Marathon Afternoon...

I have taken the week off work as a holiday, with the intentions of doing some badly needed work in the garden, a bit of birdwatching, and a few more flights with my new drone.  Although I have made several long distance flights with the drone, I'm still learning of all its features and capabilities.  Like everything else, it takes time to understand what makes the drone such a useful peace of kit.

The gardening involves power-hosing the back yard, which needs to be done at least twice a year, due to the build up of algae, lichens, mosses and small plants.  The hedges needed cutting for a second time, the borders weeded and the grass cut for the umpteenth time.

Did not go anywhere on Saturday, but Sunday turned out to be a marathon at the Myroe Levels in County Londonderry.  It's been a while since I was last here, but with over 1,000 Common Gulls, there had to be a colour-ring or two.

I did not get out again until Thursday, where for a change of scenery, I headed off to County Down.  A total of 10 colour-ringed gulls were recorded, four new to Northern Ireland, plus first sightings for me of gulls previously recorded here by others.  These birds will be left until my next post, as I am waiting for replies to emails.

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Antrim Marina - Monday 5th September 2022

Today's visit to Antrim Marina, is my sixth weekly visit over this autumn/winter season.  As I am off work all this week, I decided on a later arrival time and got here around 11:30.  After what had been one of my worst weekly visits last Monday, I was hoping for a larger number of gulls this week, and the later arrival time might help.  It was a nice dry day with 50/50 blue sky and cloud with just the faintest of breezes.  Before I departed at 3pm, the wind had gathered pace, and it became cloudier.  Not long into today's visit, a lorry arrived, which I knew was a power-washing team.  The driver, who watched me catching and ringing gulls in the past, was sympathetic and decided to return later so as I could carry out my ring reading in peace.  As I was packing up, they arrived back, and I must give a big thank you to the guys.

On my arrival, around 100 Black-headed Gulls were already on site, a total which remained static throughout my visit, though once again, birds were clearly coming and going.  From just after 11:30 until 1:30pm, I recorded 22 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, with the final two birds of the day being recorded at 2:22 & 2:24pm, giving me a final total of 24 ring sightings.  Up until today, 33 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls had been recorded here this winter, but many more are still to return.

On my return home, I could not at first, make my tallies add up, as I had recorded 24 colour-rings, but had 10 absentees, so one extra bird had turned up.  Looking through the codes, I could not make out who the extra bird was, but after entering the codes onto my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet, the suspect was -  2CSR , who now becomes the 34th bird to have been recorded here since I began this winter's visits.

 2CSR , was ringed here on the 24th December 2017, as a second calendar year bird.  I'm not absolutely sure about it's residential status, as I have one breeding season sighting, made here at the Marina back in May 2021.  I'm leaning towards the idea, that -  2CSR  is a non-resident, and maybe breeding elsewhere in Northern Ireland.  As usual, I am relying on breeding season sightings from other observers.

Talking of resident birds, I have noticed that -  2ABK  has not been recorded since I began my winter weekly visits.  Ringed as an adult female, here at Antrim Marina, on the 23rd January 2013, over the years, it has been recorded on numerous occasions at the Marina during the breeding season and is classed as a year-round resident.  On one single occasion, the gull strayed away from Antrim Marina, when it was photographed at Kinnego Marina at the southern end of Lough Neagh, on the 17th March 2020, but was recorded back at Antrim Marina on the 3rd May 2020.

During random visits to Antrim Marina this summer,  2ABK  was present on the 28th May 2022, which was its last sighting.  It was very rare, that -  2ABK  was not recorded during my weekly visits, so I'm now thinking the bird has perished at some point during the breeding season.  The next few weeks will confirm this either way.

I'm not sure whether I mentioned my 'one legged - left legged' Black-headed Gull, which has been recorded back over recent weeks.  This bird arrived here last winter, and during my weekly visits, would announce its arrival by hovering beside the window of my car.  It knows me well now, as I throw bits of bread into the air for it to catch.  Due to having just one leg, it does not do too well in competition with the other gulls when people throw bread onto the ground.  Today, it got its fill.  

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 5th September 2022

2FFA	2CTC	2FHX	2AAN	2FFF	2FIH	2ABS	2FDK
2FFP	2FIF	2CSR	2FHJ	2CSX	2CSB	2ABN	2FHC
2AAK	2FHV	2FFC	2FIA	2CJT	2BRA	2FFX	2FHP

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

2AAA	2AAB	2ABA	2ABL	2ACV	2CSA	2CSK	2CSL	2FHA	2FIJ

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

The Mute Swan family with their four cygnets were present throughout my visit.  One couple who watched me feeding the cygnets with brown bread were really enthralled by how docile the swans were.  The lady thought the cygnets looked so nice and cuddly, so I returned to my car to get some more bread.  Handing a couple of slices to the lady, I told her that she was in no harm, and whilst feeding the cygnets, she could stroke them.  She could not believe that she was able to pet them, and it really made her day.  She said that she would come back again with some brown bread, she really enjoyed the experience.

