Estimates Exceeded...

Last weekend saw me undertaking my first visit this summer, to the WWT's Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down, to read colour-rings on the breeding Black-headed Gulls.  On the following day, Sunday, I made my third visit to Rathlin Island, not only to read colour-rings on Common Gulls, but also to count the number of these gulls at the colonies.  I had planned for a fourth visit this weekend, but the ferries were completely booked out, much to my horror.  I have never faced this situation before, but now that people have regained their freedom after the lockdowns over the past two years, perhaps nature has filtered into their lives and now they want to get out to experience it first hand.  The large seabird colonies at the west lighthouse do offer a spectacular worth viewing, and a smell that is unforgettable.

With the first Common Gull chicks seen on my latest visit, colour-ringing will begin in three weeks time, so to be sure of a seat on the ferry, I shall have to book well ahead.  Not sure at present what I'll do this Sunday now that I cannot get to Rathlin.  The following Sunday is ruled out as well, as I have to go to work, on the second of four obligatory Sunday's that we have to work each summer

Before boarding the ferry for my third summer visit, I spoke to a couple of similar age as myself.  They told me they lived on a small island that had albatrosses nesting on it.  On asking where they were from, Hawaii was the reply - I did not expect that!!

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First 2022 Visit to Castle Espie Wetland Centre - 21st May

Having recently renewed my Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust membership for another year, I reckoned it was high time that I paid my first visit for this summer to their Castle Espie Reserve in County Down.  By now, I reckoned that the first eggs will have hatched, and this proved to be the case with around a quarter of the gulls having small chicks underneath them.

My main aim, was to record colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls belonging to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Study which ran from 2012 until 2018.  At Castle Espie, Adam was allowed to ring chicks there, due to Kez Armstrong, who at the time, worked on the Reserve and she was also a bird ringer.  A small number of Black-headed Gulls were ringed in 2013, but the bulk of a total of  214 birds were ringed as chicks between 2014 to 2017.  128 of these chicks, have yet to be recorded since the day they were ringed.

During today's visit which lasted for just over two hours, just seven colour-ringed gulls were recorded.  Many, many legs could not be seen, as the majority of the gulls were sitting on nests, and with most, their partners were obviously away feeding elsewhere.  Due to the 'Covid Lockdowns' and other restrictions over the past two breeding seasons, fewer visits were made, but now I have the chance to extend the longevities of surviving birds.

This past winter, saw very few sightings of Adam's project birds, but being at a breeding colony provides an excellent opportunity to read rings.  Castle Espie also sees the gulls nesting at close quarters, as these birds are extremely tolerant to visiting people.  In fact, two nests were noted in plant tubs on the public walkway between two of the ponds - these contained one, and three eggs.

The first of the seven rings read here today, was that of -  2ARL .  This bird was ringed as a chick at Castle Espie, on the 15th June 2015.  The first re-sighting, was made by me on the 13th May 2018, here on the reserve, and has been recorded on the site each year except for 2020.  On the 31st August 2020,  2ARL  was spotted by Suzanne Belshaw at the nearby Islandhill car park, which also happens to be it's only sighting away from Castle Espie.  The duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 11 months and 6 days.  I'm hoping to extend the duration to over seven years by the end of the breeding season.

Black-headed Gull  -   2ARL   -  Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

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

The next gull to be recorded, was -  2CAD .  Ringed at Castle Espie as a chick, on the 24th June 2016, it's first re-sighting occurred on the 12th June 2017, at Bull Island in County Dublin in the Republic of Ireland - this being it's only re-sighting away from the reserve to date.   2CAD , was recorded here at Castle Espie in 2018 and 2019, with the last sighting until today, having been made by Maurice Turley, on the 18th June 2019.  Almost three years on, this was a nice re-sighting.  The duration since being ringed, is now 5 years, 10 months and 27 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2CAD   -  Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

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

The sighting of -  2APR , is only the sixth record for this bird, which was ringed as a chick at Castle Espie, on the 15th June 2015.  The first re-sightings were made at Castle Espie in the breeding seasons of 2018 (x2) and 2019 (x2), and then on the 9th March 2021, on the reserve by Stewart Rosell.  With today's sighting, the duration is now 6 years, 11 months and 6 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2APR   -  Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

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

The third ring to be spotted, was that of -  2CBL , on the mudflats of Strangford Lough, directly in front of the reserve's Brent Hide.  At the time, the code meant nothing to me, but I was in for quite the surprise when I returned home.  Having ran the code through my spreadsheet,  2CBL  was reported in Scotland last month, and I even recorded this gull at a breeding colony in 2019.

