From Suzanne Belshaw...

From Suzanne Belshaw

Suzanne Belshaw has been in touch concerning two juvenile gulls that she has spotted lately.  The ringing of the second bird led to an interesting story of how it ended up being ringed.

The first of the two juveniles was spotted by Suzanne on the 11th February 2025, at Lurgan Park Lake in Co. Armagh.  Knowing that the Black-headed Gull (White) 266B belonged to the Lough Ree Gull Ringing Project, an email was sent to the ringing coordinator - Brian Burke.

Brian replied a few days later to say that the gull was ringed as a chick on the 18th June 2024, on Goat's Island on Lough Ree, Co. Longford in the Republic of Ireland.  Brian stated that a good number of chicks had been ringed last summer, but very few of these have been reported so far.  Delighted with Suzanne's sighting, (White) 266B has travelled 145 kms / 90 miles (NE) to reach Lurgan Park.  This was a first re-sighting since being ringed, the duration being 7 months and 24 days.

Our thanks goes to Brian for supplying the ringing details.

Juvenile Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  266B  -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (11 Feb 2025)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 18th June 2024, at Lough Ree, Co. Longford, Republic of Ireland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

A juvenile Herring Gull ringed -  T:53T , was spotted by Suzanne close to her home in Lisburn, Co. Antrim on the 16th February 2025, though unknown at the time, this bird had an interesting upbringing.  Having reported the sighting to me, I suggested that she should report her sighting to the NE Scotland Gull Group.

The reply to Suzanne's email came from Jeroen (no surname given) to say that it was one of their birds ringed in July 2024 at Collieston in Aberdeenshire.  Jeroen copied in Raymond Duncan who was the ringer.  As Suzanne had also captured the juvenile's metal-number -  GY35959 , everyone was happy enough for me to submit the sighting through my BTO DemOn Ringing Account.

Soon after we received our copies of the ringing recoveries from the BTO, Raymond Duncan contacted us along with an interesting backdrop on how this bird was ringed.  During the 2024 breeding season, around 50 Herring Gull chicks were 'rescued' from rooftops in the towns of Peterhead, Fraserburgh, and the City of Aberdeen.  They were then taken to the New Arc Animal Rescue Centre near Ellon in Aberdeenshire.  At the Centre, Paul Reynolds and Morgane Ristic, along with a group of volunteers, fed and tended the chicks for several weeks before they were old enough to be released.

By late July, the time had arrived to release the juveniles.  They were moved to the coastal village of Collieston roughly halfway between Peterhead and Aberdeen, and prior to their release, the birds were fitted with both metal and colour-rings.  After release, some of the young gulls had moved southwards over mainland Britain.  One was spotted in the Republic of Ireland, while Suzanne's sighting of -  T:53T , was a first for Northern Ireland.

Over the past couple of years, I have read on the BBC Scotland News, where rooftop nesting gulls have become a problem.  Not only, are people complaining about the noise and fouling, some gulls have attacked people either for food, or because the gulls thought their nests were being threatened.  I have read accounts where some people wanted to see the gulls 'culled', but this would never happen as Herring Gulls are now on the 'Amber List', as a species of concern.  It now looks like the removal of chicks will help towards alleviating some of the problems.

On the BTO Recovery, the distance from Collieston to Lurgan, was given as 407 kms / 252 miles (SW), and the duration since being ringed, was 6 months and 16 days.

Our thanks goes to Raymond Duncan for supplying this interesting information, and once again, to Suzanne for the sighting reports and photos.

Juvenile Herring Gull  -   T:53T   -  Lisburn, Co. Antrim  (16 Feb 2025)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Juvenile, on the 31st July 2024, at Collieston, Aberdeenshire, Scotland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

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