark, but still well down on numbers recorded over previous winters.

On leaving the Marina, I drove into Antrim Town to check out three sites.  At the Elim Church on the Parkhall housing estate, no rings were seen on any of the Black-headed Gulls there, which further answers my belief that we have now lost -   2AAV .  This gull had been ringed at Antrim Marina, and if not recorded there, would often been seen at this Church.

Not a single gull was present at the car park of the nearby KFC outlet, and this was also the case at Antrim's Baptist Church, where I have failed to record the Polish Black-headed Gull - (White) TY43, since it's return to Antrim, on the 30th October 2021.  It was now time to head home, write up a few notes, get my dinner and head to work.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 14th February 2022

2CJT	2FFL	2ABA	2FFF	2CTC	2FHA	2ABK	2ABN	2AAK
2BRA	2CSJ	2AAA	2ABS	2CSK	2FHP	2FDT	2FFA	2AAN
2FFP	2FDK	2FIF	2FFX	2BRD	2FHC	2CSR	2FDJ	2ABL

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

2AAB	2AAR	2ACV	2AFD	2CSA	2CSB	2CSL	2CSX	2CTA	2FDL
2FDV	2FFC	2FFJ	2FFN	2FFT	2FHF	2FHH	2FHJ	2FHK	2FHL
2FHN	2FHT	2FHV	2FHX	2FIA	2FIC	2FIH	2FIJ

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As mentioned above, 15 Mute Swans and 7 cygnets were already present on my arrival today.  No further swans arrived, and two metals were read on the birds that were present.  These were -   Z78574   and   Z78580 , which have now been recorded over several weeks.  The cygnets, belonged to a family group of four plus two adults, and a family group of two plus two adults.  The single cygnet was on it's own, and was not tied to another other swans.  It was a little bit vary, indicating that it was not a regular to the Marina.

Mallard numbers increased from an estimated 30 birds, to around 60 by the time of my departure.  Most legs were again checked for rings, with none being recorded.

Once the Black-headed Gulls began arriving in their numbers around 12:30, the resident adult Herring Gull appeared soon afterwards.  At 1:55pm, a second adult arrived, which was the slim headed bird that appeared here last week.  The two of them stood together just like last week, which means this second bird is a female.

Only the one adult Common Gull arrived today, shortly after 2pm.  This has easily been the worst winter yet for sightings of this species at the Marina.

Whilst the Otter was still present, a Kingfisher helped to keep me amused by buzzing backwards and forwards.  A Raven flew low over the Marina mid morning, heading towards the trees directly opposite the Marina.  This left me slightly puzzled, as last week I could hear them in the trees further up-river.  At this time of the year, their nests should be well built up, so are they nesting opposite the Marina or further on up.  Antrim Boat Club, is situated opposite the Marina, and I have never walked that area.  I'm interested in Ravens, so perhaps some time next month when they should be on eggs, I'll attempt to track down the nest.

A male Chaffinch was spotted here today, the first for a long, long, time.  In my early years coming to the Marina, Chaffinches were quite regular visitors, albeit in small numbers.  I still have not seen a Moorhen here this winter, whilst I would normally record one or two over previous winters.

Just 6 Jackdaws and a pair of Pied Wagtails, were the only other species noted today.  With the winter drawing to a close, for some reason, the overall numbers of every species of bird has been well down.  I cannot put my finger onto the reason why.  Other than the building of the new 'Gateway Centre', everything else seems to be normal.

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Sunday 13th February 2022

As my wife was away from home yesterday, I had to remain to babysit her two cats.  This morning when I got up, it was raining, but the forecast was for drier weather to come in around 11am.  With the tides beginning to recede around that time, I decided to make my way towards Kinnegar Beach, on the southern shore of Belfast Lough.  At least I would be afforded the shelter of my car, because I can park directly beside the beach should it still be raining. 

Driving downhill on the motorway with Belfast in sight, the sky looked much brighter, and the rain changed to a light drizzle.  By the time that I had reached Belfast's Harbour Estate, the rain had stopped and the sun poked it's face out from behind the clouds.  On reaching Kinnegar, I parked beside the pond, which lies just over the road from the beach.  There were hundreds of gulls and waders, just waiting for the tide to begin to go out.  I scoped through lots of Black-headed Gulls, Oystercatchers, Godwits and Knots, plus lesser numbers of other species.  The only rings that could be seen were on two Oystercatchers.  Their colour-rings were of no use to me, as they stood on one leg, so the colour-marks on their other leg could not be seen.

I drove into the main car park, parking sideways overlooking the beach.  The tide was clearly beginning to ebb, and now it was a waiting game.  Every so often, light showers of drizzle fell again, so my decision to come here was a good call.  I remained here for the best part of two hours, and despite scoping through hundreds and hundreds of legs, just three metal-rung birds, and three colour-ringed Oystercatchers were spotted.  The metals were on an Oystercatcher, a Black-headed Gull and a Bar-tailed Godwit.  Due to the distance involved, the metals were of no use to me, but I'd be pretty sure that the Godwit was the same bird that I spotted on the pond on my previous visit here.  I was very close to capturing details on the ring on that occasion, if only the bird had been 20 to 30 feet closer.  With so many Black-headed Gulls on the beach, I was really surprised that not one bore a colour-ring.