 2CBL , was ringed at Castle Espie as a chick, on the 24th June 2016, and I made the first re-sighting on the 12th May 2019, when I spotted the gull at a breeding colony, at the RSPB's Portmore Lough Reserve in County Antrim.  The bird was not seen again, until the 5th and 6th April 2022, when Brian Henderson reported the gull being at the East Pier in Stranraer, Scotland.  According to Brian, there is a Black-headed Gull breeding colony at the former ferry terminal, so we wondered if -  2CBL  may be nesting there this summer.

However, it seems as if this gull has different ideas, so it was good to record it back home at it's natal colony.  The duration since being ringed, is now 5 years, 10 months and 27 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2CBL   -  Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

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

The sighting of -  2BKD  today was really interesting.  Ringed as a chick at Castle Espie, on the 19th June 2014, it's first four re-sightings were made in the months of May and June 2018, having been recorded back within the breeding colony.  Surprisingly, these were the only sightings at Castle Espie until now.  Ross McIlwrath, who was on the staff list at Castle Espie, took an interest and made several ring sightings during his tenure on the Reserve, but never recorded -  2BKD  there.

Away from the reserve,  2BKD  has been spotted during the winter months on the Dargan mudflats on Belfast Lough - 3rd & 4th February 2019 (myself & Suzanne Belshaw), and on the 5th January 2020, by me.

Today's sighting, takes the duration to 7 years, 11 months and 2 days, since being ringed.  Great to see that it is still with us, with many more days being added to it's longevity.

Black-headed Gull  -   2BKD   -  Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 19th June 2014, at Castle Espie Wetland Centre)

 2AKJ , was a bird that I attempted to record over the past winter on the Connswater mudflats in Belfast, but I never got it.  Ringed at Castle Espie as a chick, on the 15th June 2015, I made the first re-sighting of this bird on the 4th September 2016 at Victoria Park in Belfast, which is very close to the Connswater mudflats.  The next six sightings occurred on Connswater mudflats during the winters of 2018, 2019 & 2020.

In the breeding season of 2021,  2AKJ  was reported back at Castle Espie for the very first time, having been recorded there twice in March, followed by another two sightings in June (Stewart Rosell (twice), myself and Ross McIlwrath).  Despite not recording this bird last winter, I was really pleased with today's sighting.  The duration since being ringed here, is now 6 years, 11 months and 6 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2AKJ   -  Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

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

Today's sighting of -  2AKT , is the first in almost three years, having last being recorded here at Castle Espie on the 25th May 2019.   2AKT , was ringed here as a chick, on the 15th June 2015.  I made the first re-sighting of the then juvenile at Kircubbin, Co. Down, on the 27th February 2016, which to date, is it's only sighting away from Castle Espie.

In May 2018, the bird was recorded back within it's natal colony for the first time, with a further three sightings having been made in the month of June.  As mentioned above, there was only the single sighting in 2019.  The duration is now 6 years, 11 months and 6 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2AKT   -  Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

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

I was quite pleased with this wee haul of seven ring sightings, but surely there has to be many more.  I'll come back in two weeks, by which time, nearly all of the eggs will have hatched.  I did notice a couple of gulls today collecting nest material.  These could be late breeders, or possibly re-nesting attempts having lost their first clutch of eggs.

Being down in this 'neck of the woods', on leaving Castle Espie, I made my way to Millisle hoping to record a few colour-ringed Common Gulls from Shane Wolsey's former Copeland Island project.  Known to be a 'hotspot' for Common Gulls, just one un-ringed bird was present.

All the gulls that were on site, were Herring Gulls, mostly immature birds, and juveniles from last summer.  Among the few full adult Herring Gulls, was a metal-rung bird, who dominates the seafront car park.   GA00153 , was mistakenly ringed as a Lesser Black-backed Gull chick, on the 22nd June 2005 on Big Copeland Island, situated 8 kms to the north.  Today's sighting is my 18th record of this gull here at Millisle, having first photographed the metal ring on the 24th December 2015.  I have recorded -  GA00153  at least once every year since - 2016 (x4), 2017 (x6), 2018 (x2), 2019 (x2), 2020 (x1) & 2021 (x1).

Today, I only managed to take one photo of the upside-down ring as the gull flew off, but to get ' 153 ', was enough to verify my sighting.  The duration since being ringed, is now 16 years, 10 months and 9 days.

Herring Gull -   GA00153   -  Millisle Seafront, Drumfad Bay, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

(Ringed as a Lesser Black-backed Gull Chick, on the 22nd June 2005, on Big Copeland Island, Co. Down)

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Third 2022 Visit to Rathlin Island - 22nd May

With this being my third visit in recent weeks to Rathlin Island, my main focus is trying to read colour-rings on the Common Gulls, as well as counting the number of these gulls at each colony in order to gain some idea on the overall size of the population on the island.

