Rufford Gulls - 6th January 2022

After a short visit to Rufford on Wednesday, I decided to go back again yesterday. It had been very cold overnight, and more than half of the lake was covered in ice - always a good sign when checking gulls' legs!!

As soon as I got there, I could see that there were 400+ gulls out on the ice! The vast majority were Black-headed Gulls, with a minimum of 10 Common Gulls, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 1 Herring Gull. Over the course of 3 hours, I managed to spot 12 darvic-ringed Black-headed Gulls (217A, 258A, 273A, 279A, 281A, 293A, 295A, 297A, J0116, EUM3, P519 and V77K), 1 metal ringed Black-headed Gull (EL87245- a well known bird) and a new darvic ringed Common Gull (JN075 - an adult bird, ringed on 12th August 2020, near Oslo, Norway).

JN075

Of the 12 darviced birds, just 3 were new ones, I'd not seen before (279A, 295A and 297A). All are birds ringed at Center Parcs this winter.

279A

295A

297A

In addition, there were 13 Mute Swans ( 9 adults and 4 juveniles, born last year), including a 1 metal ringed bird (W17357 - a bird that had been ringed on 10th February 2016, as a 5 i.e. born in 2015) and a darvic-ringed bird (CPF3/W48296 - another new bird, originally ringed as a 3 male, i.e. born that year, in Cheshire, on 16th November 2019).

CPF3

Rufford Gulls - 12th and 23rd December 2021

Here are the details of my last two visits to Rufford CP, including some old favourites, and a brand new Black-headed Gull.

First up, the visit on the 12th that included the following gull: 206A, 217A, 258A, 273A, 282A, 293A, EL87245, P519, EUM3 and V77K. All known birds, except 282A and 293A, which had been ringed at Center Parcs the week before.

Yesterday's visit, on the 23rd, saw the following birds reported: 217A, 258A, 281A, 284A, 293A, 299A, V77K, EUM3, P519, JO116, EL87245 and S20B. Again, many familiar birds, with the exception of 281A, 284A and 299A (all ringed this winter at Center Parcs), and S20B. Looking on the internet, this bird appears to have been ringed in Zagreb, Croatia, on 2nd February 2012. If confirmed, this will be my first record of a bird from this country, and only the second record of this bird since ringing! The only other record was in Austria in February 2012, shortly after having been ringed.

S20B

Rufford and Clumber - 27th November 2021

 I had a couple of hours at Rufford and Clumber this afternoon. It was cold (3 degrees and very windy) with a few snow flurries. Despite this, there were only about 100 Black-headed Gulls at Rufford and a similar number at Clumber.

Ringed birds seen at Rufford were 217A and 258A, both familiar birds. There were also a couple of Common Gulls present.

217A

258A

Clumber was also very cold and windy, and I only managed to find 1 metal-ringed Black-headed Gull, a Danish ringed individual, VAO171. I first saw this bird here in November 2018 and again in December 2020. It had originally been ringed, 872km away, on the Danish island of Hirsholm on 12th June 2015.

VAO171

Also present today, was Mute Swan Y358. Again, a familiar bird, ringed on  6th September 2019, and first seen by me at Clumber on 31st August 2021.

Y358

Also present were 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and an immature/1st winter Common Gull.

Common Gull

Rufford Gulls - 30th October and 6th November 2021

 I've recently had a couple of trips across to Rufford Country Park to check on the wintering Black-headed Gulls. 

During last week's trip, on the 30th October, there were c.200 Black-headed Gulls, 6 Common Gulls and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, along with six darvic-ringed gulls present, namely 206A, 217A, 246A, 255A, 258A, EUM3 (Dutch bird) and P519 (Lithuanian bird - first sighting this winter). Click on the labels to see details of the birds' histories. 

P519

In addition there were 6 Mute Swans, including W17328, a bird ringed just 2km away on 5th October 2012, as a 3, born that year. I also had a new Canada Goose, 5270929, which had originally been ringed at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire on 12th May 2016, as an adult. A distance of 21km and 1997 days since ringing. This was the first record since then!

