At last, I'm on the road again having purchased a new car. My previous car broke down on Christmas Day on route to Belfast to re-sight a colour-ringed Norwegian Black-headed Gull. With the cost of replacing the clutch, a flywheel and a leaking steering rack, I decided to scrap the car, which was due to be replaced later this year. Having been caught on 'the hop', it has taken seven weeks to find a replacement having test drove a few cars which were not to my liking. One car that I had thought was promising, was sold to a second car dealer as a job lot of five cars. I finally caught up with this particular vehicle, and after a test drive, I bought it.
Having been off the road, I could not doing any ring reading at all, and worst still, I was unable to get to Antrim Marina for my weekly visits. Over the seven weeks, I have had hundreds of gulls coming to my front garden, where they were filmed in the event any were colour-ringed. Using the occasional chicken carcass left out on the lawn, not even a metal was spotted, and the Christmas Turkey carcass was picked at for several days by mainly Black-headed Gulls. What always surprised me here, was that juveniles always outnumbered adults by about 9 to 1.
I cannot make it to Antrim Marina tomorrow (Monday 13th February), but normal service will resume from next weekend, when I will be on the search for ringed gulls. I might just try the Connswater Shopping Centre car park next Sunday in search for the Norwegian Black-headed Gull, and Monday will see me returning to Antrim Marina, where a number of returning Black-headed Gulls should have been recorded by now.
This post is very lengthy and the bulk of the ring sightings have come from Suzanne Belshaw, which include several first re-sightings. The post was started several weeks ago, but I had spent a lot of time looking for a car, which also meant a lot of walking, especially to and from work, a 45 minute journey each way.
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| From Suzanne Belshaw |
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Suzanne has been in touch concerning her latest ring sightings at Lurgan Park and Antrim Marina, though I have been sitting on these for quite some time now. On the 9th December 2022, Suzanne visited the lake at Lurgan Park in County Armagh, where she recorded two colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls. The first bird - 2P97 , has now been recorded for a third time in Northern Ireland, and this was the bird's second appearance at Lurgan Park. 2P97 , was ringed as a chick, on the 18th June 2019, at the Elvanfoot colony in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
It was first recorded here, on the 1st December 2020, when David Nixon spotted the gull at Corbet Lough in County Down, and then Suzanne recorded the gull here at Lurgan Park, on the 27th January 2022. The distance from Elvanfoot to Lurgan, is 202 kms / 125 miles (WSW), and the duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 5 months and 21 days. The ringing co-ordinator for the project - Iain Livingstone was contacted, and these three sightings remain the only ones for this gull.
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Black-headed Gull - 2P97 - Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh (09 Dec 2022)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 18th June 2019, at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire, Scotland)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
The second Black-headed Gull, was a juvenile, rung - 2EXP . Having contacted the ringing co-ordinator Ben Dolan, this was the first sighting for this young gull, having been ringed as a chick, on the 7th June 2022, at the Marsh Lane Nature Reserve in the West Midlands area of England. The distance from Marsh Lane to Lurgan Park, is 383 kms / 237 miles (NW), and the duration since being ringed, is 6 months and 2 days.
2EXP , was also the second juvenile from the same colony, having been ringed on the same date, to turn up at Lurgan Park this winter. 2FCK , was first recorded at Lurgan Park, on the 26th October 2022, and has now accumulated four sightings there altogether (read Suzanne's second report below).
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Black-headed Gull - 2EXP - Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh (09 Dec 2022)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 7th June 2022, at Marsh Lane NR, West Midlands, England)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
Unable to visit Antrim Marina since my car broke down on Christmas Day, Suzanne's visit to Antrim Marina on the 2nd January 2023, produced one returnee, out of the four rings which were read. 2FDT , was last recorded at Antrim Marina, on the 14th March 2022. 2FDT , was ringed as a juvenile/1st winter bird, on the 9th November 2020, here at the Marina. During the winter of 2020/2021, it was last recorded at the Marina, on the 4th January 2021 (Covid lockdown prevented further visits), and the gull returned on the 30th August 2021.
Suzanne's sighting is the 35th record for - 2FDT at the Marina, and where the gull goes to during the summer months is as yet unknown. The duration since being ringed, is now 2 years, 1 month and 24 days. 2FDT , is now the 49th colour-ringed Black-headed Gull from my Study at the Marina, to have been recorded this winter. The total includes nine Black-headed Gulls caught and ringed in the weeks before Christmas Day.
