Mid August Update

UUC River Site - Saturday 15th of August

John went for a morning session at the river site in calm, fine conditions.  The site hasn't really be used since the spring, so the net rides needed a good bit of work to get the nets open.
The catch wasn't big (c15-20 birds) but he did manage to catch a number of juvenile birds including Song Thrush, Blackcap, Greenfinch, Robin and Chiffchaff.  Included in the other species caught was a Swallow, which is something we don't really catch outside roosts. 

Chiffchaff

Greenfinch

Portstewart Strand -  Sunday 16th of August

I struggled to get out of bed this morning, so I wasn't on site until 06.45, arriving to find a search and rescue in operation.  The rescue helicopter had been brought up from County Sligo and various quads and groups of people were searching through the dune system/beach.  Thankfully the person was found safe and well some 12 hours after the search began.  The conditions were fine and sunny, with light winds. 

It was high tide on the estuary so it was very quite, although I did see my first 3 Little Egrets of the year (two years in fact) on the patch and the Grey Heron numbers have increased to 15.  It was weirdly quiet on the land with a lack of Starlings, Goldfinches and Skylarks, only 3 Linnet, 2 Meadow Pipit and 2 Lesser Redpoll.  Usually there are a few dozen of each species at the least.  The helicopter might have had something to do with it...   

Willow Warbler

 



The first net round was decent with 10 birds, but in the following hour or so I managed 4 retraps, so I packed up around 09.00 and headed for home.  Last week we had caught 17 birds by 8am, so I probably started too late.  Things should pick up when the berries ripen; perhaps in two weeks.

Sunny net rides

Ringing Totals 06/08/2015

                                        New        Retrap           

Blackcap                            2 

Bullfinch                             1              1

Dunnock                                             3              

Sedge Warbler                                    1                                         

Willow Warbler                  4                                                    

Wren                                   1              

 

Total                                8                5         

Storm Petrels - Tuesday 11th of August

John, Steve and I tried a sixth attempt at catching Storm Petrels this year at Rinnagree Point on Tuesday night.  The conditions seemed near perfect with good cloud cover, light winds, mild and no bright moon.  We opened up the net at 23.20, with the first bird flying in 6 minutes later.  We had caught 8 birds by around 00.05 but it then went quiet before another 4 birds came in around 00.30.  We caught just 3 more Stormies, coming at 01.07, 01.14 and 01.55.  In between the last two birds we had a bit of excitement when an Oystercatcher was caught.  It was almost followed by a second but it unfortunately missed the net.  In total it was 15 Storm Petrels, taking us to a meagre 92 new birds for the year, well down on regular totals.

John and the Oystercatcher

We have received some information back from the BTO on a couple of the controlled Storm Petrels caught last month. 
The first bird was caught on Ailsa Craig, in the Irish Sea on the 13th of July 2014.  This is the second exchange with the island, with one of our birds being re-caught there previously.  The straight-line distance between the locations is 100km, 389 days in between.
The second bird came from a new location for us and another bird from the east coast of the UK.  It was originally ringed at Kilnsea Clays, East Riding, Yorkshire on the 8th of July 2014.  The distance between the sites is 475km, 370 days between. 
We also received word from Declan Clarke from the Irish Midlands Ringing Group to say that he recovered one of our birds on the 11th of August at Portacloy in County Mayo.  We originally ringed the bird on the 26th of July last year and it is the second bird we have exchanged with Declan.  Distance  = 221km. 

I'll maybe map them later this week if I get a chance!
  

August Update

Portstewart Strand - 08/08/2015

The forecast for early Saturday morning looked spot on, so John, Steve and I arrived on site at 05.45 and set all the nets.  The wind was due to pick up through the morning and it was blowing at roughly 18mph on departure at 11am.  It was a sunny start and remained clear for most of the morning before clouding over.  The only plus side to the wind was that it kept the flies away as it heated up to 16°C.

Stonechat

There was more of a late summer feel around the estuary with lots more Meadow Pipits, Linnets, waders and gulls about including the first 3 Ruff that I have seen this year.  I didn't get to watch them for long before a Peregrine bombed through and scattered everything smaller than a Curlew.  The Peregrine was also a first for the year, although usually regular through Autumn and winter.  The scrub was a little quieter but a number of the Willow Warblers have taken to song again. 

The catch was decent with 30 new birds and 5 retraps.  The young birds are finally starting to move through the scrub with 26 of the 30 new birds being born this year.  It was a nice mixed bag of species; the nicest bird being a juvenile Stonechat.

