Last Gulls of 2020?

Today I was out with 3 members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group for a gull ringing session at The Carrs in Warsop again. With news that our areas are going into Tier 4 COVID restrictions from midnight tonight this will be our last ringing outing and my last chance to check gulls in 2020.

We were on site from 08:30 until 15:45 and managed to catch 1 new Black-headed Gull. The bird in question was an adult and was given the darvic ring 271A.

271A

Whilst there we also manged to re-sight 2 gulls that the group had previously ringed, namely 265A and 270A. Both birds had been ringed in December this year.

265A

270A

Gull Ringing - 22nd December 2020

Last Tuesday I managed to get out gull ringing for the first time this winter. I spent five hours at The Carrs in Warsop with members from Sorby Breck Ringing group and Birklands Ringing Group (all socially distanced of course). In total we caught five new Black-headed Gulls, to add to the darvic-ringing scheme, and I was lucky enough to ring four of them! The site is just short of 9km from Rufford, so hopefully, I'll pick some of these birds up, during the winter months. The new rings added were 266A - 270A.

266A (adult female)

267A

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).

Linacre WeBS - 12th December 2020

 I was down at Linacre yesterday morning to carry out this month's WeBS walk. It was one of the best walks I've done all year, with record counts for both Mallard and Mandarin Duck. 

Totals seen were: 181 Mallard, 179 Mandarin Duck, 69 Tufted Duck, 10 Moorhen, 5 Coot, 48 Black-headed Gull, 9 Goosander (5 males and 4 females, including birds displaying), 2 Grey Wagtail and 2 Little Grebes.

The woodlands were quite quiet, but I was quite surprised to hear a singing Song Thrush on arrival! The final bird of note was Fieldfare, which was heard flying over.

Mute Swan W48404 - Clumber Park 29th November 2020

 Jayne and I had a walk around Clumber Park yesterday, Whilst there we spotted a Mute Swan wearing a darvic ring Y204 and a metal ring W48404.

Mute Swan Y204

I sent details off to the BTO, and today received information that it had been ringed just over a year ago, on 19th August 2019, as a juvenile bird (age 3), by Sorby Breck Ringing Group (the group I ring with). It had been ringed 50km away at Pontefract Park, West Yorkshire.

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.

Linacre WeBS - 15th November 2020

 This month's WeBS walk was my first visit to Linacre in November. As is usual at this tine of the year, there were good numbers of waterfowl present, along with a singing Wren, Blackbirds, Jay, Crows, Woodpigeons, Goldcrest, Long-tailed, Blue, Coal and Great Tit, 2 Magpies, 1 Sparrowhawk and a fly over Raven.  

Waterfowl counts were: 115 Mallard, 80 Mandarin Duck, 48 Tufted Duck, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Cormorant, 29 Black-headed Gulls, 2 "redhead" Goosander, 11 Moorhens, 4 Coots, 1 Kingfisher and 1 Grey Wagtail.

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.

Derbyshire Gulls - 26th October 2020

 I had a little "Gull Tour" yesterday, visiting two of my favourite places in search of over-wintering Black-headed Gulls. Both sites delivered!

The first site, Alvaston Park in Derby, had about 150 Black-headed Gulls (and 1 Common Gull), including 2 well known birds. The first one I saw was a Polish-ringed bird, TLPN, first seen last year (see here for details of ringing), back for its second winter.

TLPN

The second bird at Alvaston was also a returning bird, Danish-ringed VA4073, first seen in November 2018 (see here for ringing details).

VA4073

In the afternoon I drove across to Bakewell, and spotted 2 more ringed Black-headed Gulls. The first one seen here was a new bird, 2T51. This bird, an adult, had been ringed in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, on 19th September 2020, and my sighting was the first recorded.

2T51

The last bird see was metal-ringed EY19562, another returning bird, first seen here in November 2018 (see here). It was ringed, as a chick, at Westport Lake, Staffordshire, on 10th December 2014, so is now 6 years old.

EY19562

Year List Update - 26th October 2020

 I last updated the Year List at the beginning of September. Since then, I've had several trips out and about, and have added 11 new specie, including a "British tick".

The first trip, to RSPB Frampton Marsh on 19th September, added 3 species, numbers 164 - 166. The next bird, my "British tick" was on 4th October, when Jayne and I saw a very confiding Hoopoe, feeding on a cricket pitch on the edge of Leeds!

Hoopoe

Numbers 168 - 171, were recorded at WWT Slimbridge on Saturday, whilst the Great White Egret, was seen at Blenheim Palace lake yesterday.

Whilst eating dinner at Blenheim I saw that a Grey Phalarope had been found on the River Wye at Bakewell. Thankfully, it stayed all day, and I managed to catch up with it just before dark (which was good, because it had gone this morning!)

Grey Phalarope

The final addition was today, with 2 Cattle Egrets that I travelled to see at Cranfield Farm, Long Eaton.

Cattle Egret

Year List update:

164 – Curlew Sandpiper
165 – Little Stint
166 – Pintail
167 – Hoopoe
168 – Marsh Harrier
169 – Russian White-fronted Goose
170 – Bittern
171 – Cetti’s Warbler
172 – Great White Egret
173 – Grey Phalarope
174 – Cattle Egret

Black-headed Gulls 214A and P519

 The draw of gulls saw me back at Rufford CP again yesterday afternoon. There had been a big increase in gull numbers, with c200 Black-headed Gulls present.

Whilst there, I managed to find a new (for me) green-ringed bird, 214A. This bird had been ringed at Center Parcs, as an adult, 2km away, on 17th January 2019. My sighting was only the second sighting since then. The first, on 26th November 2019, was at Center Parcs. I managed to get a few photos, of a very dirty ring!!

