From David Nixon and Suzanne Belshaw...

From David Nixon

An email from David Nixon on the 20th December 2023, produced quite an interesting ring sighting.  David was visiting Sprucefield Shopping Centre in County Down, when he spotted a Black-headed Gull bearing a Yellow Darvic.  David happened to have his binoculars handy, and was able to read the ring, which read -  250B .  Not having his camera with him, David took a photo with his mobile phone, but the code was un-readable.

This sighting of -  250B , is the very first winter sighting for this gull, though I had hoped for one from much further afield.  It was ringed as a chick, on the 6th June 2008, at Lough Mask in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland.  The bird was first discovered at Sprucefield Shopping Centre, on the 1st July 2013 by Adam McClure.  Over the years since then, there has been numerous Autumn sightings (most made by Suzanne Belshaw), which led to the belief that this gull uses Sprucefield as a 'staging post' before moving onto it's wintering quarters.  The latest ever Autumn sighting, was made by Suzanne last year, when she spotted -  250B  close to her home in Lisburn, County Antrim, on the 25th September 2022.  Within Northern Ireland, this was the gull's only sighting away from Sprucefield, though only a couple of kilometres separates the two sites.

Drawing a line from Lough Mask through Sprucefield, I always thought it might be likely that -  250B  was wintering in Scotland, possibly in Dumfries and Galloway.  I had wondered if the gull may have been ill, hence it still being at Sprucefield, but David assured me that the bird was looking very well and active.  What we need now, are further winter sightings around the Sprucefield / Lisburn areas,

The earliest Spring sighting at Sprucefield was made by Suzanne on the 17th February 2016, showing that Sprucefield was also being used as a 'staging post' on the birds return to Lough Mask.  The gull has been spotted close to it's natal nest site in 2009, 2010, 2017, and twice in 2019.

David's latest sighting, is the 37th on my spreadsheet.  The duration since being ringed, is now an impressive 15 years, 6 months and 14 days.  Sprucefield is situated 232 kms / 144 miles (ENE) from Lough Mask. 

Black-headed Gull  -   250B   -  Sprucefield Shopping Centre Car Park, Co. Down  (20 Dec 2023)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 6th June 2008, at Lough Mask, Co. Mayo, Republic of Ireland)

(Photo Courtesy of David Nixon)

Another Black-headed Gull was reported to me by David, on the 22nd December 2023.  This bird, colour-ringed -  2BY6 , was spotted at Nickey's Point, just south from Killyleagh in County Down.  I confirmed David's thoughts that this was possibly a Scottish bird, and I duly copied in Iain Livingstone into my reply to David.  A Common Gull with an Orange Darvic was also spotted, but the code on it's ring was badly smudged and was not readable, but I reckoned it was from Aberdeenshire in Scotland.  Unfortunately, the gulls took flight before David could take any photos.

On the 28th December 2023, we received a reply from Iain.   2BY6 , was ringed as a chick, on the 19th June 2018, at the Elvanfoot colony in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.  David's sighting was a first for this gull since it was ringed, with the duration being 5 years, 6 months and 3 days.  I have submitted the sighting to the BTO, but without an official distance, I reckon the distance is roughly 172 kms / 107 miles (SW), from Elvanfoot to Nickey's Point.

My thanks goes to David regarding both of his sightings, and to Iain for supplying the ringing details of -  2BY6 .

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From Suzanne Belshaw

Every so often, I receive an email from Suzanne Belshaw, with a whole list of ring sightings made over a period of time, so her latest email came as no surprise.  Here, I will work through from the earliest to the latest sightings.  During the Autumn and Winter months, Suzanne makes several visits to Kinnego Marina, and the lake at Lurgan Park, both sites being situated in County Armagh.  Lurgan Park Lake, is quite a productive site in recent years, with many ringed gulls turning up there.

A visit to Lurgan Park on the 27th November 2023, produced a single ring sighting, which was that of a Mute Swan -  Z78583 .  This was Suzanne's second sighting of the swan at the park, having first spotted the bird on the 31st January 2023.   Z78583 , was ringed as a juvenile at Lurgan Park, on the 2nd December 2020, by a member of the Belfast and North Down Ringing Group.  The duration since being ringed, is now 2 years, 11 months and 25 days.

