23 - 24 August 2025 - Ring Reading Dublin

 24/08/2025

Seapoint

Today I had to contend with Paddle boarders continually harrying the roosting birds.  I don't think they were doing it on purpose, but every time birds landed they approached.  Very quickly there were only 2 terns and 4 med gulls left.  Only read 1 Tern Ring.  The rocks here are such an important roosting location as they are usually not accessible to people or dogs.

At the Forty Foot in Dun Laoghaire, there were lots of metal ringed terns but it took a while to find a colour Ring.  

Eventually saw a Sandwich Tern with an Orange Ring.  KKP is another one that is probably from Lady's Island in Wexford.  

The aim of the morning was to read Med Gulls and three were recorded.  Two yellow rings, which were deployed in Dublin, and a Green ring on a med that comes to Dublin every year after breeding back in Germany.

23/08/2025

With my main project seasons coming to a close or over, time for a bit of ring reading.  Started in Dublin City on the Tolka River at Fairview.  I am back counting Swan broods now they are 12 weeks old.  (Fairview pair had 8 cygnets and still have 6 which is really good).

High up on a building I recorded a Herring Gull C26:D.  First record since 2021!  Nice to know its alive.

I went to The Great South Wall as the tide was really high.  Here, the railings near the sewage works provide a high tide roost for all types of Terns, Black-Headed Gulls, Cormorants and other species.

First Ring was one of our Irish Midland Ringing Group Black-headed Gulls Green 2AFD.  I haven't cropped the photo as it shows the railing roosts well.

There is some coming and going and eventually a Polish Juvenile was also recorded.

Also on the Railings was one of my project Great Black-Backed Gulls 570:D.  From the Dalkey Island Colony.

I moved on to Seapoint.  Disappointed to find people climbing on the rocks and the High Tide Roost was gone.  Only One Bird Recorded at this location.  Another of my project Great Black-Backed Gulls again from Dalkey Island 8J6:D

I continued South to Sandycove and the Forty Foot.  Quite a Few Mediterranean Gulls but no Rings.  Far out there were Sandwich Terns.  But even with my Nikon P950, the rain was heavy enough to blur the photos.  I recorded 1 only.  Did you know that Sandwich Terns from Wexford head north to Dublin before they migrate south?

This is normally in range for Sandwich tern Rings but not today.  I could see the orange ring but not 100% on the code

Did manage 1 ring,  Looks to be a Wexford bird.  Orange [KNN]

I finished off in Bullock Harbour to see what's passing through.  6 Meds but no rings.  This years Juvenile Great Black-backed was the highlight.  Too many to upload all the Bullock Birds, but all GB's and no Herring Gulls rings again.

2025 Mute Swan productivity

02/06/2025 14:15 Swan Nesting Census 2025

The Swan nesting census is nearly finished for 2025.  My boundaries are the greater Dublin area which includes East Kildare and North Wicklow.   2024 was very poor and below what is needed to maintain the population.  We only had 116 cygnets hatch and many of them did not survive the first 12 weeks.

The following is the outstanding nests / data .

Baldoyle Estuary. New nest site.  Still nesting.  Neither Swan identified.  

Ballymount Park.  Still nesting.  

Blessington Street Basin.  Neither adult identified yet.

Castletown House.  I have not visited this lake to see results of nesting.

Corkagh Park, Wildfowl Lake.  Still nesting.

Hatchings listed alphabetically below, the current situation is as of 01/06/2025 20:10 is 119 cygnets hatched.

Adamstown, 12th Lock on Grand Canal.  

01/06/2025, 4 Cygnets.   Make CDNN & Female CDJC

Ballycragh, Firhouse, Dublin 24

17/05/2025. 5 Cygnets

Blessington Street Basin, Dublin7

12/05/2025. 6 Cygnets.  Both parents - rings not yet read.

Bray, River Dargle

New nest site.  22/05/2025 3 Cygnets.  Female un-ringed!

Broombridge

29/05/2025. 4 Cygnets hatched

Bushy Park, Rathfarnham

11/05/2025 5 cygnets.  Female un-ringed.

Caves Marsh, Malahide Yacht Club.

01/06/2025 hatched 4

Chapelizod, Liffey

18/05/2025 Hatched 6.  

Corkagh Park, Fishing Lakes

20/05/2025 hatched 6.