Around 60 Mallards were present on my arrival, but numbers had dropped slightly before my departure.  As usual, most legs were checked for rings.

One Lesser Black-backed Gull was present on my arrival, and it too remained throughout my visit.  A second adult appeared around 2:30 but was quickly chased off by the first bird.  No adult Herring or Common Gulls were seen on today's visit, but a second year Herring Gull arrived at 12:40, and was still on the short concrete jetty when I departed.

3 Jackdaws were the only other birds to be recorded here today.

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Myroe Levels - Sunday 4th September 2022

For a change in scenery today, I decided to visit the Myroe Levels near Limavady in County Londonderry.  When I thought about it, I don't think I went anywhere near it last winter, though it is a popular wintering area for Whooper Swans, Brent Geese, gulls and waders.  It is a shade early for returning swans and geese but should still be good for gulls and waders.  Once I had finished at Myroe, I would then move on to Coleraine and Portrush on the north coast of Antrim.  Well, that was the plan, but once I got to Myroe, my visit turned out to be a 'Marathon Afternoon'.

I've never seen the likes of it here, but there was well over 1,000 Common Gulls, so among that lot surely there had to be a colour-ring or two to be found.  The second two most numerous species were Black-headed Gulls and Oystercatchers, though numbers were less than 150 for both species.  Some Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and at least two Mediterranean Gulls were also present.

The geography of the Myroe Levels is very challenging for 'Ring Reading'.  A rough dirt and gravel track rungs along the seawall, separating the fields from Lough Foyle.  Between the track and the fields, a wide tidal channel, already presents a fairly reasonable distance from myself to the closest of the birds.  The fields themselves are enormous and run inland from the channel.  To give some idea as to the length of these fields, it would be possible to fit in at least three good sized football pitches back-to-back in each.

With over a 1,000 gulls and waders spread over the length of the fields, I needed some amount of luck to find and read rings among the closest of the birds.  A bigger problem still, was that the majority were lying down on the grass, so I had to be patient and needed some of these birds to get up and move about.

By the end of the afternoon, I had managed to find 7 colour-ringed birds altogether, which included 5 Oystercatchers, whose combination of colour-rings and codes, were fairly easy to capture.  A Black-headed Gull and a Common Gull, whose ring codes were captured, were 'Big Sightings' for me personally.

In long past visits to the levels, I have seen Black-headed Gulls with Orange Darvics on more than one occasion, but they were always too far away to capture the codes.  This time, I had a bird that was on the borderline as to whether I could capture it or not.  On scoping the gull, I could not read the ring, so I then followed the bird with my camera which has a far greater reach.  The height of the grass was not helping, and worst still the gull was walking towards a large puddle of water - and in it went.  

The wait was now on, I reverted to the telescope again, and watched the gull drinking and bathing.  After a period of time, which seemed like forever, my target walked out and started to preen itself.  This time, I captured enough on the ring to know it was -  2BCC , a bird that I knew was a first ever sighting for me and belonged to Adam's former Northern Ireland project.

On returning home and checking my Ring Reading Spreadsheet, I was delighted to see that this bird had been ringed as a chick in County Donegal.  Back in 2016, Adam was invited by the Causeway Coast Ringing Group in association with the Irish Parks and Wildlife Service, to ring Black-headed Gulls at Inch Island.  The lake has nesting Sandwich Terns, and the Causeway Coast RG., focuses on the ringing of their chicks, while Adam and myself colour-ringed Black-headed Gull chicks.  A total of 122 Black-headed chicks were ringed over two visits, made on the 8th & 22nd June 2016.

Very few of these have ever been re-sighted, but that is not due to a lack of surviving birds.  I place this solely in the lack of birdwatchers in the Londonderry area who are capable of reading rings.  In subsequent visits to Inch Island, I have scoped adult Black-headed Gulls with Orange Darvics back on their natal island, but these are just outside of camera range from the shore of the lake.

 2BCC , was ringed as a chick, on the 8th June 2016.  This first re-sighting comes 6 years, 2 months and 27 days since being ringed.  The distance from Inch Island to the Myroe Levels, is roughly 28 kms / 17 miles (ENE).

Black-headed Gull  -   2BCC   -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (04 Sep 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 8th June 2016, at Inch Island, Co. Donegal, Republic of Ireland)

Common Gulls are my favourite species of gull, and I began my own colour-ringing project of this species on Rathlin Island in 2017.  Whilst out looking for ringed birds, I'm always eager to find my own birds dotted around the coasts during the winter months.  With over 1,000 Common Gulls here today, there had to be at least one or two with colour-rings.  Having arrived on the levels shortly after 1pm, I went on to record 5 Oystercatchers with colour-rings, plus the Black-headed Gull mentioned above, and was waiting on my first Common Gull ring.

Over the course of the afternoon, just one Common Gull was spotted with a ring - a metal that was way too far out to be read.  With 6pm having come and gone, I was beginning to get extremely bored with so much scoping and hunger was also beginning to get the better of me.  I decided to remain until 7pm and would then head for home.  At 6:12, I then spotted a gull standing in a pool of water, and the top of a Darvic could be seen.  Zooming in with my camera, the gull began to move, and having taken numerous useless photos, I eventually captured the code -  2AJL .