It was much quieter on today's visit, with  c.100 Black-headed Gulls , 1 Common Gull and 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls present. Ringed gulls seen were: 258A, EUM3 and JO116. The last bird was a returning bird, first seen here in October 2021 as a 1st winter bird (see here), that had been ringed, as a pullus, in Norway in 2020.

JO116

Common Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Rufford and Clumber - 21st December 2020

 On Monday I had a few hours at Rufford and Clumber Park, looking for ringed Black-headed Gulls. In total, I saw 5 known birds and 2 new ones. I also saw a new Canada Goose.

At Rufford, the gulls seen were 217A, 237A, 255A, EUM3 and V77K. 225A, the first new bird, had been ringed at Center Parcs on 25th January 2020. It was seen there again on 26th November 2020, but Monday's sighting was my first and the first record for Rufford.

255A, Rufford CP

The new Canada Goose was ring number 5215987. It had been ringed on 1st January 2003, making it at least 18 years old (born in 2002), but I'll update when I get the age and place of ringing back.

When I arrived at Clumber Park there were about 100 Black-headed Gulls out on the grassed area by the Chapel. Unfortunately, there weren't any darvic rings to be seen, but I did spot a new British-ringed bird, EY30536, which had been ringed 4th March 2013 (location yet to be confirmed), and a Danish-ringed bird, VAO171, which I first saw here on 18th November 2018. It had been ringed 911km away on Hirsholm, on 26th May 2015. 

EY30536

VAO171

The darvic-ringed Mute Swan, Y204, that Jayne and I saw back in November, was also present.

New Black-headed Gull - VA5573

There were about 200 Black-headed Gulls at Rufford CP yesterday, including three well known birds, 217A, 237A and V77K (see labels for details of these birds). The sighting of 237A was the first since March 2020 (see here). In addition, a new, 1st winter bird (born this year) bearing a Danish metal ring, VA5573 was seen. 

Danish-ringed Black-headed Gull VA5573

VA5573

Details received from the Danish Ringing Scheme show that the bird was ringed, as a pullus, 877km away, on Hirsholm, Denmark on 25th May 2020.

In addition to the gulls there were also two metal-ringed Mute Swans, W17370 and W17357. The former bird was also present on my last visit, and had been ringed by Birklands RG, 3km away in September 2014. W17357 had also been ringed by Birklands RG, 3km away. It was ringed, as a age 5 bird (born in 2015), on 10th February 2016.

W17357

The final rings read were 2 Canada Geese (5230424 and 5215963) and 1 Greylag Goose (5230471). All 3 birds had been sighted previously, and had been ringed just 3km away (click on the labels to see ringing details).

Rufford Gulls, Swans and Geese - 28th November 2020

Normally when I go to Rufford CP, it's to catch up with the Black-headed Gulls that over winter there. Yesterday's trip there was for exactly that reason , but I must admit my head was turned a little when I spotted two ringed Egyptian Geese! Not only was this my first record of this species here, but they were also very confiding allowing me to get their metal ring numbers: 1312215 and 1312233. 15 was first seen on 1st January 2004, making it at least 16 years old! 33 was ringed, as a juvenile bird (age 3), in December 2011, making it 9 years old.

Egyptian Goose 1312233

Whilst there, I also manged to spot two metal-ringed Canada Geese (5215963, 5230424). 23 had been ringed in September 2006 as an adult, so is 14+ years old, whilst 24 had been ringed, as a 3, in August 2013, making it 7 years old. 

Canada Goose - 5215963

I also spotted 2 Greylag Geese wearing metal rings: 5230419 and 5230471. 19 was an 8 year old bird, having been ringed in June 2012, as a 3. 71 was ringed in December 2014, as an adult, so is 6+ years old.

The last species wearing a metal ring was a single Mute Swan. This bird had the ring number W17370, and had been ringed 7th September 2014, as a 3, so was 6 years old.

Mute Swan W17370

All of the above birds were ringed by Birklands Ringing Group, either at Pittance Park (part of the Center Parcs complex) or at Rufford itself.

After all the excitement with the geese and swans, I eventually looked at the gulls (!) and spotted 7 darvic-ringed birds: 217A, 240A, 243A, 258A, P519, EUM3 and V77K. These are all well known birds (click on labels for full details), but 243A was the "best" as yesterday's sighting was only the third since being ringed at Center Parcs, 2km away, on 11th December 2019, and the first of the winter.

