News has come in from Adrien Pajot that he has re-sighted one of our brent, 2IRR (2 right leg, I left leg, R ed right leg-ring colour, R ed left leg-ring colour) on Christmas Day, on the western tip of the Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, France. For those of you who are equally geographically challenged to myself, this island, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge, lies about half-way down the western coast of France, near La Rochelle, on the Bay of Biscay.
This record is from near the southern limit of the range of our birds, and only two ringed birds have ever been recorded from as far south before - CIWW visited the nearby Île d'Oléron during the 2005 / 2006 winter, and HPRY was recorded from Île de Ré in February 2011. Both birds were subsequently recorded from Ireland in subsequent winters, so the extra flight and sun-tan doesn't seem to have done them any harm!
2IRR was ringed in 2013 as part of the intensive series of catches in the Dublin area which have been going on in the past few years. This winter I had it passing through Strangford Lough in late September, following which it was picked up by Pat Watson at North Bull, Dublin on 03 November. Just over a week later, it was recorded from Havre de Regnéville, in Normandy, the main French site for our flyway, on 11 November, by Jerome Bosec. It was recorded there a couple of times again by Alain Livory and Roselyne Coulomb, for the last time on 14 November.
So, this bird has been passed on from one observer to another right along the flyway, which I guess is one of the fascinations of being a ring-reader!!
Having been laid low by a number of fairly vicious bugs over the Christmas period (and apologies that this has led to fewer updates on things), I'm hoping to remove myself to County Donegal tomorrow to seek out a few more new rings at less well-covered sites there over the New Year. Season's Greetings to everyone!!
PS Collation of the early November Census is nearly complete, and I would hope to be able to come back with the findings on my return!
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Monday, 15 December 2014
Site Faithfulness Across the Flyway...
I've just been working on the latest overall Summary which I send out to observers of marked birds, and, despite it being relatively early in the winter, already the re-sighting pattern is following that of other winters since 2007, when the Group first ringed birds on the breeding grounds in High Arctic Canada. Detailed study by our colleagues at University of Exeter, and particularly Xav Harrison, has shown that groups of birds and families tend to use the same specific sites throughout the flyway path i.e. breeding, through migration to their wintering sites.
Hence, I thought it might be worth sharing that, already, about 10% of the birds which we ringed this summer up on Axel Heiberg Island (look it up on Google Earth!!) have been recorded from one small estuary in Ireland, at Rogerstown, just north of Dublin. The recent photographs below are courtesy of Christer Persson, of birds located at the entrance channel - the second one is looking out towards Lambay Island, which the brent from Rogerstown (proven by records of ringed birds) also use on occasions.
Hence, I thought it might be worth sharing that, already, about 10% of the birds which we ringed this summer up on Axel Heiberg Island (look it up on Google Earth!!) have been recorded from one small estuary in Ireland, at Rogerstown, just north of Dublin. The recent photographs below are courtesy of Christer Persson, of birds located at the entrance channel - the second one is looking out towards Lambay Island, which the brent from Rogerstown (proven by records of ringed birds) also use on occasions.
Sunday, 14 December 2014
And Now the Other One...
The second bird I referred to in yesterday's blog was S6WR, an adult ringed at Greyabbey, on the eastern shore of Strangford Lough on 24 October, as part of a catch of 7 birds.
At Greyabbey, inter-tidal is particularly difficult, as we are depending on the tide flooding up to a HW spit, and any catch involves a mad tidal dash by the team across to the net in waders! The birds can be very fickle from day to day, illustrated by one of my recce (as usual, VERY poor quality!!) shots on a non-attempt day, which makes one wonder how we can catch only 7 geese!! C'est la vie!! And we always catch less than we hope for there!!
So, having set the scene, unlike the bird yesterday, which went south, this bird headed east and north, to the Solway Firth, Wigton Bay in SW Scotland, to be more precise, where it was picked up by Derek Farr, and reported in to us.
