Gull Ringing 22nd October 2022

Yesterday, I managed to get out gull ringing with Sorby Breck Ringing Group for the first time since late 2020. We spent the day at Center Parcs, just 2km away from Rufford CP, and ringed 7 new Black-headed Gulls, a mixture of 1st year and adult birds. We also added green darvic rings (251B - 257B).

251B (1st winter bird)

Fingers crossed now to get some re-sightings over the winter.

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.

Alvaston Park - 16th November 2019

A couple of weeks ago I was in Alvaston Park, and spotted the Danish ringed Black-headed Gull VA4073, (see here). I was back there again today, and saw it again.

VA4073

Whilst there I also spotted a new-for-me Polish ringed bird, TLPN. This bird, originally ringed in Poland on 8th June 2019, as a pullus, was first seen here on 12th October 2019. It was very confiding, and I managed to get some lovely pictures.

TLPN

One metal ringed bird was also seen. Unfotunately, this bird, also a first winter bird (born this year), was only seen briefly, and I was only able to read the first digit of its ring, 2 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ before it flew off.  Another time perhaps!

2 _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Other birds seen were: 8 Ring-necked Parakeets, 1 Stock Dove, 20+ Canada Geese, Tufted Ducks, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan (8) and Common Gull (at least 3).

Common Gulls

Black-headed Gull 230A

I was at Rufford Country Park on Sunday to check on the Black-headed Gulls. Two familiar rings were read, 206A (British-ringed) and EUM3 (Dutch-ringed), along with a new bird, 230A.

230A

Regular readers of this blog will recognise the ring colour and sequence as being one used by Sorby Breck Ringing Group (the group I ring with) and Birklands Ringing Group. I contacted the lead ringer of this scheme and he confirmed that 230A had been ringed at the nearby Center Parcs site on 2nd February 2019. My siting was the first since then. Hopefully, it'll hang around for the winter, and get spotted back on its breeding grounds next Spring.

Herring Gull EPM

Jayne and I were in Llandudno over the weekend. Whilst there we spotted a Herring Gull with a colour ring, EPM. I recognised it straight away as a bird I'd seen there before, in December 2016 (see here for details and ringing and subsequent re sightings).

EPM

I sent the record off, and saw that it had now been reported on the sea front at Llandudno another 6 times since my sighting. All sightings range from September to April, with mine being the earliest "winter" record, so we still don't know if it breeds elsewhere, and winters in Llandudno. It is now  9 years and 255 days since it was ringed.

Whilst in North Wales, we visited the National Trust's Bodnant Gardens again, and saw Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies, Common Darter (mating pairs) and several Southern Hawkers. Butterflies seen were: Painted Lady (10), Red Admiral, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell and Common Blue.

Common Darter

Azure Damselflies

Polish BH Gull at Rufford

Last Thursday (22nd August), I was back at Rufford CP in Nottinghamshire to check on the Black-headed Gulls again. There were still only about 20 gulls there, but I did see EUM3 (Dutch ringed bird) and 206A (British-ringed bird), along with a new gull, TRVE, a Polish-ringed bird - my first for Rufford!

TRVE

As you can see from the photo, this bird is a juvenile/1st winter one, having been born this year. The metal ring, FS34676, has the word Poland on it, so I there's a clue as to where it was ringed. Details have been sent off, and I'll update the blog as soon as I hear back.

UPDATE: This bird was ringed, in Poland, as a chick, on 27th May 2019, 1349km away!

Black-headed Gull EA32375 in Bakewell

Yesterday, Luke and I went across to Bakewell to see if we could find any ringed Black-headed Gulls. There were only about 20 gulls there, but we soon spotted one wearing a metal ring. We began to feed it with some bread, and within 20 minutes or so we'd managed to photograph and read the ring number, EA32375. We also spotted London on the ring, showing it was a British-ringed bird. Details were sent off to the BTO, and I'll update the blog when I hear back.

EA32375

Whilst there, we also spotted the colour-ringed Canada Goose AAAH, a female bird, first seen here on 10th February 2018, and again on 15th July 2019, after being ringed in Bowness on Windermere in 2nd July 2013.

AAH

UPDATE: Details from the BTO show that EA32375 was ringed, as a chick, by Merseyside Ringing Group at Shotton, Flintshire on 26th June 2019, a distance of 91km away. Our sighting was the first since ringing.

Colour-ringed Mediterranean Gulls - Cornwall 2019

Last week, whilst in Cornwall I managed to see 2 colour-ringed Mediterranean Gulls on the RSPB's Hayle Estuary reserve.The first bird, an adult with the darvic ring 3PKK, had been ringed on 11th June 2018 on De Kreupel Island, The Netherlands. My sighting was the 8th since ringing, having been recorded in Marazion in August 2018, before moving to Finistere in France over the winter. It was then recorded in Langstone Harbour, Hampshire in March 2019, before my sighting in Cornwall.

