One Leads to Others...

 

From Simon Piro

Whilst on holiday in the Latvian capital of Riga, the sightings of an Antrim Marina Black-headed Gull, triggered a series of interesting emails between German native Simon Piro and myself.  On the 30th June 2023, Simon spotted -  2AFD  at the Central Market in Riga, and then on the following day (1st July), Simon spotted -  2AFD  for a second time at the nearby Central Station (Photo Below).  After emailing me concerning the sightings, this led to information on two other Black-headed Gulls -  2ANX  and  2FFC , which have been included in this post.

 2AFD  belongs to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study which began in 2012 and ended in June 2018, and I now respond to sightings of Adam's gulls.  As an adult male,  2AFD  was caught and colour-ringed at Antrim Marina on the 12th February 2014.  By this time, I had already began my own project at Antrim Marina, studying the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina to run alongside Adam's Study.  Gulls ringed by Adam at the Marina formed the basis of my study, and after retraining as a ringer, I also began colour-ringing wintering Black-headed Gulls at the Marina to add to my study.

 2AFD , has over the years, accumulated a long series of sightings, both wintering in Antrim Town, and also in and around Riga itself, with Simon's latest reports being the 53rd and 54th sighting records altogether.  In the early years after being ringed,  2AFD  would have been frequently recorded at Antrim Marina, but in recent years, can now be found at the Castle Way car park in the centre of Antrim Town.  Last winter, after several attempts to record the return of -  2AFD  for another winter, I finally got him on Christmas Day at the Castle Way car park.  After this sighting, my car broke down on my way to Belfast, and I was left without a car until February, having to purchase a new car.

Back to Simon's sightings in Riga, Simon stated that there is a fish market at the Central Market, with the gulls benefitting from the scrapes.  Black-headed Gulls in the area nest on rooftops, so it could well be the nesting area for  2AFD .  The official distance given by the BTO, is 1,911 kms / 1,187 miles (E) from Antrim Marina to Riga.

Simon also added two photos of -  2AFD .  Hopefully, if all goes well,  2AFD  will make it back to Antrim to spend another winter here.  As the resighting history shows, this bird usually arrives back in November.

At this point, I was going to add a PDF File showing the full ringing and re-sighting history for -  2AFD , but the gull was spotted again 10 days later (read Andrew Hale below).

Black-headed Gull  -   2AFD   -  Central Station, Riga, Latvia  (01 July 2023)

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

(Photo Courtesy of Simon Piro)

Having mentioned that -  2AFD  belonged to Adam's former Northern Ireland BHG Study, Simon said he had reported some time ago about the re-trap of another of Adam's colour-ringed gulls but no reply was ever received.  On searching through my main Ring Reading Spreadsheet, I came across a May 2017 re-trap of -  2ANX  made by Simon and presumed this had been the bird concerned.  I then sent a spreadsheet copy of the history for -  2ANX .  At this point, the final sighting of -  2ANX , had occurred on the 9th February 2018, when recorded at Carrickfergus Harbour by Paul McCullough, and I assumed the gull had died enroute back to Germany, as it was not seen here again.

 2ANX , was ringed with a metal-only, as a chick in Germany back in 2008.  It's first ever sighting in Northern Ireland, was at Carrickfergus Harbour, when someone unknown to me had managed to read the ring number in November 2013.  The second sighting was made by myself at Carrickfergus Harbour in December 2015, having also read the metal number.  Prior to, and post breeding season,  2ANX  has been spotted in Poland, before returning to it's natal colony at Böhmke Island.  In January 2016, Adam managed to catch the gull and added the colour-ring -  2ANX , after which time sightings here became more routine.

Simon's report to Adam, actually added one further sighting.   2ANX  had made it back to Germany in the summer of 2018, and was caught by Simon on a nest containing three eggs.  This now became the last sighting, so its now looks likely that the gull died after the breeding season ended.  Simon says they routinely use a metal detector on Böhmke Island post breeding season to find metal rings of gulls that have died.  The distance from Carrickfergus Harbour to Böhmke Island, is 1,285 kms / 798 miles (E).

The full ringing and resighting history for  2ANX   can be read here (PDF).

Simon also sent a photo of himself with  2ANX  after it was captured on the 13th May 2018.

Simon Piro with Black-headed Gull -  2ANX    (13 May 2018)

(Photo Courtesy of Simon Piro)

On learning about my study of wintering Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina, Simon checked recent ring sightings made in Germany, and assumed that I knew of the demise of -  2FFC  via the BTO.  As yet, I have not received a recovery from the BTO, but luckily Simon gave details in his email.   2FFC  was found dead at Germany's largest Black-headed Gull breeding colony at Riether Werder on the 14th May 2023.  Around 100 adult Black-headed Gulls were found dead on Riether Werder, and after being tested, these birds had succumbed to Avian Bird Flu, including -  2FFC .

I caught and ringed -  2FFC , as an unsexed adult at Antrim Marina on the 30th November 2020.  During the summers of 2021 and 2022, there were no breeding season reports, with the gull arriving back at Antrim Marina, on the 4th October 2021 and 2nd August 2022.  With -  2FFC  being found dead, it would be safe to assume that it bred at Riether Werder in both 2021 and 2022.  The distance from Antrim Marina to Riether Werder, is 1,335 kms / 829 miles (E).

The full ringing and resighting history for  2FFC , can be read here (PDF).

I have added a photo of -  2FFC  taken on the 10th October 2022 at Antrim Marina.  This is one bird that is not going to return to Antrim Marina this winter - I wonder how many more will fail to return.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FFC   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (10 Oct 2022)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 30th November 2020, at Antrim Marina)

My special thanks goes to Simon Piro, for all of these ring sightings, and for the photos.  Just to think, that the sighting of one gull, went on to trigger info on two others.  This was a really nice bonus, which is very much appreciated.

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From Andrew Hale

Ten days after Simon Piro's sighting of Black-headed Gull -  2AFD  in Riga, an email arrived from Andrew Hale.  At 18:55 on the evening of the 11th July,  2AFD  was spotted on Cromer Beach on the north Norfolk coast in England.  This is a really interesting sighting which leaves me wondering.  If -  2AFD  was making it's way back to Antrim for another winter, why has it flown so far south from Latvia?

After receiving the official recovery from the BTO, the distance from Antrim Marina to Cromer is 534 kms / 331 miles (ESE).  Usually,  2AFD  arrives back into Antrim in November which is a fairly late date when compared to other returnees.  Could it be possible that -  2AFD  is stopping off somewhere else before completing his journey back to Antrim?  

My thanks goes to Andrew for this very interesting sighting.  The full ringing and re-sighting history for -  2AFD , can be read here (PDF).

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