My first port of call was Ball's Point, to the east of the main sea defences on the Lough. At Strangford Lough we mainly allow two hours after high tide as the optimal ring-reading period, but I'm now thinking that at Lough Foyle it must be nearer to three!
Anyhow, 322 birds counted there (typical view in the photo), yielding 15 marked birds, most of which, strangely, were not previously associated with the site.
The birds were settled, so I was able to do an assessment of productivity. This yielded a percentage juveniles of just under 14%, and an average brood size of 3, which would be WAY above recent years. However, still early days, and a subsequent look at 75 birds at Ballykelly, also on Lough Foyle, only yielded 3 juveniles, illustrating that families with juveniles tend to be selective on which precise areas they feed, and that it needs a total count of a site to come up with meaningful figures...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever suspect any effects of rising ocean levels? The places in south Skåne where i used to watch birds as a boy, don't serve me as a ringer any longer; i think i have had a 20 cm average water-rise over my lifetime. (I looked it up; the land surface of my area drops c1 mm per year into the sea, and the sea itself rises by 1 - 2 mm per year, appr. 1 dm in the last 50 years). Such changes should affect tidal flats (erosion) and the dynamics of tidal waves, too.
ReplyDeleteHi Christer, Here in Ireland, I think the land surface is moving upwards, following the last ice-age, so probably the differences here are less dramatic?? Would welcome the thoughts of someone better placed to comment!
DeleteGreat updates Graham - from Strangford, Foyle, Dublin and beyond!
ReplyDeleteI looked that up, too: Much of England and southern Ireland are falling into the sea, Scotland and Northern Ireland are rising. We have an equilibrium level across Skåne; to the south of it the land is falling, to the north it's rising. Possibly something similar in Ireland.
ReplyDelete