214A (honestly!!)

214's legs and rings

The only other darviced bird seen was the Lithuanian-ringed bird, P519.

P519

Yesterday's visit saw my first Common Gulls of the winter, with 2 1st winter birds in amongst the Black-headed Gulls. Unfortunately, neither gull was ringed, so I don't know how far they've travelled, unlike the darvic-ringed bird that I found at Clumber Park last winter (see here).

Common Gull

Common Gull

Linacre WeBS - 17th October 2020

Yesterday I had a couple of hours at Linacre to carry out this month's WeBS walk. There had been a notable increase in duck numbers, and I recorded the highest count for Mandarin Duck for the year.

Numbers were: 140 Mallard, 105 Mandarin Duck, 43 Tufted Duck, 12 Moorhen, 4 Coot, 4 Grey Wagtail, 1 Grey Heron, 16 Black-headed Gull and 5 Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Grey Heron

Other birds reported around the reservoirs were: Blackbird, Wren, Starling (c.25 over), Treecreeper (2), Jay, Crow, Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Great-spotted and Green Woodpecker and  Tawny Owl (heard).

Later in the day, I saw a report of c140 Pink-footed Geese that had been reported flying over Linacre later in the morning. This was the first report of the year.

Linacre Ringing - 11th October 2020

 Last Sunday, 4 members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group were down at Linacre for a ringing session. It was quite quiet, with just 19 birds of  8 species ringed, but 2 Lesser Redpolls were very nice.

Bird numbers were (new/retrap): Blue Tit 3/0, Robin 1/0, Dunnock 4/0, Goldcrest 2/1, Blackbird 2/0, Treecreeper 2/0, Chaffinch 2/0 and Lesser Redpoll 2/0. 

The retrap Goldcrest, was one that we had ringed in September 2020.

Rufford Gulls - 11th October 2020

 I drove across to Rufford CP for a couple of hours yesterday, and saw 3 darvic ringed Black-headed Gulls.

The first gull I saw was the Lithuanian-ringed bird, P519, first seen at Rufford in January 2018. It was seen again in November 2018, and I  first saw this bird in February 2019. The bird was then seen throughout the winter 2019 - 2020. Yesterday's sighting was the first for this winter period. It is at least 10 years old, having been ringed as an adult bird in April 2010, 1456km away.

P519

The other two gulls seen (206A and 240A) were both green-ringed birds, first ringed at the nearby Center Parcs. 206A had been ringed in Dec 2018, as an adult bird. I saw this bird 4 times, all at Rufford, last  August and September. Yesterday's sighting was the first since then.

206A

240A was a new bird for me (at Rufford). This bird is a regular at Center Parcs, especially around the feeders of the Wildlife Centre. I only got a brief view and one quick photo.

240A

Black-headed Gull 246A Returns

 It's been a couple of weeks since I was last down at Rufford, so I popped across this morning for a couple of hours. It was still quite quiet, with about 50 Black-headed Gulls present, along with a single juvenile/1st winter Lesser Black-backed Gull, and 6 Mute Swans.

As before, the the majority of gulls were young, unringed birds, but I did spot one wearing a ring, 246A. This is a bird that I ringed (my first ever), on 21st December 2019, at Center Parcs, about 2km away ( click on the label 246A for details). It was a 1st winter bird when ringed. I saw this bird twice last winter, once at Rufford on 19th February 2020, and then again at Clumber Park on 22nd February. 

246A - February 2020

246A - today

One of the Mute Swans present was also ringed. Its ring number W17328, shows it to be a 8 year old female, that was originally ringed, as a juvenile, in October 2012 in nearby Edwinstowe. It was my fifth sighting of this bird at Rufford since August 2019.

Linacre Ringing - 12th September 2020

 Ringing at Linacre this year has been, as you can understand, pretty much non existent. Thankfully, however, we were able to a small team together on 12th September to have our second mist net ringing session of 2020. It was a quiet return, but we did manage to catch and ring 23 birds, including our first, and most likely last, summer migrant of the year, along with a Great Tit that we had originally ringed here in 2018.

As we'd expected, we'd missed most of the warblers this year, but, we did manage to catch one Chiffchaff (a juvenile bird). The other species caught were (new/retrap): Blue Tit 11/0, Great Tit 4/1, Coal Tit 1/0, Goldcrest 2/0, Dunnock 1/0 and Robin 2/0.

Other birds seen whilst on site were: Raven (1 over), Swallow (5), House Martin (13), Chiffchaff (3 feeding on buddleia, including 1 singing) and Tawny Owl (heard).

It was quite sunny whilst we were there and we also recorded several insect species: Red Admiral (1), Small Tortoiseshell (2), Small White (1), Speckled Wood (1), Meadow Brown (1) and Brown Hawker (1).

Whitby Gulls - 31st August 2020

On the way home from Northumberland, Jayne and I stopped off in Whitby for the day. Whilst there, we spotted 3 darviced Herring Gulls.

Two of the gulls we saw, Y:633 and Y:B15, were new to us. Both birds had been ringed at Rufford Waste Disposal Site, at York. Y:633 was ringed on 20th May 2016, and Y:B15 was ringed on 17th February 2017.

Y:633

Y:B15 in full voice!!

The 3rd gull, 1R1B, was a bird that we had seen here in Whitby before, once in July 2015 (see here) and again in July 2017 (see here). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the project where this bird was ringed, or been able to ring the metal ring number, so I don't know where or when it was ringed.

1R1B