January 2021

January 27th I have not been posting as through out lock down I just haven't been recording any Black-headed Gulls with |Colour rings. I am checking 1,000 of legs every day on my exercise within my 5KM. However, on the Grand Canal I got my first new ring for quite some time.

From Cuba in Oslo, Norway and a first sighting away from Norway

November 2020

30/11/2020 An update on the Black-headed Gulls in Dublin. I haven't got to grips with the new blog format! It is not yet user friendly! 25/11/2020 Black-headed Gull X2VC Ringed as an adult in North Easter Germany in 2019, Sighted last year and this year at the same location on the Grand Canal in Dublin.

24/11/2020 Black-headed Gull J25X Recorded in Rathcoole Park. Only other Dublin record was I recorded it in Sean Walsh Park in 2018.

September 2020

 September 28th

I had decided to keep this website mainly for Black-Headed Gulls but again due to COVID restrictions I am not going out as much.  But unfortunately, coloured ringed Black-headed Gulls are not being sighted by me locally at the moment.  I was at Bushy Park, which I went to to investigate new a Swan Family (which turned out to be the Family from Terenure College a mile away) and spotted a Polish Black-Headed Gull I haven't seen for years.

Black-headed Gull White [TUUA] was ringed in Poland, as an adult in 2016 and although I haven't seen it since 2017, it was recorded in Dublin in 2018 and 2019.  It wasn't interested in the bread being fed to the ducks, so ring photographed underwater.

August 2020

 26th August.

I haven't been blogging as frequent as I used to.  Studying from home means that I am not at all the places I usually ring read.  Today I had a one of my delayed final exams and afterwards took a walk to the Great South Wall in Dublin Docks.  Two of our Herring Gulls were sighted.

Despite the fact I have 3,000 entries on the database, I and the observers who kindly ring read for the project continually turn up first sightings.  My thanks to Jan, Joe and Brian who are prolific in sending in constant sightings to add to my own observations.  My thanks to the overseas and National ring readers who send in sightings from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, all over Ireland, England, France, Spain Portugal and Morocco.  Our Dublin Gulls certainly disperse.

Today at the South Wall in Dublin Port, I read 2 rings.  This is a well watched area but continually turns up new gulls.

Herring Gull B59:D.  Ringed in 2019 by Tonya.  First sighting since ringed

Urban Herring Gull 215:D.  Ringed 2018 and going Grey.

July 2020

A quick update on whats happening with my Dublin bird projects.  

Adult Mute Swans

So far 165 adults have been re-sighted.  This is well down on normal years when I try and re-sight 200+.  (Last year it was 220).  However, there is still 2 months of this season left and I usually observe some missing ones in late September.  The late start due to lockdown is the main reason for this. 

This RAS project (Re-trapping Adults for survival) is now, after 7 years, feeding into the survival data of Mute Swans.  It is the only Irish projects that is providing this data.  Even though the scientific name for the project contains the word "re-trapping", I don't need to re-trap, the rings are just read.

Mute Swan Nesting Project.

Coming to an end for 2020.  I have started doing the data entry for all the nests.  Still looking for Cygnets numbers from all sites as I close Mute Swan nest records at 12 weeks after hatching - when cygnets can fly.   

Reports with date and locations are really valuable.  Examples from today

22/07/2020 Sean Walsh Park - Big lake - still 3 cygnets

22/07/2020 Naas Ponds CBXT CBPD - still 3 cygnets

22/07/2020 Naas Ponds CABV - Still 4 cygnets

Lesser Black-backed Gulls (LBBGU)

Surprised to see Scottish LBBGU nesting on Dalkey.  Only a 4th year so first year nesting.  Still colour ringing Juveniles and any adults we can.  

176:F From Scotland but breeding on Dalkey island in 2020.  Note plumage is 4th CY

Great Black-backed Gulls

I have a RAS also running on this species and again number of observations of Adults is down on previous years, mainly due to lockdown and Irelands Eye being closed for almost all of the nesting season.  Still hoping to have enough adults re-sighted to allow this season count.  The Juveniles ringed over the past few years have not helped by being mainly observed outside the project boundries, eg Northern Ireland Arklow, Cornwall, Spain etc.

1RJ From Irelands Eye but breeding on Dalkey island in 2020

572:D Walking away with its rings.

Herring Gulls

Projects take many years to set up.  We have been actively ringing Herring Gulls since 2017 and hopefully will have enough adults to start an accurate survival project in 2021.  So far we have been concentrating on juvenile survival stats between Urban nesters and Island nesters with surprising results.

I will update on other projects later.  Projects just don't happen.  A large number of observers report their observations which feed into the projects, so a big thank you to all those who assist with observations. 

28th May 2020 Adult Swans

30th of May 2020  - Adult Swans sighted = 136

Scroll down- next page if you are looking for latest Cygnets news

The RAS season is on it's way.  This is checking all Swans within the project boundries roughly 40 Km from  Dublin and recording each individual which is ringed.  This information over years provides the annual survival totals.  Many thanks to all the regular ring readers and many thanks to the new ones.  I will update analysis periodically to the following over the coming week.  The season doesn't end till the end of the summer so hopefully the list will end up as 250+ Swans.  The more individuals the better the survival statistics in terms of margin of error.  New swans are being sighted most days

The following have been sighted and input so far since April 1st 2020 (22/05/2020).
(Table 1) All first ringed before my project started.  Some have had a colour ring added, 2 of them haven't.  If the metal ring number is in Blue they are confirmed as having attempted nesting this year. 