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Black-headed Gull - 2FDT - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (02 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 9th November 2020, at Antrim Marina)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
It was actually getting dark when Suzanne called by Antrim Marina. A further two Black-headed Gulls were also recorded - these being - 2FIN and - 2FIX , both caught and ringed this winter. 2FIX , was ringed on the 19th December 2022, and this happened to be it's first re-sighting since.
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Black-headed Gull - 2FIN - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (02 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Winter Bird, on the 31st October 2022, at Antrim Marina)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
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Black-headed Gull - 2FIX - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (02 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 19th December 2022, at Antrim Marina)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
The metal ring of a Mute Swan was also read. Z78580 , was ringed as a juvenile at Antrim Marina, on the 15th November 2020, by Debbie Nelson and Aidan Crean. During the winter of 2020/2021, the final sighting was made on the 26th April 2021, before returning to the Marina, on the 6th December 2021. A further 15 re-sightings were made at the Marina during the 2021/2022 winter, with the final sighting having been recorded on the 28th March 2022. I recorded the return of - Z78580 , on the 28th November 2022, which was the only sighting this winter until now. The duration since being ringed, is 2 years, 1 month and 18 days.
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Mute Swan - Z78580 - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (02 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Juvenile, on the 15th November 2020, at Antrim Marina)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
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| From Cameron Moore |
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Back in early January, Cameron Moore sent me an email reporting on the sighting of a Black-headed Gull bearing a White Darvic - 2503, which was spotted at Rhanbouy Park in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim. The gull was ringed as a chick, on the 17th June 2021, on Lough Ree in County Longford in the Republic of Ireland. This latest sighting of - (White) 2503, is the fifth record for the gull at Carrickfergus, and the sixth overall, having been spotted in County Tyrone.
The duration since being ringed, is now 1 year, 6 months and 16 days. The distance from Lough Ree to Carrickfergus, is 188 kms / 116 miles (NE). Brian Burke, who is the ringing co-ordinator for the Lough Ree Gull project, replied to Cameron's sighting, with an updated PDF File which can be read (here). My thanks to both Cameron for the latest sighting and to Brian for his speedy reply.
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Black-headed Gull - (White) 2503 - Rhanbouy Park, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim (02 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 17th June 2021, on Lough Ree, Co. Longford, Republic of Ireland)
(Photo Courtesy of Cameron Moore)
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| From David Stirling |
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David Stirling is a relatively new contact, and at the end of January, I received an email concerning the sightings of two immature Herring Gulls spotted at Ardglass Harbour in County Down, on the 30th January 2023. Having contacted Mark Fitzpatrick, who is the ringing co-ordinator for the Isle of Man, the sightings of J41:M and K72:M , were the first for the birds since they were ringed as chicks on the Calf of Man.
J41:M , was ringed on the 26th June 2021, which takes the duration since being ringed, to 1 year, 7 months and 4 days. K72:M , was ringed on the 15th July 2021, and with a second re-sighting made by David on the 8th February 2023 at Ardglass Harbour, the duration is now 1 year, 6 months and 24 days since being ringed. My thanks to David for his sightings, along with photos, and to Mark for supplying the ringing details. The distance from the Calf of Man to Ardglass Harbour, is 57 kms / 35 miles (WNW).
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Herring Gull - J41:M - Ardglass Harbour, Ardglass, Co. Down (30 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 26th June 2021, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man)
(Photo Courtesy of David Stirling)
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Herring Gull - K72:M - Ardglass Harbour, Ardglass, Co. Down (30 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 15th July 2021, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man)
(Photo Courtesy of David Stirling)
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| From David Nixon |
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David Nixon has been in touch, concerning the latest sighting of Common Gull - 2BBC , on the seafront at Millisle in County Down. On my main Ring Reading Spreadsheet, this is the 47th sighting report for the gull since it was ringed as a chick, on Big Copeland Island in County Down, on the 23rd June 2009. This takes the duration since being ringed, to a nice 13 years, 7 months and 10 days. All, but the very first re-sighting, have been recorded on the Millisle seafront (especially in the main car park), which is situated roughly 8 kms / 5 miles (S), from Big Copeland Island.