Corkagh Fishing Lakes 02/02/2025 13 days old.

Fairview Park, Tolka River

31/05/2025. 8 Cygnets and both swans un-ringed.

23/08/2025 Still 6 Cygnets.

Fr Collins Park, 

11/05/2025 hatched 6 Cygnets

Gollierstown Bridge, Adamstown

24/05/2025 Hatched 4 Cygnets

Grangecastle Business Park

10/05/2025.  Hatched 4.  However it soon reduced to 3.

Lucan Weir

30/05/2025.  Hatched.  Just 1 Cygnet.  Spot the cygnet?  The cygnet is now called Spot.

Naas Harbour, Co Kildare

24/05/2025 Hatched 3 cygnets

Newbridge, Lakeside

17/05/2025 Hatched 9 cygnets

Parkwest Guinness Filters, Clondalkin

10/05/2025 Hatched 3 Cygnets

Poppintree Park, Ballymun

25/05/2025 Hatched 8 Cygnets

Ryewater Aquaduct / Confey. Leixlip, Co Kildare

17/05/2025 Hatched 3 cygnets

Tolka Valley Park, Finglas

24/05/2025 Spotted with 4.  These always leave the Park when hatched and travel down the Tolka to Griffith Park.  They arrived with 4.  No way of knowing how many hatched.

Tymon Park, Limekiln Lake, Tallaght, Dublin 24

21/05/2025 Hatched 8 Cygnets

Tymon North, Tymon Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24

15/05/2025.  hatched 7 Cygnets

Tymon Park, Spawell end.  (Also called Wellington Road Lake).

10/05/2025 hatched 5

University College Dublin, Belfield

19/05/2025.  New Pair, un-ringed.  Hatched 2 Cygnets

Great Black-backed Gull project - Dublin

 

Great Black-backed Gulls are the largest Gull in the world.  Over the years I could see their numbers declining, but anecdotal opinion means nothing .  In 2017 we started Colour Ringing them in order to provide accurate Adult Survival date to international best standard practice.  There was a previous colour ringing Project in Dublin so we inherited 100 GB's already colour ringed.  We have Colour Ringed almost 800 since we started.  Mainly as Chicks but many caught and ringed as adults.  I do a RAS, it stands for Re-trapping Adults for Survival.  However with the colour rings I don't have to re trap so Re-sighting Adults for survival.

The data required for the project is simple.  We need to identify every colour ringed individual Great Black-backed Gull in the Project boundaries from Mid March to  Mid August.   How accurate our data is the more accurate the survival data is.  So each year it is a huge effort by a small group of us reading GB's rings at every opportunity.  Covid restrictions, bird Flu precautions have hit the project hard but each year we bounce back

Of the 800 Gulls ringed,  I don't expect that many to be in the project each year.  Maybe only 200 - 300 are possibly still alive, a good year would to record over 100.

1. They don't breed until generally 5 years old, so chick ringed between 2020 - 2024 may not return to Dublin.  
2. About 50% don’t nest on the Island they hatched on.  Luckily some nest on the other Islands in the project, but others go to the Calf of Man, Saltees, and various other colonies.  
3. About 32% of chick survive the 5 years to breeding age.  These are scattered currently far and wide but with good ring readers in NI, we know many favour that direction.  But as far as Cork, Waterford, Wexford we get regular sightings of Juveniles (and adults who couldn’t be bothered returning to breed even though they are 5 years old).

 

Difficult to display as a graphic as to were the project is at this stage of the season.  Each column represents about 85 Colour rings deployed.  We are now just over 50 identified, but many Islands have not yet been visited due to Ferry, Tides, Sea Conditions etc.

2025 Mute Swan RAS (Survival Census) 13th April 2025

 Dublin Swans

The vast majority of Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare Swans have a unique coded plastic identifying ring.  The annual survival figures are calculated by checking all swans and recording all individuals.  

Usually the number to find is about the 300 mark.  As the summer progresses, it gets harder and harder to find new individuals.  I would be hopefully around the 200 individuals identified by the end of April.

A long way to go, but a good start to the RAS Season.  Couldn't physically cover the distance as an individual.  Thankfully a couple of Club Member assist, particularly JR who does huge a amount of leg work, walking the canals looking for swans and nests.  Also blessed we a few members of the public who keep me updated on their local nests.  Thank you to all the observers!