So, again, a lot of effort, but it proves that even small catches at this stage of the season can yield very interesting results, as these birds are merely staging on Strangford Lough! As with the "Lone Ranger", we are indebted to canon-netter Stuart Bearhop (the Prof!) from University of Exeter, the rest of the team from there, and those who turned up to help with the catch.
At Greyabbey, inter-tidal is particularly difficult, as we are depending on the tide flooding up to a HW spit, and any catch involves a mad tidal dash by the team across to the net in waders! The birds can be very fickle from day to day, illustrated by one of my recce (as usual, VERY poor quality!!) shots on a non-attempt day, which makes one wonder how we can catch only 7 geese!! C'est la vie!! And we always catch less than we hope for there!!
So, having set the scene, unlike the bird yesterday, which went south, this bird headed east and north, to the Solway Firth, Wigton Bay in SW Scotland, to be more precise, where it was picked up by Derek Farr, and reported in to us.
So, again, a lot of effort, but it proves that even small catches at this stage of the season can yield very interesting results, as these birds are merely staging on Strangford Lough! As with the "Lone Ranger", we are indebted to canon-netter Stuart Bearhop (the Prof!) from University of Exeter, the rest of the team from there, and those who turned up to help with the catch.
Saturday, 13 December 2014
Now, Where is Tonto?!!!
If you care to refer back to the blog of 25 October, you'll see that I named the only juvenile to be ringed during these early attempts on Strangford Lough "The Lone Ranger", as it was the only bird caught that day. U3WR (U right leg, 3 left leg, W hite right legring colour, R ed left legring colour), as it was ringed, was first sighted again on 28 November, but as it wasn't recorded as a juvenile, and hadn't been seen again at this heavily recorded site, it was agreed with the observer that we wouldn't blog, just in case it was a mis-read.
Now, tonight, I have received this photo:
Courtesy of Alain Livory and Roselyne Coulomb, who admit that it is not their best-ever photograph (yet you can see the red ring 3!), of what is the only WR juvenile (hence the white edging to the feathers) around just now, I can reveal that the "Lone Ranger" is currently located at the southern end of the range, at Regnéville, in Normandy, France!! - how cool is that!!
This ties in with our previous experience that, whilst these inter-tidal catches on the east side of Strangford Lough are particularly difficult, they normally yield very interesting results.
And tonight I have received a record, of another of those eight birds caught in late October, away from Ireland, which I will report on further once I get the credits established. Watch this space!!
Now, tonight, I have received this photo:
Courtesy of Alain Livory and Roselyne Coulomb, who admit that it is not their best-ever photograph (yet you can see the red ring 3!), of what is the only WR juvenile (hence the white edging to the feathers) around just now, I can reveal that the "Lone Ranger" is currently located at the southern end of the range, at Regnéville, in Normandy, France!! - how cool is that!!
This ties in with our previous experience that, whilst these inter-tidal catches on the east side of Strangford Lough are particularly difficult, they normally yield very interesting results.
And tonight I have received a record, of another of those eight birds caught in late October, away from Ireland, which I will report on further once I get the credits established. Watch this space!!
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
OK - Let's Hear a Shout for Strangford Lough!!!...
Just been making out yet another "Overall Summary" to issue to recent observers, and I notice that there have now been 3,173 re-sightings of 1,013 individuals read at Strangford Lough so far this winter!! Whilst I know there are other significant numbers of records yet to be submitted to us from there, I think the 1,000+ in particular of individuals is worth a glass-up celebration!!
The ratio of only approximately 3 rings needing to be read for each new individual (which could be seen as a measure of both effort, total numbers of birds, and throughput for sites managing good coverage of significant numbers of birds), is a feature for Strangford Lough, and again illustrates the need for a concentration of effort there during the staging season. By comparison, from last winter's results, the ratios for the "main effort" sites (>200 resightings) were (first figure is number of records):
Dublin Bay: 6057 ratio: - 9.79
Strangford Lough: 1665 ratio: - 2.17
Baldoyle Bay: 976 ratio: - 5.55
Dundrum Bay: 777 ratio: - 6.17
Normandy: 383 ratio: - 23.94
Malahide Estuary: 272 ratio: 2.67
Just in case it is of interest to the mathematicians amongst us!!