Meadow Pipit

Ringing Totals 08/08/2015

                                        New        Retrap           

Blackbird                           1                

Blackcap                            4 

Bullfinch                             4              1

Dunnock                            2              2              

Lesser Redpoll                   8     

Linnet                                 2

Meadow Pipit                     3

Sedge Warbler                                    1                                         

Stonechat                           1

Willow Warbler                  4                                                    

Wren                                  1               1

 

Total                                30                5         

Storm Petrels -  Visits 4 & 5


John, Ken and myself met at Rinnagree Point on the 30th of July for the fourth Storm Petrel ringing session of the season.  The wind was a little stronger than forecast and there was a large bright moon, peaking out behind the clouds through the night.  The birds responded to the tape quickly and there was an initial run of birds, with the first hitting the net at 23.48.  Things slowed down there after and we only managed a total of 11 new birds, with the final bird coming at 01.30.  We packed up and headed for bed at 01.45.  

Session five was held on the 6th of August by John and Steve.  The conditions were again a little breezy with very little cloud.  They set up a bit earlier at 23.15 and the first bird appeared at 23.35.  The catching was much better with 38 new birds, 2 retraps and 1 control.  The last bird was caught at 2am and the net was taken down.  The first retrap was originally caught around 2 years ago on the 14th of August 2013.  The second was originally a controlled bird from the 26th of July last year, although we are still awaiting feedback on that one...
The occurrence of these retraps (13 now), with some over multiple years, does perhaps support the idea of a closer breeding colony.  It has been suggested they may breed on the Skerries - Portrush, a few miles along the coast but they have yet to be checked, as far as we are aware.  Until breeding is proven, they will remain non breeding nomads, moving from colony to colony. 

We received a bit of interesting information from a ringer - Tom, at the Isle of May this week, which may make us rethink our ideas of Storm Petrel movements.  We had presumed that Storm Petrels always flew over the sea and that the birds that we trade with east coast Britain would have to pass around the top of Scotland.  The suggestion received is that some birds may actually cut across Scotland via the Clyde / Forth Valley, with some decent evidence to back the theory.  The first piece is a trade of a bird, between the east coast of Scotland, near the English border and County Down, Northern Ireland. 

"2396008, ringed Sheepland, Ardglass (by North Down Ringing Group), 0125hrs on 01.07.1995
controlled, St Abbs Head, Scottish Borders (by Borders Ringing Group), 0230hrs on 02.07.1995 - 283km, 50o."

The distance between the two sites, travelling around the north of Scotland is over 1000 km and it seems very unlikely that a bird would do this in one night.  The 283km (straight line distance) flight in one night seems impressive enough in itself!  The other information is below and is supportive of the theory, with this bird being caught some 16 km west of Edinburgh.    

"There is a previous record of a Stormie accidentally mist-netted by a ringer to a Dunlin lure (if I recall the report, his batteries were running low and the Dunlin calls may have been distorted) on the Forth estuary, near Bo'ness possibly, which is quite far up the estuary from the North Sea."


I'd be really interested to hear of any other similar occurrences of possible cross country movements of Stormies in the UK & Ireland if anyone has any? 



Swallow Roost Catch

I headed down to the River Site at the University of Ulster, Coleraine, on Friday night (7th) to test the water and see if the Swallows have started to gather.  In the past we have only tried it out in early September with perhaps as many as 5,000 Swallows gathering over the estuary.  We aren't really sure when the birds accumulate but a number of groups in Britain are currently catching successfully, so I thought I'd give it a go.
The weather conditions were perfect and there was a lovely sunset over the estuary to boot.  As I was by myself and I didn't have any means of holding the birds overnight, I set just the one net in the willows and turned off the tape lure after the first flurry of birds.  There were only c50 birds fluttering about and I caught ten new birds, four of which were adults.  At least I now know that early August is a little early in our neck of the woods, plus I did get a bit of clearing done in the net rides. 

We will probably leave it a couple of weeks before we go for the first proper attempt, with a large team assembled.  Going by last year, 150+ birds in a session seems feasible!   

