Results from colour-ring reading (1 Viewer)

[Rich Bonser]

I haven't contributed for a while here, so thought I'd update on the weekend's ring reading. I managed to read 10 birds on the local tip, including a Yellow-legged Gull that rather mundanely had been ringed at the same site exactly a month ago. More interesting were a Belgian ringed Herring, a Norwegian ringed GBB Gull and a LBB Gull that has been to Spain and back. Photos and more commentary on these stars can be found here. Also a bit more on ringed gulls from the previous weekend here.

Cheers
Rich
http://rothandb.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[Steve Lister]

I haven't contributed recently either so........

Interesting large gull at my regular landfill site a fortnight ago looked like a Caspian hybrid and it had a big yellow ring.
When I eventually worked out how to use a new Polish reporting system and how to get at the feedback I was disappointed to find my bird just identified as 'Caspian Gull colony'. I take it that this means the ringers don't know exactly what the chicks they are ringing are.

Today at the same site were a 3cy GBB from Tromso, Norway and two LBBs also from Norway, with one of them having wintered at Madrid and then Malaga, Spain. Plus an Icelandic LBB that I can't get a reply for despite reporting it three times.

Steve

 

[Mark Grantham]

In reply to your query Steve, we received the following recently from the Polish Ringing Scheme which will explain what these codes mean:

"In mixed colonies, that is, colonies where more than one species breed, hybridization is frequent. Ringers usually visit these colonies once or twice per season and ring (and colour-ring) as many chicks as possible during a single visit. Parents (or, to be precise, social parents) are normally not assigned to nests since they are flying overhead and alarming, the vegetation is dense and chicks are hinding and running everywhere, sometimes far from nests. In such situation, it is impossible to guess the species of a chick. For the purpose of such situation, ringers may use the following codes:

1. "Larus cachinnans colony" - for chicks ringed in mixed colonies where L. cachinnans is the dominant species (in other words: it is most likely that these chicks are cachinnans, but other species and hybrids are not excluded); this is the most common code, because most c-ringed birds are from southern Poland, where this species is the dominant one.

2-3. "Larus argentatus colony" and "Larus michahellis colony" - as above but refer to L. argentatus and L. michahellis, respectively. These two are rarely used and are unlikely to be encountered by you.

4. "Larus argentatus sensu lato" is used by ringers to mean large gull of any age from the herring gull group, when the ringer is unable to provide closer identification.

5. "Larus cachinnans" is used only to mean this species (pure individuals, as assessed during ringing, based on phenotype in adults and on parents identification in chicks).

6-7. "Larus argentatus" and "Larus michahellis" - as 5, mean pure species.

8. For morphological hybrids there are other codes but these are easy in interpretation."

 

[Steve Lister]

Thanks Mark - that is what I assumed.

Checking the only previous ring sighting of a Caspian in Leics/Rutland that one has the recovery sheet headed Caspian/Herring Gull but that one the bird did look like a pure Caspian.

Steve

 

[Mohamed Amezian]

Just had an email from Spain accepting two of my Audouin's Gull ring sightings as valid.

Only thing is I saw and reported them in 2003 !!!

Steve

Here are 10 colour-ringed Audouin's Gull that my friend Rachid El Khamlichi photographed at Martil beach (northern Morocco) on 08 March 2013, and posted on the blog on 11 March, so he got the answer in 3 days :t:. All Spanish rings, with the majority were ringed at the colony of Punta de la Banya / Delta del Ebro.

 

[Steve Lister]

Phenomenal flock of c800 Black-tailed Godwits at Rutland Water overnight last Thursday/Friday had us guessing where they had come from.

But four colour-ringed birds in the flock were all regulars from the Medway area of the Thames estuary so problem solved. Many thanks to Jenny Gill and Pete Potts for the very prompt info.

Hopefully the godwits are back in Iceland now.

Steve

 

[samoyed76]

According to a BTO report I received recently a mute swan that I see regularly in Ayrshire is apparently 24 years old going by their records.

Anyone know if there are any older ringed mute swans out there?

 

[IanF]

According to a BTO report I received recently a mute swan that I see regularly in Ayrshire is apparently 24 years old going by their records.

Anyone know if there are any older ringed mute swans out there?