As a then juvenile, 2BBC was first recorded on the 23rd January 2010, on Gormanston Strand in County Meath in the Republic of Ireland - the distance being 124 kms / 77 miles (SSW). My thanks goes to David, for his sighting of the most recorded Common Gull here in Northern Ireland.
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Common Gull - 2BBC - Millisle Seafront, Drumfad Bay, Co. Down (02 Feb 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 23rd June 2009, on Big Copeland Island, The Copeland Islands, Co. Down)
(Photo Courtesy of David Nixon)
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| And More From Suzanne Belshaw |
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Further ring sightings have been received from Suzanne Belshaw during the month of January. On the 13th January 2023, Suzanne visited Kinnego Marina and the lake at Lurgan Park, recording four ringed birds altogether. Black-headed Gulls - 2BPN and - 2BPT were spotted at Kinnego Marina, along with the sighting of Mute Swan - X4638 which was a new sighting and the details for this bird could not be found on DemOn, meaning they had not been submitted by the ringer/ringers concerned. I will not go into detail about these birds now, as they were all recorded again later in the month (read below), along with Black-headed Gull - EZ02451 which was also spotted on the 13th January 2023 at Lurgan Park lake.
25th January 2023 - Lurgan Park and Kinnego Marina
On the 25th January 2023, Suzanne revisited Lurgan Park and Kinnego Marina, this time recording five rings altogether. At Lurgan Park Lake, Suzanne made her fourth sighting of a juvenile Black-headed Gull - 2FCK , and at the same time solved a slight dilemma - the metal number. Having reported the gull to Ben Dolan of the West Midlands Ringing Group, she was asked to submit her sighting onto their new online ringing database, and the result was quite vague. It did not say that the gull was ringed as a chick, nor was a metal number given. No recovery was sent to Suzanne by the BTO, which also meant that the sighting was not submitted to the BTO by the West Midlands Ringing Group.
The first sighting of - 2FCK at Lurgan Park Lake, was made on the 26th October 2022, and on the 8th November 2022, Suzanne recorded the juvenile for a second time. Wondering what to do this time, I suggested reporting the sighting direct to the BTO by the birds colour marks only. Having done this, the BTO then contacted Ben for the ringing details which would also include the metal number. It turns out, that Ben could not give the details, as the recording sheets had got wet, so it was impossible to give the metal number assigned to - 2FCK .
I now suggested to Suzanne, that the only way to confirm this bird, was to capture it's metal number. The bird was spotted by Suzanne for a third time at the park on the 22nd November 2022, though Suzanne was not able to capture the metal number. On this latest sighting on the 25th January 2023, the metal number was captured - EA50418 . I now submitted all four sightings to the BTO, also informing Ben of Suzanne's success in capturing the metal number - Ben was delighted.
The four recoveries duly arrived to both Suzanne and myself. I hyperlinked them directly onto my main Ring Reading Spreadsheet without opening them. However, Suzanne reported to me, that the colour marks for - EA50418 gave - 2FCX - how have I got that wrong??? I went back onto DemOn to correct the colour marks against - EA50418 , to find that they were no longer there. I resubmitted the sightings giving - 2FCK , but once again the recoveries came back as - 2FCX . I explained to Suzanne, that the original ringing data submitted by the West Midlands Ringing Group, appears to have been entered as - 2FCX having been ringed with the metal number - EA50418 , and this must be the reason for the code to keep changing.
2FCK , was ringed as a chick, on the 7th June 2022, at Marsh Lane Nature Reserve in the West Midlands area of England. The distance to Lurgan Park Lake, is 383 kms / 237 miles (NW), and the duration since being ringed, is now 7 months and 18 days.
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Black-headed Gull - 2FCK - Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh (25 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 7th June 2022, at Marsh Lane Nature Reserve, West Midlands, England)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
Moving on to Kinnego Marina, Suzanne recorded five ringed birds, which included three that she recorded here on the 13th January 2023 (mentioned above).
2BPN , was one of the three to be spotted here on the 13th January. 2BPN , was ringed as an adult female, here at Kinnego Marina, on the 29th October 2014. This latest sighting is the 77th sighting record altogether, with all sightings having been made at Kinnego. Until the 13th January 2023, the gull was last reported on the 5th April 2022, so this was a really welcomed update. The breeding site for - 2BPN , is as yet unknown. The duration since being ringed, is now 8 years, 2 months and 27 days.
