This bird was ringed by Kerry Leonard at Ballyholme in January 2013 and, thanks to the colour-ring, we have established it breeds at Larne Lough and returns to Ballyholme each winter.
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| Photo by Stephen Foster |
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
2ABT returns to breeding site
Many thanks to Stephen Foster for sending through this photo of 2ABT at Sandy Bay, Larne Lough.
This bird was ringed by Kerry Leonard at Ballyholme in January 2013 and, thanks to the colour-ring, we have established it breeds at Larne Lough and returns to Ballyholme each winter.
This bird was ringed by Kerry Leonard at Ballyholme in January 2013 and, thanks to the colour-ring, we have established it breeds at Larne Lough and returns to Ballyholme each winter.
Monday, 6 March 2017
Black-headed Gull - Green JZ20
Robin Vage got in touch last month with reports of large numbers of gulls at Corbet Lough, Co. Down.
This site normally has a small wintering flock of 20-30 birds, but numbers had swollen to a couple of thousand at the start of February and it seemed inevitable that something interesting was going to turn up.
As well as a returning Lesser Black-backed and a Mediterranean Gull, two birds with NI colour-rings were recorded. In addition, Robin recorded a Black-headed Gull with a green colour-ring and another with a white colour-ring.
Robin reported his sightings and heard back that the green ringed bird, JZ20, had been ringed as an adult female in April 2016 at Engervannet, Sandvika in Norway.
It was re-sighted nearby the following day, but this was the first report since.
Great work by Robin and many thanks to him for passing on the information.
This site normally has a small wintering flock of 20-30 birds, but numbers had swollen to a couple of thousand at the start of February and it seemed inevitable that something interesting was going to turn up.
As well as a returning Lesser Black-backed and a Mediterranean Gull, two birds with NI colour-rings were recorded. In addition, Robin recorded a Black-headed Gull with a green colour-ring and another with a white colour-ring.
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| Colour-ringed BHG at centre of shot Photo by Robin Vage |
Robin reported his sightings and heard back that the green ringed bird, JZ20, had been ringed as an adult female in April 2016 at Engervannet, Sandvika in Norway.
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| Green - Engervannet, Norway Blue - Corbet, Co. Down |
It was re-sighted nearby the following day, but this was the first report since.
Great work by Robin and many thanks to him for passing on the information.
Sunday, 5 March 2017
NI Seabird Report 2016 - Full report
Kerry Leonard, BTO NI Seabird Coordinator, has kindly sent me a link to the full report which is now available via the BTO website.
Full list of papers included in the report:
You can get a copy of the report by clinking HERE.
Full list of papers included in the report:
- Breeding Seabirds in Northern Ireland in 2016 (Kerry Leonard)
- The East Coast (Northern Ireland) Marine SPA (Neil McCulloch)
- 2016 - Record Year for Larne Lough Islands (Matthew Tickner & Shane Wolsey)
- Establishing a Puffin Colony on the Copeland Islands (Shane Wolsey & Wesley Smyth)
- Lower Lough Erne Islands RSPB Nature Reserve Seabird Resport 2016 (Brad Robson)
- Monitoring Gulls and Terns on Lough Neagh (Bob Davidson & Stephen Foster)
You can get a copy of the report by clinking HERE.
Thursday, 2 March 2017
Northern Ireland Seabird Report 2016
Well, it has happened again....another unforeseen break from blogging! I've managed to get back earlier than last year and will post some updates soon.
In the meantime, I recently got my hands on a copy of the latest BTO Northern Ireland Seabird Report. The report contains some very useful articles, in particular I was very interested in a paper by Matthew Tickner and Shane Wolsey, "2016 is a Record Year for Larne Lough Islands".
The RSPB-managed Blue Circle Island in Larne Lough is one of our study colonies and I was delighted to read that BCI is now the largest individual Black-headed Gull colony in Ireland with 3,050 AON* in 2016. The total for Larne Lough as a whole was 3,201 AON.
One of our other study colonies, Lough Swilly, was also in the top 5 sites in Ireland (see below) and of course, the colony at WWT Castle Espie falls under Strangford Lough.
It is very interesting and useful for anyone with an interest in ecology and other papers include an overview of breeding seabirds in Northern Ireland in 2016; information on the new East Coast (NI) Marine SPA; establishing a Puffin colony on the Copelands; and updates on monitoring at Lower Lough Erne and Lough Neagh.
Well done to those involved in putting it together!
*AON - Apparently Occupied Nests
In the meantime, I recently got my hands on a copy of the latest BTO Northern Ireland Seabird Report. The report contains some very useful articles, in particular I was very interested in a paper by Matthew Tickner and Shane Wolsey, "2016 is a Record Year for Larne Lough Islands".
The RSPB-managed Blue Circle Island in Larne Lough is one of our study colonies and I was delighted to read that BCI is now the largest individual Black-headed Gull colony in Ireland with 3,050 AON* in 2016. The total for Larne Lough as a whole was 3,201 AON.
One of our other study colonies, Lough Swilly, was also in the top 5 sites in Ireland (see below) and of course, the colony at WWT Castle Espie falls under Strangford Lough.
It is very interesting and useful for anyone with an interest in ecology and other papers include an overview of breeding seabirds in Northern Ireland in 2016; information on the new East Coast (NI) Marine SPA; establishing a Puffin colony on the Copelands; and updates on monitoring at Lower Lough Erne and Lough Neagh.
Well done to those involved in putting it together!
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Site
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AON in 2016
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1.
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Lough Neagh, Northern
Ireland
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5,798 (over 8 colonies)
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2.
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Larne Lough, Antrim
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3,201
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3.
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Lady's Island, Wexford
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2,429
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4.
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Lough Swilly, Donegal
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1,450
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5.
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Strangford Lough, Down
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1,312
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6.
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Lower Lough Erne,
Fermanagh
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1,238
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| Cover of 2016 Northern Ireland Seabird Report featuring a fantastic Shag photo taken by Ronald Surgenor. |
*AON - Apparently Occupied Nests
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