December 2017

31st of December 

Firstly, Happy New Year to all.

A quick check at Portobello on the Wintering Swans this morning.  There were 78 on the Canal.  I only recorded 26 rings.  There were also 50 Juvenile Herring Gulls and not a ring among them!

But there is always one fascinating reading.  Swan CBAN was ringed on October 31st 2016.  This is the first sighting since it was ringed!

I had spotted a Green Ringed Black Headed Gull, while queuing at the traffic lights en route.  I walked back and relocated it.  Ringed as an adult in 2014.  Todays was the 3rd record outside Norway.  (The other two sightings were also mine).

Black Headed Gull JC38 from Norway.

Driving home I drove round Ben Madigan Park in Drimnagh.  I did spot one of our red rings on a lamp post.  I nearly missed it as it took off as I was focusing the camera!  However, I caught the code 014:D!  It is another first sighting.

30th December

Bray Harbour at low tide is ideal for Gull watching and looking for rings.  100's of Gulls.  Mainly Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls, but also Common Gulls and Great Black Backed Gulls.

None of the rarer gulls were noted today.  Surely among this 600 Gulls would be one of our Colour Ringed Juveniles?  The answer after an hour was no!  If there isn't 1 of the 250 Gulls we colour ringed in Dublin, where are these from?  I spotted a metal ring on a Juvenile Herring Gull.  It took me a while to read it. GV13805 - Not one of our Club Rings.  Unfortunately, the new Demon website is awaiting the ringing data so I don't know where it was ringed.

Just when I was leaving I spotted a Blue ring on a Great Black Backed Gull.  It too a while to read it - 3AL.  Ringed in 2013, it was seen twice at this location in 2014.  This was the first sighting since 2014.

28th December

A morning off work meant I got a trip to North Dublin again.  At Howth, 3 of our new project Gulls were recorded as well as two of the old Blue rings and a Metal on a Herring Gull.


174:D.  A Third sighting of this individual.  Ringed on Irelands Eye.

Blue[1SV].Ringed in 2012. This is the 31st sighting.  All so far have been at Howth Harbour.

Red [096:D].  First sighting since ringing was also this week!  Also an Irelands Eye Gull.

Red[353:D] First sighting away from Irelands Eye.  Last time it was reported was August when it was reported sick and continually "sneezing".  Alive and healthy today.

Blue [0LN] Ringed as an adult in 2016.  This is only the 3rd sighting since then.

While at Howth I was lucky to have Snow Bunting flitting around!

At Baldoyle shore I was delighted to see 100 Brent Beese.  However none were ringed.  I did spot one of our Rings - Red[097:D] - A first sighting since ringing.

At Seagrange Park, there were 200 Brent.  The Grass was too long to read many but I did record 4.  Below is Photo of 3ABY.

26th December

Howth Harbour for a post Christmas walk.  Not many Gulls about compared with usual.  However, I did record 2 of our Colour Ringed Gulls.

118:D  Is a frequently recorded Herring Gull at Howth.  Ringed by me on Ireland's Eye. An Island you can see from Howth.

096:D was also ringed on Irelands Eye.  (Not by me!)  However, this is a first sighting since ringed.

I stopped in Fr Collins Park on the way back.  The Nowegian Black Headed Gull, J18J was present.  Ringed as an adult in 2015, it was recorded in 2015 in Fr Collins Park and every year since.

23rd December

Grangecastle is a site I will have to watch more closely.  Today I went back to see if I could find the Isle of Man Herring Gull.  No luck, but I did get a first sighting of another of our Irelands Eye Herring Gulls.  They are quite nervous at the site so the photo is from far, far away.  It is the Gull with the X above it!

20th December

At Grangecastle Business Park, there were two Herring Gulls with Coloured rings at lunchtime today.  I went for our one first.  Only got 1 photo from 40m before it flew.  This is another from Irelands' Eye.  26km from the ringing site and 15kn from the coast.  Not a great photo but a first sighting of 127:D

The second ringed Herring Gull was from the Isle of Man but I failed to capture the code, just the :M!
Oh well, next time maybe.

I was more intrigued with the Lesser Black Backed Gulls.  This one appears to be Larus Fuscus graellsii.  I must study them more closely.  By rights ours should be in Spain, Portugal or North Africa at this time of year.  Are there our Urban Gulls who have lost the migratory urge or from much more northern parts and this is as far as they go?

19th December

In Tymon Park today I re-sighted the Polish Black Headed Gull.  Good to confirm this is it's territory.  However it would not come out of the lake! Hence this photo!

17th December

The task of locating our Dublin Gulls brought Tonya and myself to Poppintree Park in Ballymun.  On arrival a white Darvic was spotted on a Black Headed Gull.  However it was too quick for the camera.  We waited for the 300+ gulls to settle, but it wasn't observed again.  However, when we were leaving one of our red rings was spotted and Tonya got this photo.  It was one of the Irelands Eye Gulls we were looking for and was 8km from the coast.

16th December

It has been a quiet month for ring sightings.  Today I stopped at Bray Harbour and recorded the Black Headed Gull from Lithuania for the first time this winter. I know others have recorded it already. It has been coming to Bray for 6 years now.

I had gone to Bray to look for our Gulls. I am so surprised that I have had only one sighting of our coloured ringed Herring Gulls from Bray.  There are usually good numbers of juvenile Herring Gulls and is a great place for turning up anIsle of Man or Scottish ringed Gull.  Today, I did find one of ours!  116:D was ringed at St James Hospital and this was the first sighting since it fledged!

Herring Gull 116:D at Bray Harbour, Co Wicklow.

9th December

Surprised to see E5VA at Tallaght Stadium, Sean Walsh Park.  Coloured Ring sightings have been scarce recently.

4th December

With the exception of the Black Headed Gull 27H0, who has a daily present in Sean Walsh Park, no other coloured rings have been sighted. (Apart from my Swans - I get about 50 sightings a week!)