Started the Raven ringing season with two nest sites yesterday. A nest of 5 chicks, one of the largest broods we have ever had, and the other a single chick. Each weighing just over 1 kilo, this is the largest passerine species in the world @btobirds.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social 🪶
Irish Cuckoo Update - Cores is back! We lost contact after he crossed the Sahara in southern Chad in October. We assumed that was the last of him, but last weekend he transmitted from Ghana. Hopefully he will be on the move again soon and return to Ireland for his 4th summer of data collecting. 🪶
Chough Nestflix is live for the third year - www.youtube.com/live/GDqmGy5... @npwsireland.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social 🪶
Our last Clogheen Marsh wader mist netting session of the winter last night. A Short-eared Owl that was hunting the marsh put off a good few of the waders coming in. We still managed 12 birds, a Mallard, 4 Redshank, a Snipe, 2 Black-tailed Godwit and 4 Curlew. The Curlew were all 2nd year birds!🪶
This weekend has the great opportunity to join in with an @npwsireland.bsky.social and @universityofgalway.bsky.social project looking at breeding locations of Greenland White-fronted Geese with the use of satellite trackers. Great team effort and look forward to for the results.
Did a bird ringing demonstration to 50 @ucc.ie zoology students yesterday on the North Mall campus. Great discussions and a nice selection of birds @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social
I caught this bird the day the day it arrived (17th) and it stayed until 25th. It was then seen on 28th 289km away in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. It would seem that the regular wintering bird at both locations is actually the same bird….🤯 🪶📷 Ronan Owens @birdguides.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social
1st AGM celebrating a year of South-West Ireland Ringing Group (SWIRG). Starting with catch of Teal and gardening session by a hardy team at Clogheen Marsh, before lunch and official business. Lots of developments and projects ahead. Watch this space! @btobirds.bsky.social @npwsireland.bsky.social 🪶
Unfortunately not
As part of regular monitoring at The Lough in Cork City, Barry O’Mahony and I ringed an adult Ring-billed Gull yesterday. Didn’t realise, but seems to be the first to be ringed in Britain or Ireland. Where will it go? @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social
Looks like you have an Icelandic in foreground and Scandinavian at the back
Challenging night surveying farmland and marsh. Lots of birds present, but a complete lack of wind. Just three birds caught were 2 Snipe and a Golden Plover that gave a long run around @btobirds.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social @npwsireland.bsky.social 🪶
Cracking couple of recovery details back recently. A Black-headed Gull seen at @fotawildlife on 22nd Dec was ringed as a nestling in Gotaland, Sweden in 2001 24yrs! A Barn Owl found dead at Roscarberry, Cork on 5th Jan was ringed as a nestling just outside Kildare last year! @btobirds.bsky.social
Yes Jack Snipe in first photo. Don’t catch Sparrowhawk that often but not that unusual. Males more regularly as they are smaller, whilst the larger females often get themselves out.
The last session of the year at Clogheen Marsh with 71 birds. Highlights being 2 Snipe, 2 Jack Snipe, 9 Chiffchaff including another Siberian, a Sparrowhawk, a 3 year old Goldcrest, a Mallard and a retrap Pintail from December last year @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social 🪶
Visit to Killarney NP today and managed to find two metal ringed Black-headed Gull at Ross Castle. Both first seen here in 2022. A 2014 chick from Poland and a 2019 chick from Finland. Not a bad 30 minutes! @btobirds.bsky.social @npwsireland.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social 🪶
Dazzling season last night was quiet with just 2 Ringed Plover. Amazingly one of the birds had already been ringed as a chick in Wales in 2020 and I had caught this bird before in exactly the same spot in 2021! Hopefully now find where it breeds @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social 🪶
Gusty session at Clogheen Marsh with 47 birds of 15 species. Highlights included 3 Snipe, a Grey Wagtail, 3 Chiffchaff inc a Siberian, a Scandi Blackbird and biggest surprise of a Barn Owl as well as seeing one of the ringed Firecrests from early Nov @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social 🪶
First dazzling session in what seems like ages due to the bad weather. Managed 9 birds of 6 species across a few locations - a Dunlin, 2 Skylark, 3 Meadow Pipit, a Snipe, a Dipper and a Stonechat @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social 🪶
Juveniles generally do the big dispersal with some from UK having reached Spain and Iceland, whilst adults once establishes a home patch will stay faithful unless food/nesting situation changes
It is a regular here and was originally ringed at Battersea Park as an adult in July 2016
Clogheen Marsh winter ringing session today ended with 106 birds of 16 species. Highlights were 5 Redwing, 2 Scandi Chaffinch, 11 Chiffchaff and a Water Rail. Amazingly though, one of the Redwing was already wearing an Icelandic ring! @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social 🪶
A ‘Red’ week for me. Assisting with the start of two fantastic Irish research projects - one on Red-billed Chough and one on Red Grouse. Really looking forward to seeing how these develop over the next few years @ucc.ie @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social
Latest session at Clogheen Marsh was a small net set but still 67 birds of 13 species, with ridiculous number of Chiffchaff still present! 16 ringed inc a classic Siberian, also two Redwing (Scandi and Icelandic) and a retrap Firecrest from 17/11 @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social
It may be possible if studied hard enough. Some might have character traits, but would doubt plumage would be diagnostic as obviously this moults every year
More research there required, but obviously some rehabs and some natural juveniles do go further afield, whether rehab has any influence again would need much more study
Sorry, yes didn’t mean to be so dismissive, but there isn’t much evidence as yet of post fledging attachment. I was on ferry from Rosslare to Bilbao in late August this year and last year and there was almost a constant stream of juvenile large gulls flying south with almost no adults evident.
Naturally they don’t follow parents either so not a feature. The 6 other Irish birds seen were all nestlings ringed in the wild from even further north in Dublin and Donegal so likely there are naturally more explorative individuals. The BTO database has 8 records of Cornish birds seen in Spain.
Great recovery! Orphaned Herring Gull 24N:C from Cork City was taken in by Wildlife Rescue Cork and released on 20th August. On 27th Nov it was seen on San Lorenzo beach in Gijon, Spain. Just the 7th Irish Herring Gull to be seen in Spain! 🪶 @btobirds.bsky.social @npwsireland.bsky.social
Smaller session at Clogheen Marsh today with 98 birds of 15 species. Highlights, lots of Chiffchaffs around again, caught 15 and saw at least 3 Siberians, 4 Blackcaps, 6 Redpolls and of the 19 new Chaffinch 9 were large Scandinavian birds @npwsireland.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social