Black-headed Gull 243A

Rufford Gulls - 21st November 2020

 Yesterday's visit to Rufford Country Park resulted in  5 darvic-ringed Black-headed Gulls (in amongst approximately 2-300 gulls), made up of four birds I've had before and one new bird, along with 2 metal-ringed birds, 1 I've seen before and a new, Swedish-ringed bird.

The darvic-ringed birds were 206A, 217A, V77K, EUM3 and the new bird 210A. 206A and 217A are well known birds, as is EUM3 (see labels for details). V77K is also a familiar bird, originally ringed in Denmark in 2015 (as a pullus) and first seen by me in February 2019. Yesterday's sighting was my first of the winter. Hopefully, it'll hang around again until the new year.

V77K

The new darvic-ringed bird was 210A, a bird originally ringed at Center Parcs (2km away), on 2nd January 2019. My sighting was the first since ringing.

210A

The two metal-ringed birds were numbers EL87245 and 6422284. EL87245 is a British-ringed bird that I first saw in November 2019, and again in January, February and March 2020. It was originally ringed just 3km away on 2nd January 2013, making it my oldest known bird. 6422284, also an adult bird, was a new bird for me. I managed to spot the words Riksmuseum Stokholm on it's ring, showing it was ringed in Sweden. Details have been sent off, and the ringing date and time will be added as soon as I hear back.

EL87245

6422284

UPDATE: The Swedish Black-headed Gull was ringed, as a pullus, 1355km away in Vastmanland, Sweden on 11th June 2019.

Rufford Gulls - 31st October 2020

Despite the rain and strong winds, I popped across to Rufford on Saturday, and I'm very glad I did! Not only did I spot 8 darvic ringed gulls (my highest ever in one session), but, more importantly, I managed to read the metal ring of the new gull, JO116, and confirm that it is a Norwegian-ringed bird. It's a first winter bird, so will have been ringed as a pullus this summer. Exact details will be added as and when I get them back.

VO116

Another highlight of Saturday's visit was my first sighting of the Dutch-ringed adult bird, EUM3, since 20th July. I was getting worried that I hadn't see it for so long, so it was very nice to confirm it was alive and well. It was a quite distinctive head pattern  when in winter plumage, with the two bands of dark feathers.

EUM3

A new gull (for me) was an adult bird, 223A. This bird was ringed at the start of February 2019, and had only been seen once since ringing at Center Parcs (2km away) on 18th November 2019. My sighting was the first of this winter. It spent all the time, preening on the pontoon. Hopefully, it'll become a regular sighting this winter.

223A

The other gulls seen on Saturday were well known birds: 217A, 240A, 246A, 258A and Lithuanian-ringed P519 (click on the birds' labels for full details of ringing details and previous sightings).

Nottinghamshire Gulls - 27th October 2020

 Following on from yesterday's "Gull Tour" around Derbyshire, today I did the same around Rufford CP and Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire.

My first stop was Rufford, where, despite horizontal rain (!) and a chilly wind, I managed to see 5 darviced Black-headed Gulls, including two which were new to me. The familiar birds were 217A, 246A and P519 (click on the bird's labels for details of these birds). 

217A

246A

P519

The 2 new birds were 258A and a 1st winter bird (born this year) with the ring number JO116. 258A is one of "our" birds, ringed by Sorby Breck and Birklands Ringing Group, at the start of 2020 (full details to come), but I couldn't find the project for JO116, on the colour ringing website. I'm pretty sure it is a Norwegian bird. Details have been sent off, so I'll update as soon as I hear back.

258A

JO116

After Rufford, I drove across to Clumber Park. There were about 50 birds present (plus 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls), but unfortunately no darvics.

Nottinghamshire Gulls

This week I had a couple of visits looking for wintering Black-headed Gulls.