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Black-headed Gull - 2BPN - Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh, Co. Armagh (25 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 29th October 2014, at Kinnego Marina)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
The sighting of - 2BPS , is the 68th sighting record for this gull, with all sightings having been made at Kinnego Marina. The gull was ringed here as an adult female, on the 31st October 2014, which takes the duration to 8 years, 2 months and 25 days since being ringed. The previous sighting of - 2BPS , was made on the 26th October 2022.
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Black-headed Gull - 2BPS - Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh, Co. Armagh (25 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 31st October 2014, at Kinnego Marina)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
2BPT , was also recorded on the 13th January 2023, here at Kinnego Marina. This latest sighting is the 80th for the gull overall, with all sightings having been made at Kinnego. 2BPT , was also ringed at Kinnego, as an adult female, on the 31st October 2014, taking the duration, to 8 years, 2 months and 25 days since being ringed.
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Black-headed Gull - 2BPT - Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh, Co. Armagh (25 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 31st October 2014, at Kinnego Marina)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
Another welcomed re-sighting, was that of Black-headed Gull - EN52966 . Suzanne's latest sighting of this gull is now the 19th on my spreadsheet. EN52966 , spends the winter at Kinnego Marina, the earliest arrival date having being recorded on the 7th October 2016, and the latest before departure, was recorded on the 18th March 2022, which also happens to be the last date that it was spotted at Kinnego Marina until now.
EN52966 , was ringed as a chick, on the 3rd June 2009, which now takes the duration to a nice 13 years, 7 months and 22 days. The gull was ringed at Blacker's Rock, County Tyrone, situated on the western edge of Lough Neagh. The distance to Kinnego Marina, is 17 kms / 10 miles (SE).
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Black-headed Gull - EN52966 - Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh, Co. Armagh (25 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 3rd June 2009, at Blacker's Rock, Lough Neagh, Co. Tyrone)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
A Mute Swan recorded by Suzanne at Kinnego Marina on the 13th January 2022, was a new sighting, and not only that, the ring was of a type that we had not seen before. Suzanne did not take a photo of the bird itself, but thankfully, photographed both sides of the ring, with the address clearly showing that it was a BTO metal - X4638 . On submitting Suzanne's sighting onto my DemOn ringing account, no details came up, meaning the original ringing data had not been entered by the ringer/ringers concerned.
Suzanne recorded - X4638 for a second time at Kinnego Marina on the 25th January 2023, by which time, we had received no recovery from the previous sighting, therefore I did not report the latest sighting. A recovery finally arrived on the 6th February 2023. X4638 , was ringed as a juvenile 2nd year bird on the 18th February 2022, at Bartins Bay on Lough Neagh, Co. Antrim (near Aghagallon). The distance to Kinnego Marina is a mere 6 kms / 3 miles (SSW), and the duration since being ringed, is now 11 months and 7 days.
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Mute Swan - X4638 - Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh, Co. Armagh (13 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird, on the 18th February 2022, at Bartins Bay, Lough Neagh, Co. Antrim)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
27th January 2023 - Belfast Waterworks
On the 27th January 2023, Suzanne visited the former Belfast Waterworks, which is now a public park containing two large lakes. On the lower lake, two colour-ringed Greylags were recorded, along with a Mute Swan - NLX .
Unknown to Suzanne at the time, NLX was a new sighting, as the bird was not on my main Ring Reading Spreadsheet. I submitted the Mute Swan by it's colour-marks only, and heard nothing until the 8th February, when an email was received asking for the Belfast and North Down Ringing Group to supply me with the bird's details including the ring number.
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Mute Swan - NLX - Belfast Waterworks, Cliftonville, Belfast (27th Jan 2023)
(Waiting for the Ringing Details)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
Greylag Goose, (White) 024, was ringed at Belfast Waterworks, as an adult female, on the 25th March 2019. This latest sighting, is the 8th record for the bird on my spreadsheet, with all sightings having been recorded at the Waterworks. The previous sighting was recorded by Suzanne on the 20th September 2022. The duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 10 months and 2 days.