The second bird, another adult with the darvic ring 2X3N, appears to have been ringed in Dublin. Details have been sent off, so I'll update as soon as I hear back from the project.

Two other metal-ringed Mediterranean Gulls were also seen. Unfortunately, they were too distant to read. 1 unringed, adult bird was also seen on Porthmeor Beach, St Ives.

Mediterranean Gull

Other birds seen on the reserve were: Dunlin (13), Greenshank (3), Common Sandpiper (3), Little Egret (10), Mallard, Curlew (60), Whimbrel (1), Shelduck (adults and young), Kingfisher and Herring, Lesser Black-backed, Black-headed and Great Black-backed Gulls.

Dunlin

UPDATE: Mediterranean Gull 2X3N was originally ringed, as a pullus, on Inish Island, Lady's Island Lake, Wexford, Ireland, on 08/06/2016. Since then, it has been sighted in Brittany;France in June 2017, on the Hayle Estuary in August - September 2018, Vendee; France in April - May 2019, and then my sighting in Cornwall in July 2019.

Black-headed Gulls - Winter begins!!

I went to Bakewell on Saturday to see if there were any Black-headed Gulls back from their breeding grounds. There were about 20 birds present including 3 juvenile birds (born this year) in amongst the returning adults.

Black-headed Gull (juvenile)

One of the adult birds present was wearing a metal BTO ring, and I managed to get a few photos. Unfortunately, I only got 5 of the 7 letters and digits, EW97 _ _ 5 but, on checking my records, I noticed that on 1st September 2018, an adult gull with ring number EW97345 was seen by my nephew, Luke. This bird had been ringed in Boston, Lincolnshire on 9th January 2010. When I checked the photos of this bird I noticed that the ring was on "upside down", as was the bird I saw on Saturday, so I'd say, in all probability, it's the same bird. Of course, the only way to prove this is to get across and see it again. This time with the full number!

EW79 _ _ 5

Whilst there, I also spotted a Canada Goose wearing the darvic ring AAAH. This is also a known bird, having been first seen here on 10th February 2018 (see here). She had been ringed in Bowness on Windermere 2nd July 2013 and has been in Derbyshire since at least  September 2014. When I saw her on Saturday, she was with a partner and several goslings.

Canada Goose AAAH

Black-headed Gull 2N78

I wasn't expecting to find anymore ringed Black-headed Gulls this winter, so I was very surprised (and excited!) to find this beautiful adult breeding-plumaged bird on the river side at Bakewell on 6th April 2019.

2N78

The darvic ring looked familiar, and sure enough, it was ringed in Bowness at Windermere, on 2nd December 2018 It was last seen there on 4th February 2019, and my sighting was the next record. 

Who knows, perhaps it's a wintering bird heading back East? Hopefully, it'll get spotted somewhere in Europe during the breeding season.

BHG EUM3 still around, and a new friend

I spent half an hour at Rufford Country Park this afternoon (in the wind, rain, hail and sunshine!) to see if any Black-headed Gulls were still around. There were just 20ish birds present, including an old favourite, Dutch-ringed EUM3. I first saw this bird at Rufford on 3rd February 2019, and again on 18th February 2019. It is a 2 year old bird, ringed in The Netherlands in May 2017. What was really nice to see today, was how far it had moulted since I last saw it. Here's a couple of pictures. The first one was taken on 18th February 2019, and the second one was taken today. What a transformation!

18th February 2019

20th March 2019

Luke was also there today (with his family), and he also saw EUM3, but he also managed to get a new metal-ringed bird, starting VA4 _ _ _ .

Danish BHG VA4 _ _ _

As you can see from the picture, this is a 1st winter bird, born in 2018. I'm pretty sure it's a Danish bird, for 2 reasons. Firstly, I've had another bird with a ring starting VA4 this winter, in Alvaston Park, Derby, which was confirmed as a Danish bird, and, perhaps more importantly, the letters run vertically up the ring, which is the same as for the other confirmed Danish birds. Unfortunately, neither of us could get the remaining 3 digits (I didn't even see the bird!!) so this might be "one that got away".

Colour-ringed Turnstones - 22nd February 2019

I first reported colour ringed Turnstones in Scarborough Harbour back in 2014, and have seen them in most years ever since. Whilst there on Friday, I managed to add another 5 birds to my list of 14 that I've recorded. All the birds seen so far have been ringed in the harbour.