Common Gull with Colour Ring  -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (04 Sep 2022)

Although I did not recognise the code, I thought that this was likely to be a Copeland bird, as most of the Common Gulls ringed on that island, were ringed with the -  2A**  or  2H**  series of codes.  On reaching home, I ran the code -  2AJL  through my Ring Reading Spreadsheet, to find that I had actually ringed it as a chick on Rathlin Island.

The colour-rings that I use on the Common Gulls, were given to me by Shane Wolsey, who gave up on his Copeland Common Gull project in 2014.  Since obtaining these rings, I used the remaining -  2A**  series on Rathlin, followed by the -  2B**  series, and I'm now on the -  2C**  series there.  The remaining -  2H**  series are still reserved for use on The Copeland Islands.

 2AJL , was ringed as a chick, on the 17th June 2017, at Rue Point Lighthouse on the southern tip of Rathlin Island.  The aim of my Rathlin project, is to see how many of the chicks survive and return to the island to integrate into the overall breeding population.  This sighting of -  2AJL , is it's first since being ringed, with the duration being 5 years, 2 months and 18 days.   2AJL , would have reached maturity and should have bred for the first time in 2020, so where has it bred over these last two summers?, will it ever return to Rathlin?  It could be possible, that it is breeding on Rathlin, as I cannot obtain permission to visit the two sub-colonies at Portawillan or Portcastle.

I was really pleased with this sighting, and glad my patience paid off.  The distance from Rathlin Island to the Myroe Levels, is roughly 55 kms / 34 miles (SW) but would be longer following a coastal route rather than a direct line route.

Common Gull  -   2AJL   -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (04 Sep 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 17th June 2017, at Rue Point, Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim)

Of the five colour-ringed Oystercatchers record, three were from Iceland, including one that I have recorded here in the past, and the remaining two belong to a Northern Ireland project belonging to Kendrew Colhoun.

Emailing Boddi, who is the ringing coordinator for Icelandic Waders, he sent me PDF Files for all three birds.

Orange/White - White (TA), was ringed as an unsexed breeding adult, on Kirkjubólsvöllur Golf Course, just north-west of the Capital Reykjavik, on the 1st June 2018.  It was first recorded in Northern Ireland on the 19th December 2020, when I spotted the bird here on the Myroe Levels.  In July 2021, it was recorded back on the Kirkjubólsvöllur Golf Course in Iceland, and then returned to the Myroe Levels, where this time, my ex-ringing trainer John Clarke, spotted the bird on the 23rd September 2021.  Boddi stated, that not all Icelandic summer sightings have reached him yet, so it is not known if the bird bred there during the summer of 2022.  The duration since being ringed, is now 4 years, 3 months and 3 days, and the distance to the Myroe Levels, is 1,326 kms / 823 miles (SE).

Oystercatcher  -  OW-W(TA)  -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (04 Sep 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 1st June 2018, at Kirkjubólsvöllur (golf course), SW Iceland)

Lime/Lime - White (CC), was ringed as an unsexed breeding adult, on the 19 May 2020, at Kiðafell in south-west Iceland, and was subsequently recorded there in both 2020 & 2021.  It's first ever sighting in Northern Ireland, was recorded here at Myroe, by my new ringing trainer Richard Donaghey on the 28th February 2022.  During the past summer, there was at least one sighting of the bird back on it's breeding grounds during May 2022.  This sighting today, takes the duration to 2 years, 3 months and 16 days since being ringed, and the distance to Myroe is roughly 1,310 kms / 814 miles (SE).

Oystercatcher  - LL-W(CC)  -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 19th May 2020, at Kiðafell, SW Iceland)

White/Green - White (XE), was ringed as an unsexed adult, on the 21st June 2021, in the Selfoss area in southern Iceland.  The birds first ever re-sighting was made by Richard Donaghey, here on the Myroe Levels, on the 28th February 2022.  In late March, and again in early April 2022, the bird was seen back in Iceland, feeding on the Svarfhólsvöllur Golf Course just to the north of Selfoss.  The duration since being ringed, is now 1 year, 2 months and 14 days, and the distance from Selfoss is roughly 1,254 kms / 779 miles (SE).

Oystercatcher  -  WG-W(XE)  -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (04 Sep 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 21st June 2021, at Selfoss, S Iceland)

The final two Oystercatchers belongs to a Northern Ireland project belonging to Kendrew Colhoun.  I sent an email to Kendrew concerning these two sightings, and as yet, there has been no reply.  I have submitted both birds to the BTO by their colour-marks only, so hopefully the Oystercatchers are on the system.

Each bird, has a single Red ring above the left knee, and a 'White Flag' with a three letter code above the right knee.  The metal ring is fitted onto the lower left leg.

Oystercatcher  -  R-W(ETT)  -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry  (04 Sep 2022)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details)

Oystercatcher  -  R-W(EUE)  -  Myroe Levels, Lough Foyle, Co. Londonderry)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details )

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