Undetected...

As predicted, I missed another weekly visit to Antrim Marina yesterday - 2nd January 2022.  With the clutch of my car having packed in on Christmas Day, I have been grounded since.  I took a walk down to my mechanic yesterday, but they were still closed.  My car is still sitting outside of the premises, so I started the engine for the first time since Christmas Day, to let it run for about 15 minutes so as to top up the battery.  Ballymena Tyres, are mainly a tyre company which undertake some car repairs, but I'm not sure whether they will take on the job of replacing a clutch.  It may well be possible, that I could be off the road for another week or so which is not ideal.

With no ring sightings of my own, or anything to report at Antrim Marina, this weeks post is entirely composed by ring sightings made by Suzanne Belshaw.  Happy New Year to all, though my dismal end to 2022 still continues.

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From Suzanne Belshaw

A long awaited list of ring sightings was eventually found in my email 'spam box' on Tuesday the 27th December 2022, and what an interesting selection this turned out to be.

On the 13th December 2022, Suzanne visited the Whiteabbey Shore on Belfast Lough in County Antrim, where she recorded two colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls.  The stand out one for myself personally, was that of -  2FHT , which I ringed as a juvenile bird, on the 8th November 2021, at Antrim Marina in County Antrim where I study a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls.

After being ringed, the youngster was subsequently recorded at the Marina, on the 15th November, 29th November and on the 6th December 2021.  On Christmas Day 2021, I came across -  2FHT  at Antrim's Baptist Church, which was the final sighting until now.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FHT   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Nov 2021)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 8th November 2021, at Antrim Marina)

With -  2FHT  having failed to return to Antrim Marina this winter, this latest sighting from Suzanne was really pleasing to receive.  Whiteabbey Shore is situated 23 kms / 14 miles (ESE) from Antrim Marina, and the duration since being ringed, is now 1 year, 1 month and 5 days.  Although -  2FHT  may never return to Antrim Marina, it is nice to know that this one is still alive and well and hopefully there will further sightings in the future.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FHT   -  Whiteabbey Shore, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (13 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 8th November 2021, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

The second Black-headed Gull -  2HP4 , has now been recorded for the fourth time on the Whiteabbey Shore, and has yet to be recorded anywhere else.   2HP4 , was ringed as a chick, on the 18th June 2019, at the Elvanfoot colony in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.  Suzanne made the first re-sighting of this gull on the 23rd November 2021 (photo below) and I also spotted the bird here at Whiteabbey on the 16th January 2022.

This winter, I recorded the return of -  2HP4  on the 8th October 2022, and this latest sighting by Suzanne takes the duration to 2 years, 5 months and 19 days.  The distance from Elvanfoot to Whiteabbey, is 166 kms / 103 miles (WSW).

Black-headed Gull  -   2HP4   -  Whiteabbey Shore, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 24th June 2020, at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire, Scotland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw taken on the 23rd November 2021 at Whiteabbey Shore)

Lurgan Park Lake - 15th & 16th December 2022

On the 15th December 2022, Suzanne visited the lake at Lurgan Park in County Armagh, where she discovered that most of the lake was frozen over.  With the gulls forced to stand on the ice, the legs were easily viewed which resulted in an excellent number of rings being recorded.  Unknown to Suzanne at the time, whilst looking through a number of photos taken that day, she noticed a Common Gull with a White Darvic, which prompted a second visit on the following day, where the gull was eventually located and the ring was read.

Of six ringed gulls recorded, just one was a regular winter visitor to the park.  Three were first re-sightings since being ringed, and sadly, the details on the final two rings could not be confirmed.

The sighting of the Polish Black-headed Gull -  T58T , on the 15th December, is the second record of the bird this winter, as Suzanne recorded it's return on the 22nd November 2022.  Ringed as an unsexed adult in July 2016 in Świnoujście, Poland, the first re-sightings were made on the same day (15th December 2016), when the gull first appeared at Lurgan Park, having been recorded by Suzanne and myself independently of each other.

 T58T , has been returned to Lurgan Park every winter since 2016, though last winter, the gull was not spotted until the 12th January 2022, but this was likely due to a lack of visits, rather than a late return.  The final sighting at the park was made by Suzanne on the 8th March 2022, and on the 31st March 2022,  T58T  was back at Świnoujście and a further three sightings were also recorded there during the month of April.

The distance from Świnoujście to Lurgan Park, is 1,334 kms / 828 miles (WNW), and the duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 4 months and 6 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   T58T   -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (15 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 16th July 2016, at Świnoujście, Poland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

The sighting of a juvenile Black-headed Gull, rung (White) 2AH4, saw Suzanne sending an email to a Tim Bagworth, who replied a couple of days later.  The gull was ringed as a chick on the 18th June 2022, at the Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve at Wicken, in Cambridgeshire, England.  Suzanne's sighting was a first for this youngster, having flown around 496 kms / 308 miles (NW), to reach Lurgan Park.  The duration since being ringed, is 5 months and 27 days.  Many thanks to Tim for supplying the ringing info.

Juvenile Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  2AH4  -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (15 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 18th June 2022, at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire, England)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

The sighting of a Norwegian-rung Black-headed Gull - (White) J6N3, was an interesting one.  The gull had been ringed as a chick, on the 12th June 2011, at Lake Ulsrudvann on the eastern outskirts of Oslo, and Suzanne's sighting happened to be the first ever, coming 11 years, 6 months and 3 days since being ringed.  The distance to Lurgan Park, is 1,195 kms / 742 miles (SW).  It is always nice to record a bird who has gone undetected for so long.

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  J6N3  -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (15 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 12th June 2011, at Lake Ulsrudvann, Oslo, Norway)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

Another Norwegian-rung gull was overlooked by Suzanne during her visited to Lurgan Park on the 15th December 2022.  At home later that day, Suzanne was mulling through the photos that she had taken, when she discovered one with a Common Gull bearing a White Darvic.  Determined to 'nail' this gull, Suzanne returned on the following day (16th), and after around an hour and a half, the gull was located and the ring read - (White) JE956.

On submitting the sighting onto the 'Live Norwegian Ringing Database', this Common Gull also turned out to be a first re-sighting.  (White) JE956, was ringed as a juvenile male on the 24th September 2018, at Nedre Leirfoss, in Trondheim, aided by the use of a lured trap.  The distance to Lurgan Park, is 1,373 kms / 853 miles (SW), and the duration since being ringed, is 4 years, 2 months and 22 days.

Common Gull  -  (White)  JE956  -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (16 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as a 1st Calendar Year Male, on the 24th September 2018, at Nedre Leirfoss, Trondheim, Norway)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

As mentioned above, two Black-headed Gulls were spotted, but unfortunately, the details on their rings were not confirmed.  The first with a Yellow Darvic -  2E** , would have been from Scotland.  At the town of Antrim in County Antrim, I have recorded -  2EA1  on three occasions, this gull having been ringed as a chick at the Forvie National Nature Reserve in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Black-headed Gull  -   2E**   -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (15 Dec 2022)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

The second Black-headed Gull, was a Danish-rung juvenile, sporting the new style metal ring.  The alpha-numeric code reads upwards in two columns of three characters and is repeated twice on the ring which provides a greater opportunity for the full code to be read.

Its a shame that these two gulls got away, as this would have been a really great haul overall.  When lakes become frozen over, this provides a great opportunity for ring reading, one which Suzanne took full advantage of.

Again, my thanks to Suzanne for her sightings and photos.

Juvenile Danish Black-headed Gull  -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (15 Dec 2022)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

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