Today, I just worked the east coast, beginning at Arkill Bay, and making my way southwards to finish at Rue Point Lighthouse.  At Arkill Bay, two colour-rings were recorded, with -  2BBF  being recorded here for the second time this summer.  The second bird was -  2BLX , with a first ever re-sighting.   2BLX , was ringed as a chick at the Arkill Bay colony, on the 24th June 2019, with the duration now 2 years, 10 months and 28 days since being ringed.  Both -  2BBF  and -  2BLX , were recorded on the north section of the colony.

Common Gull  -   2BLX   Arkill Bay, Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim  (22 May 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 24th June 2019, at Arkill Bay)

Counts were made at both the north and south sections, which included all standing birds as well as those sitting on nests.  On my previous visit, I counted 44 birds at the north colony, and 59 birds at the south colony, giving an overall total of 103 gulls altogether.  Today's count at the north colony gave a total of 50 birds, whilst the southern colony had 63 birds, making the overall total 113 - up by 10 gulls from my previous count.

Two smaller colonies are situated further north from Arkill Bay, but these are on private ground - Portawillan and Portcastle.  With Portawillan being the closer of the two, I took a long range photo, and on returning home, I counted 27 Common Gulls on these rocks.

From Arkill Bay, I scoped southwards towards the headland at the north end of Doon Bay.  The Great Black-backed Gull was still sitting on it's nest on that headland (photo in previous post).  A further two Common Gulls could be sitting on their nests, isolated away from the colonies.  The first, situated half way from Arkill Bay towards the headland, had just the single bird sitting on the nest.  The second nest, along with an attending partner, was on rocks adjacent to the headland.  Altogether, 143 Common Gulls had been recorded from my vantage point at Arkill Bay.

Moving on to Doon Bay, I sat well up on the hillside overlooking the colony.  On my previous visit, a headcount totalled 36 gulls, but today I counted 44.  Sitting at a slightly different vantage point, I noted a couple of sitting gulls whose nests were in 'dips', and were likely missed on my last visit.

Two colour-rings were recorded, with the first presenting me with a slight problem, as to where it is nesting, or even if it is nesting at all.  This gull -  2BCL , had already been recorded twice this summer, on the 23rd April and on the 1st May, at the nearby Rue Point colony.

The second bird, was the first re-sighting this summer of -  2BBL , and the fifth record of the bird since being ringed.   2BBL  was ringed as a chick, at the Doon Bay colony, on the 26th June 2018.  It's first ever re-sighting was made on the 13th June 2020 at Doon Bay, by Ric Else.  This was the bird's only sighting during 2020, and I reckoned the gull had returned to prospect a nest-site ahead of the 2021 breeding season.

 2BBL , duly returned to Doon Bay in 2021, where it was recorded twice - on the 8th & 14th June.  I could not confirm whether it bred or not, but very few chicks were seen at the site, with the majority of nesting pairs having seemingly failed.

On the 24th October 2021, Jan Rod spotted -  2BBL  at Lurganboy Strand, County Louth, in the Republic of Ireland, which was the bird's last sighting until today (photo).  The distance to Lurganboy Strand, is 160 kms / 99 miles (S).  With today's sighting of -  2BBL , the duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 10 months and 26 days (pdf).

Common Gull  -   2BBL   -  Doon Bay, Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim  (22 May 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 26th June 2018, at Doon Bay)

Moving on from Doon Bay towards the Smugglers Cottages, I recorded two pairs of Shelducks with chicks, so I reported these to Ric Else who complies the Rathlin Island Bird Report.  I reckon these are the first Shelduck chicks to be recorded on the island this summer.

Shelduck Pair With One Chick

Shelduck Pair Along With 12 Chicks

Whilst walking towards the Cottages, two more Common Gulls were spotted on isolated nests with no partners in attendance.  A Black-headed Gull was also spotted sitting on a nest.  A handful of Black-headed Gulls nested around here last summer.  Quite close to the Smugglers Cottages, was a loose colony of Common Gulls, with five birds sitting on nests, plus two attending partners.  The total of Common Gulls counted from Doon Bay to the Smugglers Cottages, was 51 birds altogether, though this would be higher had absent partners been counted as well.

Between the Smugglers Cottages and Rue Point, another two Common Gulls nested in isolation, with their partners being with them.  At Rue Point, a colour-ringed juvenile Common Gull was spotted, and on zooming in with my camera, I captured the code -  2BTX .  On returning home and checking my spreadsheet, this was the first re-sighting for this bird.   2BTX , was ringed as a chick on the 20th June 2021, here at the Rue Point colony.  The duration since being ringed, is now 11 months and 2 days.

Last summer, the Common Gulls suffered from there second poor breeding season in a row, and just 31 Common Gull chicks were colour-ringed, though several other youngsters managed to escape from my 'clutches'.  Since the end of last winter, the sighting of  2BTX , makes this, only the second juvenile known to have survived so far.  On the 25th April 2022, Ric Else spotted -  2BXA  at Church Bay on Rathlin, having been ringed at Doon Bay, on the 29th June 2021.

