New Recoveries including a first movement for NI!

We've had a three more of our birds recovered outside of Northern Ireland and received details of a colour ringed bird in the Bann Estuary.

The details of the star bird came through last night from the BTO and it was a very pleasant surprise. One of our juvenile Stonechats which we ringed on the 13th of July, fresh out of the nest at Portstewart Strand was controlled at the Calf of Man Bird Observatory on the Isle of Man on the 23rd of March this year. A minimum distance of  176km and 253 days in between. It is very likely that the distance was much further and that this bird actually spent the winter further south and was captured at the Calf on its way back north - hopefully to the Bann Estuary once more. This is at least our 9th exchange with the observatory having had two of our Goldfinches trapped there and exchanged 6+ Storm Petrels. 

On checking the other Northern Irish recoveries for Stonechat into/out of the country, it turns out that this is the first! For the Republic of Ireland there have only been two but they were impressive movements to Spain from the south coast one in 1960's and the other in early 1970's. 

Next up was another of our Sedge Warblers from Blackers Rock, Lough Neagh, ringed as a juvenile on the 22nd of July 2018. It was a fast mover being trapped 15 days later at Sant-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu, Loire-Atlantique, France, 897km away, on its way south to sub-Saharan Africa. The movement might have been even quicker as the bird hasn't necessarily left Lough Neagh straight after ringing and could have spent another week along the lough shore. 

The third recovery was a Siskin which has moved up to Cromdale in the Highlands of Scotland. The bird was ringed in Kens garden on the 12th of April 2018 before been recaptured 311k away on the 19th of March this year. This is the third Siskin control/recovery in Kens garden in 2018 following another Scottish bird and the Cape Clear bird. 

The colour ringed bird was a Black-tailed Godwit which has appeared with hundreds of others in the Bann Estuary in recent weeks. The bird seemed familiar at the time and it turns out I have seen it twice before. The bird was ringed as an adult male in northern Iceland and has been sighted eight times since including England, Republic of Ireland and back in Iceland. 

Nordic Sanderlings and Ringing Update

Last weekend John and myself managed to fit in a quick session at Castlerock Golf Club to target the flock of Fieldfare that have been feeding on the Sea buckthorn berries.  The conditions were decent but the rain started early, so we headed for home at 10am.  The nets were open before first light and it was in the first couple of rounds that we caught a few birds. 
The catch was small with another four Bullfinch, one Blackbird, one Wren, One Dunnock and a single Fieldfare. 

Fieldfare

Whilst down at the estuary we checked out a very approachable (within 5m) flock of c40 Sanderling feeding on a small pool behind the west mole of the Barmouth.  We noticed a couple of colour ringed birds in amongst the flock and spent a bit of time trying to clinch the correct ring combinations (2 colour rings on each tarsus and flag on tibia).  It wasn't the easiest thing to do as they really don't sit still and the rings on the tarsus were submerged for the majority of the time. 
The first bird (green) was ringed in Iceland near Sandgerði, on the Southern Peninsula in May 2010.  This bird was subsequently sighted wintering in Britany, France in 2010 & 2012. 
The second bird (red) was ringed in eastern Greenland close to the Hochstetter Foreland, near Shannon Island in July 2012.  It too was recorded wintering in France in upper Normandy in 2012 and Brittany in 2014.

 Colour ringed Sanderling movements

I had entered the details in to Animal Track - https://animaltrack.org/ and both birds were registered but a question mark was raised for both by the project manager.  Sanderling are known to be very site faithful in winter and these two birds were expected to be along the English Channel once again, rather than some 7° further north on the north coast of NI.  Up until a few days ago it had been the mildest winter on record in Northern Ireland so it may have encouraged a few birds to winter further north.  The current cold weather across Northern Europe seems to be getting a few things moving with divers, ducks, geese, swans etc. arriving into the British Isles in recent days, so the Sanderling may yet move on.           

Part of the Sanderling flock 

  I kicked off my Patchwork Challenge at the Bann Estuary for 2016 during the weekend and notched up 48 species including the sometimes difficult to tick Greenfinch and Rock Pipit.  The weather this weekend is set to be dry and calm with temperatures forecast to drop to -8°C in some parts of the country, so we hope to get out and make the most of the conditions with the Copeland Bird Observatory Crew on Sunday.

French and Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits

I have received information back on a couple of colour ringed Black-tailed Godwits I had spotted in the Bann Estuary over the spring.  The birds were ringed in France and Iceland and I am still awaiting information on the third bird, although it is presumed to be Icelandic also.

The first bird was ringed in Siglufjordur, in Northern Iceland on the 13th of July in 2011.  Since then it was seen in the Oare Marshes in Kent on the 14th of November 2011, Lismore in Waterford 12 days later and at the Youghal estuary, Cork the following month.  It had not been seen since until I sighted the bird on the 13th of April this year at the Bann Estuary. 

Line showing movement from ringing location to the Bann Estuary - 860 miles

The second bird has yet to be sighted near it's breeding grounds but instead around wintering spots and on migration.  It was ringed on the west coast of France at Moëze, Charente Maritime close to La Rochelle on the 19th of August 2009 as a 2cy male.  Since then it is has been sighted at 6 different locations in a similar region of France, often using the same sites for the following 4 winters, although it was not sighted in the 2014/15 winter. In Dec 2013 to February 2014, the bird spent its time at Isla Mayor, Seville, beside the Doñana National Park and was sighted in France before and after in the same winter.  I picked the bird up at the Bann Estuary on the 30th of April this year on its way north. 



Line showing movement from ringing location to the Bann Estuary - 686 miles

Hopefully with greater effort in my patch birding I should be able to pick up a few more colour ringed birds but 4 birds is a good start.  I have seen a metal ringed Curlew and Oystercatcher also this spring but not nearly close to enough to read any digits.