The five new birds were all ringed in Scarborough Harbour on 21st March 2018, and my sightings were the first since then for 4 of the 5 birds. 1 bird, white over red, was recorded in Shetland on 22nd May 2018, presumably on its way back North to breed. Here are Friday's birds.

green over blue

green over green

green over red

green over yellow

white over (muddy)red

Darviced Herring Gulls

On Friday 22nd February, whilst in Scarborough, I saw 2 adult Herring Gulls, each carrying a yellow darvic ring, and a metal BTO ring.

The first bird Y:D92, was feeding with the Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls in Holbeck car park.

Y:D92

The second bird was found about half an hour later, stood on a lamppost, with another Herring Gull, on Marine Drive. This bird had darvic ring Y:H42.

Y:H42

Y:D92, was first ringed on 30th June 2017 at a landfill site, Harewood Whin, York, 62km away. My record was the first since then. Y:H42 was first ringed at Seamer Landfill Site in Scarborough in 2007. It was recaptured at Rufforth Waste Disposal Site, York, on 8th July 2017, 62km away. It has been recorded 5 times since at Scalby Mills, Scarborough, before being reported by me.

Lithuanian Black-headed Gull in Bakewell

Back in November 2017 I saw a Lithuanian-ringed  Black-headed Gull with a metal ring in Bakewell. At the time I only managed to get the first 4 digits, HA12.

HA12 _ _ _

I then saw a metal-ringed Lithuanian Black-headed Gull in Bakewell in October 2018, but only managed to get the last two digits, 93!!

_ _ _ _ _ 93

Yesterday I was in Bakewell, and managed to spot the same bird again, and, get the entire ring number... HA12793.

I sent the details off to the Lithuanian Bird Ringing Scheme, and got the details back today (so quick!!). The bird had been ringed on a small island near the city of Klaipeda, 1492km away, on 22/06/11. My records were the first since ringing.

More Darvic'ed Black-headed Gulls!

This winter has been phenomenal for the number of darvic and metal-ringed Black-headed Gulls that me and my nephew, Luke, have been able to find in Derbyshire and neighbouring Nottinghamshire (17 and counting to date). Today I managed to add not 1, not 2, but another 5 to the list!!! (22 in total).

All five were found at Rufford Country Park in Nottinghamshire. When Jayne and I arrived, the lake was about 95% frozen, and there were at least 200 Black-headed Gulls (and up to 10 Common Gulls) on the ice. As we approached the café, there were several families feeding the Mallards and Canada and Greylag Geese, which, in turn, attracted in approximately 30 - 40 Black-headed Gulls.

The first colour-ringed bird that we found was EUM3, a Dutch ringed adult bird. This bird had been ringed 395km away, on Benthuizerplas, a breeding colony near Zoetermeer, The Netherlands (see here), as a chick, on 27th May 2017. It was first seen at Rufford in November 2018, and has been reported there, throughout the winter.

EUM3

The next bird, P519, was another adult. This bird had been ringed, as an adult, 1456km away, in Klaipeda, Lithuania on 1st April 2010 (8 years, 10 months and 2 days ago). This bird had also been seen at Rufford before, on 8th January 2018, so is possibly a regular wintering bird.

P519

The third bird, an adult, V77K, was a Danish bird. This bird had been ringed on the island of Hirsholm (see here), 911km away, as a pullus, on 12/06/15. The first record since ringing was at Rufford on 16/11/18 by Dean (from our ringing group), followed by my sighting.

V77K

The final two birds (217A and 221A) were perhaps the most exciting, as they had been ringed by a member of the Ringing Group I am part of (Sorby Breck Ringing Group) in January this year.

217A

217A, a 1st winter bird (born in 2018), was ringed on 17th January 2019 at Center Parcs, approximately 3km away. 

The final bird, 221A, was ringed, as an adult, on 19th January 2019, approximately 15km away in Creswell.

221A

It will be interesting to see if these wintering birds will relocate abroad in the spring, or whether they'll hang around and breed in this area.

Czech-ringed Black-headed Gull

On Sunday I went down to Derby to see if I could find my first ringed Black-headed Gull of 2019. I started at Derby River Gardens, where there were approximately 100 - 150 gulls on the river. Although they came in to the bread, I couldn't spot any birds wearing rings. After about an hour, I moved on to Alvaston Park to try my luck there. When I arrived there were 200+ birds, mostly feeding on the grass. I started to feed the 50+ birds that were on the lake, and, after the best part of an hour, spotted  one bird wearing a yellow darvic ring, WN30, a new bird! I was also able to spot Museum Praha on the metal ring, showing it was ringed in the Czech Republic - a new country for me!!

      WN30 (Museum Praha), ES49142

A quick check on the internet (cr-birding.org) confirmed that it was a Czech-ringed bird, the first Czech bird I've found. Details were sent off, and the bird had been ringed on 9th June 2017, as a pullus, near Pistin, 1185km away. Result!!