The ratio of only approximately 3 rings needing to be read for each new individual (which could be seen as a measure of both effort, total numbers of birds, and throughput for sites managing good coverage of significant numbers of birds), is a feature for Strangford Lough, and again illustrates the need for a concentration of effort there during the staging season. By comparison, from last winter's results, the ratios for the "main effort" sites (>200 resightings) were (first figure is number of records):
Dublin Bay: 6057 ratio: - 9.79
Strangford Lough: 1665 ratio: - 2.17
Baldoyle Bay: 976 ratio: - 5.55
Dundrum Bay: 777 ratio: - 6.17
Normandy: 383 ratio: - 23.94
Malahide Estuary: 272 ratio: 2.67
Just in case it is of interest to the mathematicians amongst us!!
Saturday, 6 December 2014
Moving On...
I guess (reluctantly, as I'm one of those who benefit from the birds being on my doorstep at Strangford Lough) that the change from here to there has now happened.
First evidence is from a text, yesterday, from Kerry Mackie that he, Alex Portig, Hugh Thurgate and Seamus Magouran, have completed their last regular specific brent count for the season at the North end of the Lough, and only found 3,000 geese, the normal over-wintering complement. Well done, those guys, for their efforts in these regular autumn counts!
I have also been getting swamped (but PLEASE keep them coming!!) particularly with records from, County Dublin, which is a major over-wintering site, and where many of the birds have been ringed. Here, the birds have historically first been regularly recorded coming out on land at the Baldoyle Bay site of the public park opposite the Texaco station at Portmarnock, and this seems to have happened again this winter.
Swedish observer, Christer Persson, who spends most of the winter months in Dublin, and is a VERY significant contributor to the database, is back "on the case", has let me know birds are already coming out on to the parks there, and has sent me the photograph below of the geese already coming out on grass, in this case at Ardscoile Ris.
This was also the experience of Pat Watson and myself, on a run down the East coast from Carlingford Lough on 02 December, when we found [600] at Lugangreen, Dundalk Bay, Co. Louth, alternating between the Bay and winter cereal fields to the rear of the Iveco repair centre.
Christer Persson and Pat Watson have also been recording high numbers of our recently ringed RB Canadian birds at Rogerstown Estuary, a feature which mirrors the last catch in Canada in the same area in 2007.This helps confirm previous research, that groups of birds tend to use the same cross-flyway (wintering, staging and breeding) sites.
First evidence is from a text, yesterday, from Kerry Mackie that he, Alex Portig, Hugh Thurgate and Seamus Magouran, have completed their last regular specific brent count for the season at the North end of the Lough, and only found 3,000 geese, the normal over-wintering complement. Well done, those guys, for their efforts in these regular autumn counts!
I have also been getting swamped (but PLEASE keep them coming!!) particularly with records from, County Dublin, which is a major over-wintering site, and where many of the birds have been ringed. Here, the birds have historically first been regularly recorded coming out on land at the Baldoyle Bay site of the public park opposite the Texaco station at Portmarnock, and this seems to have happened again this winter.
Swedish observer, Christer Persson, who spends most of the winter months in Dublin, and is a VERY significant contributor to the database, is back "on the case", has let me know birds are already coming out on to the parks there, and has sent me the photograph below of the geese already coming out on grass, in this case at Ardscoile Ris.
This was also the experience of Pat Watson and myself, on a run down the East coast from Carlingford Lough on 02 December, when we found [600] at Lugangreen, Dundalk Bay, Co. Louth, alternating between the Bay and winter cereal fields to the rear of the Iveco repair centre.
Christer Persson and Pat Watson have also been recording high numbers of our recently ringed RB Canadian birds at Rogerstown Estuary, a feature which mirrors the last catch in Canada in the same area in 2007.This helps confirm previous research, that groups of birds tend to use the same cross-flyway (wintering, staging and breeding) sites.
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