The first of the three colour-ringed Oystercatchers to be spotted, was standing on one leg, but showed Yellow over Green on it's left leg.  I recognised this bird from the past at Kinnegar, and if I was right, there should be a White ring on the right leg with the characters 'UA'.  It took a while, but eventually 'UA' was spotted, and as can be seen in the photo, the code is in poor condition.

Yellow/Lime - White (UA) - (YL-W(UA)), was ringed as an un-sexed breeding adult, on the 23rd May 2018, in the Stokkseyri area of SW Iceland.  The first re-sighting was made by me, when I spotted the bird here on Kinnegar Beach, on the 26th August 2018.  The bird returned to Kinnegar during the winters of 2019 and 2020, but was not recorded here in 2021.  YL-W(UA), is one of several Icelandic Oystercatchers, where I had remarked about their absence for some time.  The duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 8 months and 21 days, and the distance from Stokkseyri, is 1,335 kms / 829 miles (SE).

I emailed Boddi in Iceland, and he has since sent me updated PDF Files for all three of my Icelandic Oystercatchers.  YL-W(UA), has not been recorded anywhere, since I last recorded the bird here at Kinnegar, on the 12th September 2020.  My thanks to Boddi for supplying the updates.

Oystercatcher  -  Yellow/Lime - White UA  -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (13 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 23rd May 2018, at Stokkseyri, SW Iceland)

The next two colour-ringed Oystercatchers, again from Iceland, now bear a newer type coded ring which was purchased from a company in Canada prior to last summers breeding season.  As can be seen from the photos, the characters are finer looking, and it is hoped that the black dye will not smudge on these rings.  These were both second sightings of the Oystercatchers here this winter.

The first bird, Green over Red - White (JK) - (GR-W(JK)), was ringed as an un-sexed breeding adult, on the 17th May 2021, in the Réttarholt area of SW Iceland.  My previous sighting here on Kinnegar Beach, was made on the 5th December 2021, which turned out to be a first re-sighting.  The duration since being ringed, is now 8 months and 27 days, and the distance from Réttarholt, is 1,406 kms / 874 miles (SE).

Oystercatcher  -  Green/Red - White JK  -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (13 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 17th May 2021, at Réttarholt, SW Iceland)

The second bird, Black over Green - White XE - (NG-W(XE), was ringed as an un-sexed adult, on the 18th May 2021, in the Auðsholtshjáleiga area, in SW Iceland.  Two sightings in the latter part of May, saw the bird incubating, and then feeding one chick.  It's first re-sighting outside of Iceland, was recorded by myself on the 30th October 2021, here at Kinnegar Beach.  It was great to record a second sighting, which means the bird has remained on the site, and will potentially be recorded in future winters.  The distance from Auðsholtshjáleiga. is 1,344 kms / 835 miles (SE), and the duration since being ringed, is now 8 months and 21 days. 

Oystercatcher  -  Black/Green - White XE  -  Kinnegar Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (13 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 18th May 2021, at Auðsholtshjáleiga, SW. Iceland)

Barring a couple of colour-ringed Brent Geese, which I now ignore, no further sightings were made, so I made my way to the nearby Connswater Mudflats.  The first colour-ring to be spotted, was on an Oystercatcher resting on one leg.  With a plain Red ring, over the metal ring, I knew straight away, this bird was one of two Scottish-rung birds, one of which is quite special.  As the bird was resting, I had to play a waiting game, and the bird would have had a Red coded ring on the other leg, which was tucked underneath the it.

In the meantime, I scoped other gulls and waders which were coming and going.  Eventually, a Black-headed Gull with an Orange Darvic was spotted.  Zooming in with my camera, the code -   2AJV  was read - a bird which regularly winter's here, and can also be found at  the nearby Victoria Park.  This was now my 12th record for the gull, which had been ringed as a chick, on the 19th June 2014, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down.  The only sighting of -   2AJV  away from it's wintering site, was made on the 25th May 2019, when spotted in a breeding colony back at Castle Espie.  Today's sighting was my second here this winter, having spotted the bird on the 3rd October 2021.  The distance from Castle Espie to these mudflats, is 16 kms / 9 miles (NW), and the duration since being ringed, is now 7 years, 7 months and 25 days.  Well pleased to see this gull is still going strong.

Black-headed Gull  -    2AJV   -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate  (13 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 13th June 2014, at WWT Castle Espie, Strangford Lough, Co. Down)

With no other rings spotted, the waiting game with my Oystercatcher continued.  After a while, I managed to loose the bird, as it had moved away whilst I was scoping through other birds.  You can imagine my relief when I found it again.  Now zooming in with my camera, I captured the coded second ring - Y1.  My problem on site, was that I did not know whether it was the bird I was hoping especially to spot again.