The first trip was to Rufford Country Park on Wednesday, where there were approximately 100  gulls including several familiar birds: V77K, a Danish -ringed bird born in 2015, British-ringed EL87245, 243A (ringed at Sherwood Center Parcs, in December 2019), 246A, ringed by me at Center Parcs on 21st December 2019 (see here), and my first sighting since and 259A, also ringed at Center Parcs, this time on 1st February 2020, and also the first sighting away from that site.

246A at Rufford CP

My second trip was around Clumber Park on Saturday, where there were 300+ gulls around the main lake. The majority were Black-headed, but there were also a dozen or so Common Gulls. Whilst there I managed to see 5 darvic-ringed Black-headed Gulls: 217A, 237A, 246A (again!) and 2 new ones for me, 257A (ringed at Center Parcs on 1st February 2020) and 2ASN, a second winter bird, that had been ringed, as a chick, at Rutland Water in June 2019.

257A

2ASN

New Year Gulls - Part 1

In the first few days of 2020 I've had a couple of trips to Rufford CP to get my first sightings of darvic ringed Black-headed Gulls for the year. All the darvic-ringed birds were familiar birds, but I did also manage to find, and read, a metal ringed Swedish bird (details sent off), along with some darviced Mute Swans.

I visited Rufford on Thursday 2nd, and spotted 217A, 237A, 247A (all ringed at Center Parcs, 2km away). 247A was ringed just a few weeks ago on 21st Dec 2020 and this was my first sighting at Rufford. Also seen were: V77K (a Danish bird ringed, as a pullus, in June 2015), EUM3 (a Dutch bird ringed, as a pullus, in May 2017) and P519 (a Lithuanian bird ringed, as an adult, in April 2010), along with a new Swedish bird with metal ring number 6456037, and a British metal ringed bird with the number EL87245 (a bird I'd previously seen here in November 2019).

247A

Whilst at Rufford, I also saw 2 darviced Mute Swans, 108Y and 439Y, both birds that I'm sure were ringed by Sorby Breck Ringing Group. This is my first sighting of these birds here. I'll update the blog when I have the ringing details.

108Y and 439Y

My second visit, on 3rd January, had the same gulls as the day before, and a new one, 230A, which is a bird that was ringed at Center Parcs, on 2nd February 2019, as an adult bird, and one that I'd seen a couple of times in September 2019.

230A

UPDATE: The Swedish gull was ringed, as a pullus, 950km away in southern Sweden on 1st June 2019.

Gulls at Rufford - 24th November 2019

After the ringing session on Sunday I had  an hour at Rufford Abbey CP with the gulls. In total I saw 5 colour/darvic ringed birds.

Three of the darvic rings were from the Sorby Breck/Birklands Ringing Group partnership, and involved a familiar bird, 217A, that was ringed at Center Parcs in January 2019, and one I first saw here in February 2019, and then again on 9th November 2019.

217A

The next 2 gulls were numbers 235A and 237A, both ringed at Center Parcs on 13th and 20th November 2019 respectively. These sightings were my first.

235A

237A

The other 2 darviced birds were also well known birds, EUM3 (Dutch ringed) and P519 (Lithuanian ringed), both of which have been seen here on several occasions last winter and this autumn.

Gulls, Gulls, Gulls!!!

I spent just over an hour in Rufford Country Park this afternoon and saw 6 colour ringed Black-headed Gulls and 1 metal ringed bird!

Three of the colour ringed birds, 217A, 227A and 232A, were British ringed and had been ringed by ringers from Sorby Breck and Birklands Ringing Groups. I have recorded 217A here before, on 3rd February 2019 (see here), whereas 227A and 232A were new birds for me.

217A

I don't yet know where and when 227A was ringed, but 232A was ringed just a couple of kilometres away, as a first winter bird, at Center Parcs on 30/10/19.

227A

232A

The metal ringed bird, EL87245, was also British-ringed, so I'll send off details and update the blog when I hear back.

The other 3 darviced gulls were all known birds, namely EUM3 (Dutch ringed and seen on every visit since August), P519 (Lithuanian ringed see here and here) and V77K (Danish ringed bird, first seen here in February 2019 see here and my first sighting of the winter.)

V77K

UPDATE: The metal-ringed gull EL87245 was ringed on 02/01/13, by Birklands Ringing Group, 3km away.