Tuesday 6 September 2016

Bird Ringing

In late July 2016, I saw this Black-headed Gull at Baron's Haugh RSPB Reserve and noticed it had a coloured ring on its leg.


I checked the BTO web site and sent off the details and Iain Livingstone of the Clyde Ringing Group got back to me really quickly. He advised that the bird had been ringed as a chick at Elvanfoot on 24 June 2014 and had since been seen at Strathclyde Country Park on 24 September 2014 and 31 January 2015.

Iain, also kindly helped me with another Black-headed Gull which I had found at Bingham's Pond in Glasgow on 8 February 2013.


At the time, I was able to ascertain that the bird had been ringed in Poland but had not been able to find out anything else. Iain undertook some research and confirmed that it was the first Polish bird to have been reported to the Clyde Ringing Group and so it was a very good record. The bird had been ringed in Poland on 24 April 2010 and had been subsequently reported in Poland in March 2011, Fairlie in October 2011 and Poland March-April 2012. To put this all in context, the distance between where the bird was ringed and Bingham's Pond is 1248Km.

Finally, I reported this ringed Sandwich Tern, photographed at Port Seton, East Lothian in late August 2016.



Ewan Weston also responded really quickly advising that the bird had been ringed as a chick by the Grampian Ringing Group at the Forvie NNR on the Ythan Estuary on 2 June 2016.

It then headed off to Findhorn Bay in Moray before returning to the Ythan and then being reported from Port Seton.


All fascinating stuff; so if you find a ringed bird please report the details via the BTO web site and you might be surprised when you find out where 'your local birds' are coming from!






I


No comments:

Post a Comment