The BTO quote longevity records for most species - 27yrs 6 months seem to be the record at present - http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob1520.htm

Typical lifespan is 10 yrs so it's doing very well :t:

 

[samoyed76]

The BTO quote longevity records for most species - 27yrs 6 months seem to be the record at present - http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob1520.htm

Typical lifespan is 10 yrs so it's doing very well :t:

They mentioned the oldest in their email to me, this swan's been in the same location for a good few months now so i'll keep an eye on him and hopefully enjoy him for a while yet. |=)|

 

[Rich Bonser]

Interesting large gull at my regular landfill site a fortnight ago looked like a Caspian hybrid and it had a big yellow ring.
When I eventually worked out how to use a new Polish reporting system and how to get at the feedback I was disappointed to find my bird just identified as 'Caspian Gull colony'. I take it that this means the ringers don't know exactly what the chicks they are ringing are.

In reply to your query Steve, we received the following recently from the Polish Ringing Scheme which will explain what these codes mean:

"In mixed colonies, that is, colonies where more than one species breed, hybridization is frequent. Ringers usually visit these colonies once or twice per season and ring (and colour-ring) as many chicks as possible during a single visit. Parents (or, to be precise, social parents) are normally not assigned to nests since they are flying overhead and alarming, the vegetation is dense and chicks are hinding and running everywhere, sometimes far from nests. In such situation, it is impossible to guess the species of a chick. For the purpose of such situation, ringers may use the following codes:

1. "Larus cachinnans colony" - for chicks ringed in mixed colonies where L. cachinnans is the dominant species (in other words: it is most likely that these chicks are cachinnans, but other species and hybrids are not excluded); this is the most common code, because most c-ringed birds are from southern Poland, where this species is the dominant one.

Hi Steve and Mark
I've just returned from one of these colonies in south-central Poland where I was kindly invited by one of the ringers. As Mark's reply above suggests, the strategy of ringing pullus inevitably means the adults are not on the nest when the chicks are ringed and young are walking around everywhere. Add to this, the grass is long on these islands so it's difficult to know exactly which nest belongs to which parents.

Regarding Steve's point on identification, the colonies vary in terms of their composition. I visited Żwironia Zakole, Jankowice, near Zator in Malopolskie where most birds are Caspian Gulls (a figure of >95% was given to me - and indeed this chap that I saw on the River Thames last January was born there!), with other gene lines from Yellow-legged Gull and, to a much lesser extent in southern Poland, argentatus Herring Gulls - the ringer meticulously takes photos of each and every bird that is ringed/re-caught etc.

From my experience on Wednesday, there are certainly more than a fair share (80%+) of classic Caspian Gulls but equally some birds (adults I'm talking about here) do seem not to fit the bill completely by either having excessive black in the primaries lacking the pale P10 tongue or having just feint black marks on P5, as well as an extremely pale iris (with no obvious speckling). I've also seen shots of Polish ringed birds in Essex that seem to show hybrid origins too.

Two ringing schemes going on - the older ones are three numbers and then a P (white writing on green) and the newer rings - easier to read in the field - start with a P and then are followed by three letters. A couple of examples attached. Managed to read 18 rings while there, and getting some nice info back on these birds (they're mainly wintering in other parts of Poland, Czech Republic and Germany).

Cheers
Rich
http://rothandb.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[Lee C]

Hi all

I am new or rather not a big user of Birdforum although birder of 30 years experience at my local patch of Dawlish Warren.

Found this thread and started reading many comments, its good to see many people like me out there actively looking for rings.

In the last few years I have managed to find c.200 recoveries, a heavy percentage being large Gulls with darvic rings, but also a varied list of other species including Terns and waders.

Its a real buzz to me and am I alone in the fact I now have a species list of rung birds and country lisy (ie from countries they originate from).

Reading a metal Rosy Tern a great but rewarding challenge just a few weeks back. Recent finds included two Icelandic Ringed Plovers, a few colour ringed Sanderling that were rung on breeding grounds in Greenland or wintering grounds in Ghana.

Keep up the great thread, will look to add more in the near future.

 

[Lee C]

Hi all

Been a busy old time at Dawlish Warren NNR, the two Ringed Plovers I had a few weeks back were from Iceland which was cool.

