Monthly ringing totals for November 2011

The Manx RG monthly ringing totals for November 2011 can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Manx RG ringing totals November 2011

The month was dominated by strong winds and poor weather, allowing mist netting on only a couple of days. Once again, Seans woosh net site provided the bulk of the ringing with Linnet and Goldfinch topping the bill. Also, the Twite arrived back with over 20 colour ringed as part of the North West Twite Project.
The best bird of the month was a Black Redstart, caught by Sean at one of our Rock Pipit sites at Ramsey Harbour.

A very smart bird!

First LBB Gull to Portugal

Having already had 3 out of the 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls which we colour ringed this year seen in Spain this Autumn, we received a sighting of another one today from Portgual!

Orange X89:M was seen by Gordon Avery on 16th November 2011 in Quarteira Harbour, Algarve,  Portugal.


View X98:M in a larger map

It was ringed as a chick on 1st July 2011 at the Point of Ayre Sand Quarry, IOM. Here is a picture of it on the day it was ringed (the one on the right).

3 LBB Gulls chicks colour ringed

Thanks for letting us know about the sighting Gordon!

Third LBB Gull to Spain

We got an email from Salva Garcia today with sightings of 76 colour ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls recorded amongst a flock of over 7000 birds in Malaga Harbour, SPAIN this morning!
Amongst the list was one of our birds - Orange X84:M, ringed as a chick near the Point of Ayre on the 1st July this year.


View Lesser Black-backed Gull X84:M in a larger map

Thanks very much to Salva for sending the sighting to us, he has a superb blog which can be viewed from this link - http://www.alborancoast.blogspot.com .
Our friend Paul Veron from Guernsey recently visited Malaga himself with Salva and you can read his blog entry about his visit on this link - http://guernseygulls.blogspot.com/2011/11/fantastic-weekend-in-malaga-spain.html

This is our third LBB Gull re-sighted in Spain this Autumn, not a bad reporting rate considering we have only colour ringed 11 LBBG's so far in our large Gull project!!

Recent Calf of Man Bird Observatory ringing Recoveries

Here are some recent recoveries/controls from the Calf of Man Bird Observatory. You can view a map of each recvovery by clicking where it says 'map'.

Storm Petrel

Storm Petrel
2539500  4  04/09/2008   Faraid Head (Highland)
              R  02/08/2011  Calf of Man (Isle of Man) 506km S 2yrs 332days   map

2557983  4  21/07/2010  St Michael's Isle (Isle of Man)
              R 12/07/2011  Calf of Man (Isle of Man) 13km W 356days   map

2563298  4  23/07/2005  Calf of Man (Isle of Man)
              R 18/06/2011  Priest Island (Highland) 435km N 5yrs 330days   map

2581441  4  11/07/2008  Souter Point (Tyne and Wear)
             R  04/07/2011  Calf of Man (Isle of Man) 244km WSW 2yrs 358days   map

2639054  4  22/08/2009  Sheepland Harbour, Ardglass (Down)
              R  12/07/2011  Calf of Man (Isle of Man) 55km ESE 1yr 324days   map

2661382  4  04/07/2011  Gwennap Head (Cornwall)
              R  12/07/2011  Calf of Man (Isle of Man) 450km N 8days   map  

A very fast movement from Cornwall to the Calf for 2661382, travelling 450km in 8 days.

Shag
1446377  1  19/05/2011  Calf of Man (Isle of Man)
             XF  15/07/2011  Port Erin (Isle of Man) 5km NE 57days  map

Swallow
X602451  3J  16/08/2010  Thorganby (North Yorkshire)
               R  05/06/2011 Calf of Man (Isle of Man) 253km W 293days   map

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler
ED87871  4  21/05/2011  Utsira, Rogaland (NORWAY)
NOS        R  04/06/2011 Calf of Man (Isle of Man) 831km SW 14days   map

A very interesting and rapid re-orientation on this birds spring migration, travelling 831km in a South Westerly direction in 2 weeks.

Willow Warbler
BEN479  4  03/05/2011  Calf of Man (Isle of Man)
              R  10/07/2011  Gosforth Park, Tyne and Wear) 233km ENE 68days   map

RH6355  3  31/07/2010 Tour aux Moutons, Loire-Atlantique (FRANCE)
FRP       R  16/04/2011  Calf of Man (Isle of Man) 773km NNW 259days   map

Goldcrest
DKN020  3M  05/09/2011 Calf of Man (Isle of Man)
                XF  21/09/2011 Penwortham, Preston (Lancashire) 140km ESE 16days   map

Goldfinch
L215785  3J  14/07/2011 Calf of Man (Isle of Man)
               XF  30/10/2011 Thrapston (Northamptonshire) 340km ESE 108days   map

Lesser Redpoll

Lesser Redpoll
R930786  5  17/03/2011 near Kinver Edge (Staffordshire)
               R  26/04/2011 Calf of Man (Isle of Man) 246km NW 40days   map

Some fairly typical recoveries there although the Willow Warbler from Loire-Atlantique is a more unusual record (there have been plenty of Sedge Warblers to/from there though).

Garden ringing at St Johns

Sean and I did another visit to the garden feeder site in St Johns on the 7th.
It was another great day, with 89 birds caught in all (69 new birds and 20 retraps).
Totals were:

Coal Tit 21 (+11 retraps)
Blue Tit 18 (+2 retraps)
Great Tit 14 (+3 retraps)
Chaffinch 10
House Sparrow 2 (+1 retrap)
Goldfinch 2
Dunnock (2 retraps)
Greenfinch 1
Siskin 1
Robin (1 retrap)

Siskin

Thanks again to Christine and Barry for letting us use their superb feeder site and for the tea, biscuits and toast!! See you again next month!

October 2011 ringing totals

The Manx RG ringing totals for October 2011 can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

Manx RG ringing totals October 2011

The month was dominated by strong winds with mist netting possible on only a few days, luckily Sean's woosh netting site kept up the pace resulting in some great numbers of Goldfinch and Linnet as well as the Atumn's first returning Twite.

Twite

Manx RG are part of the North West Twite Project, colour ringing Twite with Site/Date coding. Left leg - White ring above = Isle of Man, Orange/Blue striped ring below = Jun-Dec 2011.

See the link to our colour ring projects info page (Under the Manx RG Links menu on the right side of the blog) for further information/codes.

Recent Cormorant sightings

A couple more Cormorant sightings have come in recently with Z6U seen in the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh, Scotland on 17th August 2011 and Sean taking a superb photo of Z6L at the Point of Ayre today.

Click here to see an interactive map of Cormorant resightings

Comorant Z6L at Point of Ayre, IOM - photo by Sean

Another LBBG to Spain

Sean got a report today of one of our colour ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls having been seen on the South West coast of SPAIN by Rafa Garcia, a top Gull watcher.
T7TW was caught as a breeding adult at the nest in the small colony near the Point of Ayre on 10th May 2011 and was seen by Rafa on the 26th October 2011 at Levante beach, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, SPAIN.

Thanks to Rafa Gracia for reporting the sighting - his blog can be viewed here - http://avesporlabahia.blogspot.com

T7TW at Point of Ayre, IOM 10th May 2011

T7TW at El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, SPAIN

View LBB Gull T7TW in a larger map