And then there was one....

As expected, as wintering birds disperse, the number of Black-headed Gulls present at our main winter catching site has dramatically decreased. 

Keith Stevens got in touch to say that numbers were well down and that 2AAF was the only colour-ringed bird still there.

This bird was the only juvenile ringed there, which may suggest why it's the only one still around.  It is most likely that all of the adults have dispersed to their respective breeding colonies.

Black-headed Gull - FA00745

Another country has been added to the list of where wintering Black-headed Gulls in Northern Ireland were originally ringed.

Thanks to Lowell Mills who passed on details of a metal ring he managed to read at Antrim Forum back in October.

Lowell was able to read the number and to make out the letters "BEL" on the address and reported the number accordingly.

Just this week, Lowell got word back that this bird was ringed as a chick on 10 June 2006 at Nespish Lake, Braslav in Belarus.  That's a movement of 2095km, making it the largest distance travelled by any of the birds we've reported here.

 

This is the eighth country of origin of ringed Black-headed Gulls recorded here this winter, along with Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, England, Norway, Poland and Lithuania.

 

 

 

 

 
  

A movement!

I headed down to Sandy Bay in Larne this evening to check the Black-headed Gull flock for colour-ringed birds and I wasn't disappointed.

Noticing a bird with an orange ring, I assumed it was the bird which I ringed there earlier this winter but when I looked at a photo I managed to get, I realised that the code on the ring was 2ABT.

This bird was actually ringed in Ballyholme, Co. Down by Kerry Leonard when we were out on 24 January.

 

 

Kerry with 2ABT in January

Although, it appeared as though not everyone was happy to see 2ABT!

Unfortunately it doesn't count as a recovery as it's only a movement of 22km (13.75m), but this is the first time one our colour-ringed birds has been recorded away from where it was ringed, so I'm delighted!

2ABH, the bird which I ringed at Sandy Bay on 21 January is still around too and I also managed to get a couple of snaps of it.

Both of these birds are adult males and are likely breeding birds from the colony on Blue Circle Island in Larne Lough.

Ready for take-off!

"A very" Good Friday - Part I

Last Friday afternoon I headed down to the Ards Peninsula and I called into Millisle for a quick look to see if there were any colour-ringed gulls around.

I threw some bread out and the mixed flock of Black-headed, Common, Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls very quickly appeared around the car.  Unfortunately, very few of the gulls landed, instead most of them stayed on the wing in the strong breeze.

Frustratingly, I could see a Common Gull with a blue colour-ring but it was one of the birds which had decided not to land...and when it did, it was extremely brief!

Spot the colour-ring!

Ah, so close!

Eventually the bird touched down just long enough for me to catch a photo and make out the code as 2ADX

 

After, I scanned the birds roosting along the tideline and managed to digi-scope a shot of another bird, 2AAC, with my phone.

Both of these birds have been ringed by Shane Wolsey on Big Copeland, the largest island in the nearby Copeland Islands archipelago.  Copeland Bird Observatory is located on Old Lighthouse Island, which is north of Big Copeland. 

Although this isn't a big movement, Shane has had reports of birds turning up further afield including two birds at Duncannon Strand, Duncannon, Co. Wexford, one on 8th January and another bird on 10th January. Another bird was reported in Limerick City on 12th January, and finally 2AXH was seen at Kervigen Beach, Plomodiern, Finistère, France!

Shane has been using both blue and yellow colour-rings and if you happen to see any Common Gulls with colour-rings, please report them to Shane at shane.wolsey@btinternet.com

I left Millisle and headed south to the village of Ballywalter where I saw that P736 was still around. I originally saw and reported about this bird back in February (see here).