Numbers of GBBG's are starting to build in number and today had three Darvic birds, experience tells me two are from France the other from the Channel Islands.

Had an email from BTO today on 6 outstanding Oyk's that I have read a few months back (metal rings) one was from Wexford, Ireland, another from Orkney, another from Isle of Man.

Still observing Darvic juv Sarnies on site, N50 was read on 16th (it was first found on 20th July) bird was rung in Holland and like the other numerous sightings from three other individuals all from same site in Holland, suggests juvs use DWarren heavily as a kinda nursery area. All four juvs I have found have all been observered at least 4 times each, with N50 now seen for its 9th time in its short lifespan so far.

Had a juv BHG last weekend too, I don't get many BHG recoveries and my first juv, turns out it was from Wokingham some 200km away, rung just 36 days prior.

 

[Steve Lister]

I had a fantastic day recently picking out ringed birds amongst the enormous flock of Black-tailed Godwits at Frampton Marsh RSPB. Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but to me it is great birding with scientific value.

I read 27 colour-ring combos and passed them on to the wonderful Dr Jenny Gill at UEA who sorted out which schemes they belong to. So far I have heard back about Jenny's own scheme, based on The Wash, as well as a Devon scheme and others in Portugal and France. The rest were actually ringed on Iceland - I am sure they are all Icelandic birds but many of them are never actually seen there.

Another session planned for this weekend.

Also interesting recently are five colour-ringed Little Egrets in my county. One is a Dutch bird but I assume the others are British ringed but no details have come back yet.

Steve

 

[Steve Lister]

Another excellent day for gull ring-reading on my local landfill. 20 rings on LBBs read today, but including five already seen in the past few weeks. There were about 2700 LBBGulls present.

Six were from Norway, but only two of them were new arrivals. The other 14 were all ringed in England, but that does not mean they are English breeders of course. Although at least seven were ringed as chicks.

Steve

 

[NIBirder]

I've had two colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls reported to me recently, both seen in Belfast last week. One is originally from Germany and the other was ringed on an island off north-east Denmark this summer.

Since last winter, I've recorded BHG wintering in Northern Ireland which had originally been ringed/colour-ringed in 11 different countries. Including a couple reported to me by Lowell Mills, who I know is on here...so thanks, Lowell!

You can see the German bird here: www.bhgullsni.blogspot.co.uk and a post about the Danish bird will be uploaded tomorrow.

 

[Clive A]

I too have not been on this thread recently, but the 2 colour ringed Mute Swans at Carsington Water Derbyshire are now 14 years old. They have a way to go before they are the oldest swan recovery which was 27+ years old.

 

[M Cowming]

Hi folks,

recently had a Ringed Plover here with a red flag stamped E6 on it's left leg (above knee) and a yellow ring on the other (above knee).
Usually good at tracking the relevant scheme down but not this time. I've tried CR-Birding etc but no luck yet. Anyone any ideas?
Regards.

 

[Mark Grantham]

This will be a Norwegian bird, so contact:
[email protected]

 

[VillagerFred]

I had a fantastic day recently picking out ringed birds amongst the enormous flock of Black-tailed Godwits at Frampton Marsh RSPB. Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but to me it is great birding with scientific value.

I read 27 colour-ring combos and passed them on to the wonderful Dr Jenny Gill at UEA who sorted out which schemes they belong to. So far I have heard back about Jenny's own scheme, based on The Wash, as well as a Devon scheme and others in Portugal and France. The rest were actually ringed on Iceland - I am sure they are all Icelandic birds but many of them are never actually seen there.

Another session planned for this weekend.

Also interesting recently are five colour-ringed Little Egrets in my county. One is a Dutch bird but I assume the others are British ringed but no details have come back yet.

Steve

I wouldn't apologize Steve: I love looking through Blackwit flocks for colour ringed birds! Jenny has kindly sent me the details of her birds amongst the Frampton lot but I suspect the Icelandic team are inundated after such a large number of birds at a public site. Also keep your eyes peeled for colour ringed turnstone, grey plover, and curlew when visiting the Wash!

 

[M Cowming]

This will be a Norwegian bird, so contact:
[email protected]

Thanks Mark.