Back at home, I ran the code R-R(Y1), through my spreadsheet, and 'happy days', this was the bird I wanted to get.  Originally, this Oystercatcher had been ringed with a metal ring only, on the 29th March 1996, on the River Spey at Newtonmore, in the Highlands Region of Scotland.  At the time of being ringed, the bird was an adult.  In March 2018, the Oystercatcher was re-captured at the original ringing site, and was then fitted with it's colour-ring, and the worn metal ring was also replaced.

Since being recaptured, the only sightings of the bird has been made by myself.  The first sighting was made on the 11th August 2019, at the nearby Kinnegar Beach.  On that occasion, not only did I photographed the bird and it's colour-ring, but I also manged to piece together it's metal number -   FP48164  (Photo).  As at the time, I could not find a 'Project Lead', I had to submit my sighting via the birds metal number to the BTO.

My second and third sightings were made here on the Connswater Mudflats, on the 23rd February 2020, and then on the 14th November 2020.  I had tried on several occasions to re-sight this bird before Christmas, but ended up with no sightings during 2021.  The duration since this bird was ringed in 1996, is now 25 years, 10 months and 15 days.  Although impressive, it still falls a long way short for a British rung Oystercatcher, with the record being over 41 years.  The distance from Newtonmore, is 295 kms / 183 miles (SSW).

Oystercatcher  -  Red - Red Y1  -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate  (13 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 29th March 1996, at Newtonmore, Highlands Region, Scotland)

Making my way back to the car, I had to walk over the footbridge which spans the tidal river leading to the Connswater Mudflats.  A small number of Black-headed Gulls were feeding on the mud, and looking through these with my binoculars, I spotted a White Darvic.  Quickly taking a few photos, the bird was the Dutch-rung (White) EAK9.  This was my second sighting of the gull this winter.  On Christmas Day, I was on the hunt for my 'Xmas Day' gull, the Norwegian Black-headed Gull - (White) J4TJ, at the Connswater Shopping Centre car park, when (White) EAK9 also appeared. 

(White) EAK9, was ringed as a third calendar year male bird, on the 13th June 2012, at Benthuizerplas in Holland.  The bird has a long history of re-sightings over the years, and today's re-sighting is the 58th record to go onto my spreadsheet.  Here in Northern Ireland, it was first spotted by Adam McClure, at the Connswater Shopping Centre, on the 10th January 2014.  Since then, it has been re-sighted here every winter with the exception of 2017.  It has also been recorded back in Holland during the breeding season over several years, and was once spotted in northern France in January 2019.  The duration since being ringed, is now 9 years and 8 months, and the distance from Benthuizerplas, is 746 kms / 463 miles (WNW).

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  EAK9  -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate  (13 Feb 2022)

(Ringed as a 3rd Calendar Year Male, on the 13th June 2012, at Benthuizerplas, Holland) 

On leaving Connswater, I made my way over to Whitehouse Lagoon, before finishing the afternoon off at the Dargan Mudflats.  With the tide being out, not many gulls or waders remained on Whitehouse Lagoon.  I scoped the birds for about 20 minutes, with one metal-rung Black-headed Gull being spotted.

Moving on to Dargan, there were several hundred Black-headed Gulls, with smaller numbers of waders and other gull species.  One distant Black-headed Gull was spotted with an Orange Darvic, but they photos I took were of no use, as the code could not be read.  Again, there were a couple of colour-ringed Brent Geese, but as I've received nothing back about my last Goose sightings, I give these birds a 'bye ball' now.  I headed off for home, disappointed by not recording any other colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls.  I must easily have checked the legs of over 500 birds, but it was not going to be my day.  The re-sighting of the Scottish Oystercatcher was cherished though.

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From Cameron Moore

Whilst I was at work on Monday evening of the 14th February, an email came in from Cameron Moore.  Earlier that afternoon, he had a second sighting of a juvenile Black-headed Gull from the Republic of Ireland - (White) 2503.  He had originally spotted the youngster, on the 18th November 2021, on the shore at Rhanbouy Park in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, and today, it was spotted again at that same site.

This is now the fourth sighting of (White) 2503, since it was ringed as a chick, on the 17th June 2021, on Lough Ree in County Longford, in the Republic Of Ireland.  The first re-sighting was made by myself, on the 28th August 2021, when I recorded the juvenile at the Mill Ponds at Carrickfergus Leisure Centre.  By the 20th October 2021, it had moved 66 kms / 41 miles (SW), when David Morrow then spotted the bird at Dungannon Park in County Tyrone, before returning to Carrickfergus in November.

Having survived the depths of winter, the future looks bright for this gull.  The distance from Lough Ree to Rhanbouy Park, is 188 kms / 116 miles (NE), and the duration since being ringed, is now 7 months and 28 days.

My thanks to Cameron once again, for the sighting report and the photos.

Juvenile Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  2503  -  Rhanbouy Park, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (14 Feb 2022)

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

(Photo Courtesy of Cameron Moore)

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