Linacre Ringing - 5th January 2019

I was down at Linacre on Saturday morning for the first ringing session of 2019 with 5 members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group. As we set up the usual nets, we had a very nice surprise with a hunting Barn Owl, my first ever record on site! What a great way to start the new year. We also had several Tawny Owls calling in the surrounding woods, and a fly over Sparrowhawk.

The ringing session was also a good start to the year with 43 birds ringed, including Woodpigeon, the first since 2016 and Jay, only 1 ringed in 2018 (new/retrap): Woodpigeon 1/0, Robin 3/1, Goldcrest 3/0, Long-tailed Tit 19/1, Coal Tit 0/2, Blue Tit 6/4, Great Tit 0/1, Nuthatch 0/1 and Jay 1/0.

Jay (5, born last year)

In the afternoon I was out at Clumber Park for a family walk, and picked up 2 more "year ticks"; Common Buzzard and Goosander (7; 4 females and 3 males), along with a darvic ringed Mute Swan (104Y), a female with an un-ringed male bird and 3 juveniles (born in 2018).

104Y (back bird) and family

Year List update:

94 – Tawny Owl

95 – Barn Owl
96 – Sparrowhawk
97 - Common Buzzard

98 - Goosander

Linacre WeBS Count - December 2018

Luke and I were down at Linacre on Monday morning to carry out this month's (belated) WeBS walk.
We arrived on site just as it was getting light (8am), and counted the following birds: Mallard (84), Tufted Duck (23), Mandarin (9), Coot (2), Moorhen (14), Grey Wagtail (2), Black-headed Gull (c.40).

Whilst there, we decided to see if there were any ringed gulls, and, as luck would have it, we managed to see and photograph 1 metal-ringed Black-headed Gull.

Finnish-ringed Black-headed Gull?

I fed the birds, whilst Luke got some photos, and, he managed to see the entire number. It looks very likely that the bird was ringed in Finland, so, as soon as we hear back, I'll update the blog.

Walking back to the car park, Luke spotted a Chiffchaff flitting about in trees by the middle reservoir. It isn't our first December record, but it's always good to see one at this time of the year. I wonder where it's from????????

UPDATE: The Finnish Black-headed Gull was ringed on 5th July 2006, as a chick, 1848km away in Lohtaja, Finland, 12 years, 5 months and 19 days since ringing. Fantastic result!!!

Norwegian and Swedish Black-headed Gulls

I was back in Alvaston Park, Derby again today, looking at..... yes, you've guessed it.. Black-headed Gulls. There were still about 100 birds present on the small lake (along with at least 3 Common Gulls), but I didn't manage to see any of the 4 ringed birds I'd had at the start of November. Instead, I found 2 new ringed gulls!!

The first one I saw was another Swedish bird. Annoyingly, I only saw it for a few seconds, and only managed to get the first 4 digits of its ring number, 6439.

Swedish gull

The second bird, a Norwegian bird, with a lovely Darvic ring J3KY, was a little more confiding.

Norwegian gull, J3KY

I'm registered with the Norwegian Colour Ringing Scheme, because I reported another bird here back in December 2017 (see here), so I entered the details of this bird, and found out straight away that it had been ringed, as a pullus (chick), 1071kn away, on an island near Oslo on 15th June 2012! It has been re sighted 9  times in the intervening years, but always in Norway, and always in the summer months. Today's sighting was the first foreign sighting, and the first winter sighting.

This bird is the 12th ringed Black-headed Gull I've seen in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire since August 2018. Nationalities so far are British ringed (3), Swedish ringed (3), Danish ringed (2), Norwegian ringed (1), Finnish ringed (1), Lithuanian ringed (1) and Polish ringed (1).

Darvic'ed Black-headed Gull in Bakewell

Following the Swedish ringed Black-headed Gull in Bakewell (see here) I decided to go back again on Thursday (30th) to see if I could see it again. I managed to find it, in exactly the same spot, and took a picture of the whole bird this time, not just its feet!!

Swedish BHG 6198688

Whilst there I was also very lucky to find another ringed bird. This time it was a juvenile/1st winter Black-headed Gull that had been ringed at Rutland Water Nature Reserve on 1st June 2018, as a nestling. As well as its metal ring, it had also been fitted with a blue Darvic ring 2AHN.

Blue 2AHN

Luke popped across on Saturday (1st), and found it in the same area on the river. 

Blue 2AHN (courtesy of Luke)

He also had another ringed Black-headed Gull! This one just had a metal ring, and the words British Museum could be seen on it, meaning it was ringed somewhere in the UK. He managed to get the full number and sent it off to the BTO. I'll update when we hear back.

UPDATE: Luke heard back today (3rd Sept) that his Black-headed Gull had been ringed in Boston, Lincolnshire on 09/01/10 (114kn away). It was aged as at least 2 years old when ringed.