Mute Swan  -   Z78583   -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (27 Nov 2023)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Juvenile, on the 2nd December 2020, at Lurgan Park Lake)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

Another Mute Swan is a regular at Hillsborough Park Lake in County Down.  This bird -  NLB , was ringed at Hillsborough Park as an adult male, on the 2nd March 2019.  This is now the 9th sighting record from Hillsborough, the last having been made on the 2nd December 2022.  The duration since being ringed, is now 4 years, 8 months and 27 days.

Mute Swan  -   NLB   -  Hillsborough Park Lake, Hillsborough, Co. Down  (29 Nov 2023)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 2nd March 2019, at Hillsborough Park Lake)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

Suzanne returned to Lurgan Park, on the 5th December 2023, and made her second sighting this winter of the Norwegian Black-headed Gull - (White) J2234.  The previous sighting here on the 14th November 2023, was a first in Northern Ireland.  (White) J2234, was ringed as a chick, on the 11th June 2022, at Lake Lyseren, situated a short distance to the south-east from Oslo.

Two previous sightings were made in Norfolk, England, when the then juvenile, was spotted on the 2nd and 16th February 2023.  It is strange for a Black-headed Gull to winter at a different site, though this bird may still head over to Norfolk in the coming weeks.  It will be interesting to see what this bird does next.  The distance from Lake Lyseren to Lurgan Park, is 1,200 kms / 745 miles (WSW), and the duration since being ringed, is now 1 year, 5 months and 24 days.

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  J2234  -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (05 Dec 2023)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 11th June 2022, at Lake Lyseren, Norway)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

A returning Herring Gull, was spotted on two occasions close to Suzanne's home in Lisburn, on the 10th and 17th December 2023.  This metal-rung bird -  GY32513 , was ringed as a chick, on the 12th July 2020, on Lighthouse Island in County Down, which is home to the Copeland Bird Observatory.  This is now Suzanne's 5th and 6th sightings in the area, the first having been made on the 16th May 2021.  The distance from Lighthouse Island to Lisburn, is 40 kms / 24 miles (WSW), and the duration is now 3 years, 5 months and 5 days since being ringed.

Herring Gull  -   GY32513   -  Drumbeg Drive, Lisburn, Co. Antrim  (10 & 17 Dec 2023)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 12th July 2020, on Lighthouse Island, The Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw) 

Two colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls were recorded at Kinnego Marina by Suzanne, on the 13th December 2023.   2BPN , belongs to Adam McClure's former NI Black-headed Gull Study.  The bird was one of six Black-headed Gulls to be colour-ringed by Adam at Kinnego Marina.  One of these, was actually a bird from Latvia, which has long since perished.

As things look now, it appears that -  2BPN  is now the last of the six that is still alive, as -  2BPS  and -  2BPT  have not been seen since the 23rd February 2023 and the 31st March 2023 respectively.   2BPN , was ringed as an adult female, on the 29th October 2014.  The duration as of today's sighting, is now 9 years, 1 month and 14 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2BPN   -  Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh, Co. Armagh  (13 Dec 2023)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 29th October 2014, at Kinnego Marina)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

The sighting of Black-headed Gull - (White) 24X7, is the third this winter, and it has been the second year running that the gull has been recorded.  (White) 24X7, was ringed as a chick, on the 11th June 2022, at Hosehill Lake in West Berkshire, England.  Suzanne recorded the juvenile on three occasions last winter at Kinnego Marina, the first being on the 14th February 2023, the third on the 9th March 2023.

This Autumn, Suzanne recorded the return of (White) 24X7, on the 11th October 2023, at the nearby Lurgan Park Lake, and this was followed by a sighting made by Steven Fyffe on the 26th November, with the bird having made it's way back to Kinnego Marina.  The duration since being ringed, is now 1 year, 6 months and 2 days, and the distance from Hosehill Lake, is 492 kms / 305 miles (NW).

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  24X7  -  Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh, Co. Armagh  (13 Dec 2023)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 11th June 2022, at Hosehill Lake, West Berkshire, England)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

The sighting of Common Gull -  2AIP , is the 27th sighting record for this bird.  As with all previous sightings, Suzanne spotted the bird on Whiteabbey Beach, this time, on the 14th December 2023.  The gull was ringed as a chick, on the 11th June 2012, on Big Copeland Island in County Down.  The full re-sighting history including distance and durations can be read (here).

My thanks once again goes to Suzanne for her sighting reports and photos.

Common Gull  -   2AIP   -  Whiteabbey Shore, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (14 Dec 2023)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 11th June 2012, on Big Copeland Island, The Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

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