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Greylag Goose - (White) 024 - Belfast Waterworks, Cliftonville, Belfast (27th Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 25th March 2019, at Belfast Waterworks)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
The sighting of (White) 039, is now the 6th record for this bird on my spreadsheet, with all six sightings having been recorded by Suzanne at Belfast Waterworks. It was ringed as an unsexed 2nd calendar year bird at the Waterworks, on the 5th March 2020, and the duration since being ringed, is now 2 years, 10 months and 22 days.
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Greylag Goose - (White) 039 - Belfast Waterworks, Cliftonville, Belfast (27th Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird, on the 5th March 2020, at Belfast Waterworks)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
A small number of colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls have previously been recorded at the Belfast Waterworks, including a couple of birds from Norway. There's no doubting that Suzanne would have been looking for some of these, without any success.
28th January 2023 - Luke's Point, Ballyholme
Suzanne's visit to Luke's Point at Ballyholme, County Down, on the 28th January 2023, produced two re-sightings of colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls. My favourite of the two, is the 10th re-sighting of - 2CLV , which seems to evade us ring readers over the years since being ringed. 2CLV , belongs to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study, and was ringed as a chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Nature Reserve, on Larne Lough, Co. Antrim.
The first re-sighting was made on the 28th August 2017, at Whitehead in County Antrim, by Cameron Moore. The duration at that point, was 2 months and 12 days, with Whitehead situated 10 kms / 6 miles (SE) from Larne Lough. The gull then went undetected until the 27th February 2019, when the bird was recorded at Ballyholme for the first time by Suzanne. This latest sighting at Ballyholme, is the 8th to be recorded here.
The outstanding sighting was reported back in June 2021, when - 2CLV was spotted at Bangor Harbour by Jim Wells. As there are no breeding sites in the Bangor area, I wondered if this gull had failed early, and was making it's way back to Ballyholme. The duration since being ringed, is now 5 years, 7 months and 12 days, and Luke's Point lies 19 kms / 11 miles (SE) from Blue Circle Island.
Unfortunately, there are no close viewing points to Blue Circle Island, so it is therefore impossible to record any of Adam's Study birds back breeding on the island as adults.
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Black-headed Gull - 2CLV - Luke's Point, Ballyholme, Co. Down (28 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island NR, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
The second colour-ringed Black-headed Gull, was the Polish-rung - TRX9 . TRX9 , was ringed as a chick, on the 5th June 2019, at Lake Rynskie in north-east Poland. The then juvenile, was first re-sighted on the 4th August 2019, at Ringstone Edge Reservoir in West Yorkshire, England. All 13 sightings since then, have been recorded during the winter months at Ballyholme, with the first having been made on the 12th September 2021, when spotted by a John O'Boyle.
Initially, I had wondered whether the gull was just passing through, but now it has established itself as a winter resident at Ballyholme, especially around the car parks at Luke's Point. The duration since being ringed, is 3 years, 7 months and 23 days, and Ballyholme is situated 1,760 kms / 1,093 miles (W) from Lake Rynskie.
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Black-headed Gull - TRX9 - Luke's Point, Ballyholme, Co. Down (28 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 5th June 2019, on Ptasia Wyspa Island, Lake Rynskie, Ryn, Poland)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
29th January 2023 - Lisburn
On the 29th January 2023, Suzanne spotted a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull standing in front of her car close to where she lives in Lisburn, Co. Antrim. Having photographed the gull through the windscreen, the code read - 2P44 . Interestingly, the gull was no stranger to Suzanne, as she had spotted the bird at Hillsborough Park Lake, County Down, just a few kilometres away. Two sightings had been made there, on the 28th November and 3rd December 2022, both of which had been first re-sightings in Northern Ireland.
2P44 , was ringed as a chick, on the 18th June 2019, at the Elvanfoot colony, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The gull's first re-sighting was made in the Republic of Ireland, when on the 30th October 2019, Jan Rod spotted - 2P44 on Gormanston Strand in County Meath. According to Iain Livingstone, who is the ringing co-ordinator for the Clyde Ringing Group, these four sightings are the only ones so far. The distance from Elvanfoot to Lisburn, is 185 kms / 114 miles (WSW), and the duration since being ringed, is 3 years, 7 months and 11 days.