 

Gulls and Terns since 1984

Over the past few weeks I have been playing about with Kens Gull and Tern data, that he has collected over the past 32 years.  Over this period he has ringed over 10,000 birds, with a focus on Sandwich Terns, with 8377 ringed since 1986.  Other important species were Black-headed Gull, Common Gull and Common Tern. 
Much of the early study work was carried out on the islands of Mulroy Bay, Donegal but the invasive American Mink became a huge problem and devastated the colonies.  The Mink not only ate as they went, but also killed every sitting bird they found (left uneaten) and cashed hundreds of eggs in burrows.  The Mink are still prevalent in the area and it is no longer studied.  Since then Inch Islet, at Inch Island Wild Fowl Reserve, has become the sole focus for study.  The islet has breeding populations of Common & Sandwich Terns and also Black-headed Gulls - Common Gulls are thus no longer ringed.   
As you can see from the totals below the Sandwich Terns have remained fairly constant, with the one blip in 2011, when high water flooded the whole islet.  This year was also quite poor, with the bad weather in early summer, killing many chicks and lots of eggs were abandoned.  The Common Terns are much more susceptible to changes in water levels, because they nest just above the water mark.  Black-headed Gulls breed in big numbers on the island but there is little focus on this species.   
  

	Tern Species - Chicks Ringed				Gull Species - Chicks Ringed
	Arctic	Common	Sandwich		Black-headed	Common	Great Black-backed	Herring
1984		100			98	160
1985		31			50	145
1986			203		5	71
1987	10	14	133		16	136		3
1988		26	415			138
1989			342			131
1990			267			22
1991			144
1992			238
1993			294
1994			320
1995			197
1996			329
1997			131
1998		45	155		15
1999		86	324		95	3
2000		19	365			3
2001		24	335		49
2002		26	267			5
2003		23	272		5
2004			453			2	3
2005			317
2006			322
2007			343
2008			319
2009		11	291		10
2010		12	387		9
2011			94
2012		6	410		7		2
2013			251		26
2014		22	270		5
2015		31	189		22
Total	10	476	8377		412	816	5	3

Since the start of the project there have been 113 recoveries (more than 5km away) of the birds ringed.  The Sandwich Terns, as expected, have weighed in with the majority, with 94 recoveries.  The birds that are recovered experience a wide range of fates.  For those lucky they have had their rings read in the field, have been re-caught by ringers or caught unintentionally and released.  Some are not so lucky with many being trapped and eaten, kept in cages, kept by children as pets, trapped for their rings to make jewellery, caught by dogs or simply found sick/dead. 

The Sandwich Terns have been recovered in an impressive 23 countries (24 if we grant the Basque independence) although surprisingly none yet in Northern Ireland.  I suspect some of the ringed birds I see in the Bann Estuary originate from Inch.  Generally the main concentrations in West Africa are found near the main cities e.g. Dakar and this is down to the population size, increasing the chances of the birds being found/caught.  Thumbs up to the people who found the birds in the Namib desert! 
The biggest distance travelled was for a Sandwich Tern that reached Sardinia Bay, Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa at a straight line distance of 10,399 km.  The bird was approaching 5 years old when it died, so it may have flown to South Africa and back to Ireland three/four times.   
 In terms of longevity there have been a few birds that have passed the 15 years old mark but the oldest two birds were both recovered in Spain at the ages of 20 years, 10 months and 5 days and 20 years, 4 months and 13 days.  The majority of the birds recovered in the Europe are generally at least 3 years old, whereas many of the birds in West Africa are recovered in their first winter or second year.

Sandwich Tern Recoveries
Ireland	8	Guinea Bissau	2
Scotland	3	Guinea	1
Wales	1	Sierra Leone	7
England	5	Liberia	2
France	2	Ivory Coast	3
Belgium	1	Ghana	8
Netherlands	1	Gabon	1
Germany	1	Congo	6
Denmark	2	Angola	2
Spain	3	Namibia	2
Morocco	1	South Africa	8
Senegal	24
		Total	94

 

 

Sandwich Tern Recoveries - Europe & North Africa

 

Sandwich Tern Recoveries - West Africa

 

Sandwich Tern Recoveries - Southern Africa

 

 

 

With much fewer birds ringed, there are less recoveries for the other species.  The Common Terns have managed a couple of recoveries in Ghana.  In terms of longevity, the oldest Common Tern to date stands at 11 years, 3 months and 1 day.  The oldest Black-headed Gull recorded = 12 years, 8 months and 6 days  and Common Gull = 21 years, 6 months and 3 days. 

Commn Tern Recoveries			B-headed Gull Recoveries			Common Gull Recoveries
Ireland	3		N Ireland	3		N Ireland	1
England	1		Ireland	7		Ireland	9
Ghana	2		Scotland	1		Scotland	1
			England	1
Total	6					Total	11
			Total	12

 

Recoveries of Black-headed & Common Gull and Common Tern - North of Ireland

Recoveries of Black-headed & Common Gull and Common Tern - UK & Ireland

Common Tern Recoveries - Ghana

 

 



All this information will be available in the Projects tab once I get around to updating it!