PLEASE NOTE:  I colour ring a lot of Juveniles which have a low survival rates compared with adults.  This is natural.

Out of the 32 Swans that have been in in the project since it began that fall into this category.
Confirmed dead  = 4
Seen in 2019 = 12
(22/05/2020) Seen so far in 2020 = 9
(So far, year on year, it is at 75% survival)  However the stats are done by a much more complex formula.

(Table 1) Mute Swans ringed before 2015

The following (Table 2) are swans ringed in 2015 which have been re-sighted already this season.  Further sightings are always welcome.  CAFP has the colour of the ring set as Grey.  This is because the colour ring is now missing.  Swan identified by the metal ring.

The number of swans metal ring in 2015 = 91

Confirmed dead  = 10

Seen in 2019 = 25
(22/05/2020) Seen so far in 2020 =18 (72% approx.)

(Table 2) Mute Swans Ringed in 2015

The number of swans metal ring in 2016 = 209

This 209 is a high percentage of cygnets which have a high mortality rate
Confirmed dead  = 20
Seen in 2019 = 64
Seen so far in 2020 = 24 (37% survival since last year)
This is where it it requires field work.  Those ringed in 2016 as Cygnets are now either nesting, looking for nest sites.  Therefore locating them is a challenge.  

The number of swans metal ring in 2017 = 127
Confirmed dead  = 7
Seen in 2019 = 49
Seen so far in 2020 = 22

(Table 4) Mute Swans Ringed in 2017

The number of swans metal ring in 2018 = 28
Confirmed dead  = 0
Seen in 2019 = 21
Seen so far in 2020 = 12

(Table 6) Ringed in 2019 before the RAS season ended

Mute Swans ringed since the end of the 2019 Census.

June 16th 2020 Cygnet Count 2020 = 215

 T           
To date: 38 Nests Hatched: 235 Cygnets:  Average per nest 6 Cygnets.

Ballymount Park CBIB and 7 Cygnets

03/05/2020 Russborough House.  10 Cygnets on first w/e May. (Closed & both adults unringed)
16/11/2020 Turvey hatched with 5 Cygnets

11/06/2020 Kilcoole Golf Club 8 Cygnets. (crossed to lake in Druids Glenn)

08/06/2020 St Stephens Green hatched. 5 Cygnets

08/06/2020 Kilcoole 5 Cygnets and CASK 31/05/2020 Airside 7 Cygnets 29/05/2020 Bushy Park 1 Cygnet

29/05/2020 Broadmeadows 3 Cygnets Metal F

29/05/2020 Tymon Spawell 4 Cygnets

28/05/2020 Ballyteague 6 Cygnets CADH (Kildare)

28/05/2020 Poppintree 6 Cygnets

25/05/2020 Naas Ponds, Fairgreen  & 7 Cygnets CBPD CBXT

27/05/2020 Ballymount Park, 7 Cygnets

25/05/2020 Tolka Fairview, 7 Cygnets

25/05/2020 Cross Guns 4 Cygnets Maeve Moore on Twitter

24/05/2020 Naas, Fair Green Hatched

24/05/2020 Chapelizod 5 Cygnest CAIT Male Unringed Female

23/05/2020 Naas Gym. Cygnets 3 weeks old

22/05/2020 Ardclough, Kildare, 4 Cygnets K S + EC Twitter

21/05/2020 Knock Lake 6 Cygnets

21/05/2020 Skerries 9 Cygnets

20/05/2020 Tymon North 5 Cygnets in the morning

18/05/2020 Waterville Park, Blanchardstown.  6 Cygnets so far.  Back on nest.

18/05/2020 Tymon Limekiln. 8 Cygnets on Facebook. CABD + CABF

11/05/2020 Castletown House. 6 Cygnets on their twitter page.

15/05/2020 Ballycragh Firhouse. 8 Cygnets.  CACI and CACJ

13/05/2020 Tolka Valley Park 7 Cygnets.

13/05/2020 Druids Glen Wicklow - 6 Cygnets.  No Coloured Rings

14/05/2020 Blanchardstown IT 7 Cygnets Photos sent in by Niall de Poar

12/05/2020 Blessington Basin 6 Cygnets. Dublin City Council Tweet.

07/05/2020 UCD 6 Cygnets 17:40.  Elizabeth McC  and Doug M kindly tweeted

10/05/2020 Terenure. Hatching,  6 Cygnets so far. 1 egg left.

04/05/2020 Balcarrick Golf Club have posted video of 7 new cygnets

04/05/2020 Lakeside Newbridge.  5 Cygnets and Pen still on nest.

04/05/2020 Fr Collins Park 8 Cygnets is the count

02/05/2020 Corkagh Park, Wildfowl lakes.  6 Cygnets and 2 eggs abandoned.

01/05/2020 Naas Ponds 6 Cygnets.

01/05/2020 Sean Walsh Park, Large Lake. 3 Cygnets

Sean Walsh Park Large lake.  Final count 3 Cygnets.  Not sure what happened but expected a higher number from this pair.

Cygnet in Sean Walsh park today.

Sean Walsh Park .  Thank you David

Failed nests

National Stud, Kildare.

Grangecastle Business Park.

Broombridge

UCD Engineering Lake

Unknown Outcome

Parkwest, Liffey Filters