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Black-headed Gull - 2P44 - Drumbeg/Dundrod Drive, Lisburn, Co. Antrim (29 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 18th June 2019, at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire, Scotland)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
31st January 2023 - Lurgan Park Lake
Suzanne's visit to Lurgan Park today produced five ring sightings, with two being re-sightings and three were completely new birds. The visits to Lurgan Park Lake this winter, have been very rewarding for Suzanne, with a nice list of first re-sightings (read here).
The first of the two re-sightings, was that of a metal-rung Black-headed Gull - EZ02451 , which had also been recorded on the 13th January 2023, as mentioned above. It was ringed as a chick, on the 20th June 2017, at the Elvanfoot colony in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Normally, it would have been fitted with a colour ring, but on that particular date, with far more chicks than expected, the Clyde Ringing Group exhausted their supply of colour-rings.
As a juvenile, EZ02451 was recorded by Suzanne at Lurgan Park, on the 7th September 2017 - it's first re-sighting. The gull has returned to Lurgan Park every winter since 2017, and this latest sighting, is the bird's 15th sighting record here altogether. The duration since being ringed, is now 5 years, 7 months and 11 days, and the distance from Elvanfoot, is 202 kms / 125 miles (WSW). No photo of the gull this time, but I cropped three photos of the metal ring, confirming the latest sighting record.
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Black-headed Gull - EZ02451 - Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh (31 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 20th June 2017, at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire, Scotland)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
The second re-sighting was that of the Polish Black-headed Gull - T58T . T58T , was ringed as an unsexed adult, on the 16th July 2016, at Świnoujście, situated on the northern coast of Poland close to the border with Germany. It was first recorded at Lurgan Park, on the 15th December 2016, when recorded by myself and Suzanne having visited the park at different times.
Since 2016, T58T has returned every winter, and this winter, Suzanne recorded the gull's return on the 22nd November 2022. Back home at Świnoujście, T58T , has been spotted on numerous occasions over the years, and was last seen there on the 9th April 2022. This latest sighting at Lurgan Park, is the 29th for the bird here. The duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 6 months and 15 days, and the distance from Poland, is 1,334 kms / 828 miles (WNW).
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Black-headed Gull - T58T - Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh (31 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 16th July 2016, at Świnoujście, Poland)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
A metal-rung juvenile Black-headed Gull, was a new sighting, and turned out to be a bird from Denmark - VA7547 . This is the second juvenile Black-headed Gull from Denmark to be recorded here at Lurgan Park this winter. On the 15th December 2022, that particular bird was spotted standing on the ice, but Suzanne was unable to gain the ring number, though it looks nothing like the one belonging to this new sighting. Suzanne has reported her sighting to Kjeld Tommy Pedersen, but as yet there has been no reply.
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Juvenile Black-headed Gull - VA7547 - Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh (31 Jan 2023)
(Waiting for the Ringing Details)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
A second juvenile Black-headed Gull bearing a metal ring was also spotted by Suzanne. This was another new sighting, and the number was easily captured - EM17125 . I submitted the sighting through my DemOn Ringing Account, and we soon had a recovery from the BTO. EM17125 , was ringed as a chick on the 19th June 2022, at Shotton Steelworks in Flintshire, Wales. The distance to Lurgan Park, was given as 256 kms / 159 miles (WNW), and the duration since being ringed, was 7 months and 12 days. Suzanne found a blog which featured the steelworks colony, which can be read (here).
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Juvenile Black-headed Gull - EM17125 - Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh (31 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as a Chick, on the 19th June 2022, at Shotton Steelworks, Shotton, Flintshire, Wales)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
Suzanne's third new sighting of the day at Lurgan Park, was that of a Mute Swan. No photo of the swan itself, but the metal number was captured as being - Z78583 . I submitted Suzanne's sighting, and the recovery soon arrived back from the BTO. The bird was ringed as an unsexed juvenile at Lurgan Park, on the 2nd December 2020, which would take the duration to 2 years, 1 month and 29 days since being ringed.
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Mute Swan - Z78583 - Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh (31 Jan 2023)
(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Juvenile, on the 2nd December 2020, at Lurgan Park Lake)
(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)
My thanks goes to Suzanne once again for her sightings along with the photos. With being off the road with no car, I'm a trifle envious with Suzanne's efforts.
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