Common Gull  -   2BTX   -  Rue Point, Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim  (22 May 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 20th June 2021, at Rue Point)

On my previous visit to the Rue Point colony, I was unable to make a count due to the cold and windy conditions.  I made a very quick visit to record a few colour-rings, and then let the gulls settle down again so as the eggs did not chill.  Today, it was still rather windy, but not so cold.  Trying to make a count is very awkward here as there is no clear vantage point.  There are many dips and hollows among the rocks here that can hide gulls with nests.  At a rough guess, I reckoned that there were at least 35 gulls altogether, but that total may be a good bit higher.  This makes the total from the Smugglers Cottages to Rue Point, as being 39 birds altogether, and an overall total of 233 gulls counted between Arkill Bay and Rue Point (with Portawillan also included).

I did not make counts at Ushet Lough or at Roonivoolin today, but on my previous visit to Rathlin, I recorded five nests plus two attending adults at Roonivoolin, 29 gulls in total on the rock islet on Ushet Lough, plus a further four nesting gulls around the edge of Ushet Lough.  If you add these, to the 233 Common Gulls already counted today, the overall population is well in excess of 250 birds altogether, and this is without a count at Portcastle.

The 2021 Northern Ireland Seabird Report(read here), gave a total of 69 AON's (Actually on Nests), for Common Gulls on Rathlin Island, though I have always believed that the population of breeding gulls was at least 100 pairs.  With my recent counts, it appears that the overall breeding population exceeds my own estimations.

At Rue Point, a further four colour-ringed Common Gulls were also recorded, taking the day's total to nine colour-rings read.  These four, had already been recorded here this summer -  2BPL ,  2BAX ,  2ASX  and  2APC .

Walking back towards Rathlin Harbour, the Common Gull nest that I spotted on the 1st May with one egg, is still ok, as an adult bird was still sitting on the nest.  The nest is on top the gable wall of a derelict cottage beside the completely reed covered lake adjacent to Ushet Lough.  At Ushet Lough, the four pairs nesting around it's shores are also ok, with birds still sitting firmly on their nests.

I forgot to mention, at Doon Bay, I spotted the first two Common Gull chicks of the summer, whose heads poked out from underneath the sitting adult.  Ringing will begin in three weeks time, and coincides nicely with the Mondays and Tuesday's which I had booked off from work at the beginning of 2022.  The four extended weekends, beginning from the 11th June, will allow me plenty of time to locate and ring chicks.  At present, things are looking good as far as this summers breeding season is going, so hopefully there will be plenty of chicks to ring.   

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From Suzanne Belshaw

Suzanne Belshaw has been in touch again, reporting two juvenile Herring Gulls which see spotted at Castle Park in Newcastle, County Down, on Saturday 21st May 2022.  I had been copied into two emails sent to the respective project owners.

The first to reply, was Graham Prole from the Irish Midland Ringing Group, based in Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland.  Attached was a PDF File concerning Suzanne's sighting of -  H23:D .  The ringing details immediately caught my eye - 'Hatched in Captivity'.  The youngster was ringed as a chick, and was released into the wild, on the 1st August 2021, at Bull Island in County Dublin.

I was intrigued about the ringing details, and I emailed Graham, asking if the gull was raised in a sanctuary of some sort - could you enlighten us?  An interesting and detailed response was duly received, though for now, Graham is not willing to go public with the project, as gulls in Dublin are not favourite birds concerning the public.  All I can say for now, is that some Herring Gull eggs were taken and incubated under licence, with the chicks being reared in captivity and released after being ringed.

Although -  H23:D , was raised in captivity, it has obviously done well to survive so far.  Two previous sightings have been reported - Bray Harbour in County Wicklow in September 2021, and at Dun Laoghaire in County Dublin in April 2022.  Suzanne's sighting comes 9 months and 20 days, since the bird was released on Bull Island.  The distance to Newcastle is roughly 95 kms / 59 miles (NNE).

My thanks goes to Graham for the interesting story behind -  H23:D , and to Suzanne for the sighting report and photo - all a bit different from the usual sightings of a ringed bird.

Juvenile Herring Gull  -   H23:D   -  Castle Park, Newcastle, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 1st August 2021, in Captivity)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

The second juvenile Herring Gull belongs to the Isle of Man, and was ringed -  K80:M .  I was copied into the email sent to Mark Fitzpatrick, but it could be sometime before we receive a reply.  Normally, at this time of the year, Mark will be on the Calf of Man, working with the gulls at the observatory.  Whenever, Mark gets back onto the mainland, he will send us the details.

Juvenile Herring Gull  -   K80:M   -  Castle Park, Newcastle, Co. Down  (21 May 2022)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

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