January 2019 - CR Shag!

January 26th

The end of the month has just been Swans, Swans and more Swans!  Mainly reading rings to validate my RAS Project.  This is an annual survival project which runs from April to September.  Basically I read 100's of Swan rings at wintering flocks to see which ones were not recorded last summer!  The only ringing I do is targeting ones that have lost their colour.  Without the colour ring they can go unrecorded for a couple of years.

January 19th - The afternoon

Quick stop at Bullock Harbour.  A Great Black-backed gull from 2009.  Blue 2LH.  This plastic ring ring is also cracked from top to bottom!

January 11th

Received the most amazing report of one of our Colour Ringed Shags.

In 2018 the Irish Midland Ringing Group Colour Ringed 34 Juvenile Shags (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) on the Islands off  Dublin to try and learn more about survival and dispersal of this sea bird.  How amazed was I when the first report was at a bird table in some ones garden in Wales!
My report regarding the recovery went like this!  Photos used by kind permission of Gethin Jones.

For those of you who do the Garden Bird Survey, it would be astounding if you got a Shag in your Garden. However, Gethin in Criccieth in North Wales certainly did on December 20th 2018! Photo of it perched beside his bird table. There had been a storm and it had landed in his Garden which is admittedly near the beach.

Shag at bird table!

He caught it and put it in his shed overnight. However, this Shag was Unique. It had a coded IMRG Coloured Ring - KAAV. Ringed on Irelands Eye on July 8th 2018 by GP. This was the first sighting. However, Gethin felt the bird was light. So what would you feed a Juvenile Shag?

The only fish he had available was defrosted. It seemed to enjoy his cod in parsley sauce but left Gethin with a few scars as he was quite keen on biting him too!

On the Morning of the 21st of December, the sea had calmed and Gethin released him back to the wild. A Happy ending. Please look out for our colour ringed Shags. They can't all be in Wales!

Freedom

January 19th

We rejoined Dublin Zoo today!  When my boys were younger we went every 2nd week!  There are huge changes and it was enjoyable but we were very disappointed that the free flying Aviary of Roberts House is now Zoorasic World.  We used to spend a lot of time in there, trying to locate every species of bird.  With regard to colour rings I spotted a locally ringed Heron K07 and a Mute Swan.

January 13th

I-webs count today, one week late I know but I twisted my ankle last week so couldn't do the walk.

Apart from my Swans, the first colour ring spotted was a Grey Heron. Orange K21

Apart from CR Swans and the Heron, it wasn't till I got to Grand Canal Dock that I recorded my CR Gull of the day.....and there were 3 together!

Herring Gull 0LM.  Ringed as an Adult in 2016.  1st Sighting away from Colony

Great Black-backed Gull 1AV.  Ringed as Pullus in 2010.  8th Sighting

Herring Gull 699:D.  A permanent fixture at this location!  46th Sighting in 6 months!

Those of you who read my blog, know I do a annual "RAS" project for Adult Survival of Mute Swans.  Although the project dates for re-sightings are April to September, I use Winter sightings to validate my data.  At wintering flocks I read all the rings.  This year a number of "Missing Swans" have turned up minus their colour ring.  Re-capturing these and fitting a new colour is essential project maintenance.  Without the colour ring the chances of being recorded are practically 0!.  There were 97 Swans on this 5km stretch of Canal.

Example
Swan Yellow CAID was ringed in December 2015 as a Juvenile.  It was recorded 9 times, the last recorded in January 2017 with a cracked Colour Ring which obviously fell off soon after.  No further sightings till January 2019 when it was recaptured, identified by the metal ring and it is now CBKA.  It had not been included in the last 2 years data.  This is typical of Swans without a colour ring.

Swan Metal rings are difficult to read

Swans CAZJ and CBSL proudly displaying their colour rings.  The metal rings are hardly visible.

January 8th

At Sean Walsh park, the Dutch Black-headed Gull made it's 2nd appearance.  Hopefully it will become a regular sight.

January 5th

Got out birding to Broadmeadows Estuary.  Read 27 of the Mute Swans present.  Although my project uses data gathered between April and September, during the winter many return to the Estuary.  This allows me to record some birds, particularly those that have lost their coloured rings.

However, I am also on the lookout for anything else with coloured rings.  The Common Gull from Norther Ireland was recorded.   I first recorded it here in 2013 and although I haven't recorded it every year it is my 5th sighting at this location

I also spotted a colour Ringed Oystercatcher.  My camera captured the Code CC.  A poor photo but the code can be read.  This is my 2nd sighting of this scottish ringed individual, the other being September 2017.  What is also interesting is that there are only 3 Irish sightings.  Jan Rod is the only other person to have recorded it in Dublin.

January 4th

On the way back from the Airport, I took the coast road.  I read a few Brent which I spotted on the Beach at Portmarnock. They were some distance away but managed to capture the codes.

Brent DNBB and BTBB - a pair.

I also stopped at Fr Collins Park.  I love seeing all the gulls line up on the bridge railings.  However no sign of the Norwegian Green[J18J] this year.  It has always been a regular at this location.

Lining up for inspection - but no coloured rings!

January 3rd

A trip to Bray Harbour, primary goal was to record what Mute Swans are present.  But as always on the look out for Colour Ringed Gulls.  The first was a Black-headed Gull from Denmark White[9MT]

The 2nd Gull recorded was one of our Colour Rings.  Ringed on Irelands Eye, It "Mother" is Blue[OLR]!

Herring Gull 706:D at Bray Harbour

Herring Gull 706:D with Parent Blue [0LR]

January 1st

Another new year of ring reading.  I didn't get out birding today, but took a detour on the way home and stopped at Ben Madigan Park in Drimnagh.  There was 036:D sitting on it's favorite Crossbar.
I have sighted this individual at this location 3 times, so you would think this is where it spends it days.  However it has also been sighted at Howth 17km away.  It seems they have areas that they favour but they do move around.

Herring Gull 036:D - A gull from an Urban Nest site.