Another Herring Gull see

I cut the the big hedge this morning and took stuff to tip, on the way back dropped Niki of shopping and went for a nosy on the sea front in Ramsey. Couple of oldies were feeding the gulls down on the Harbour wall, so i went to check for Darvics and there was T1XA  coming to bread the first sighting  since it was ringed . This Herring Gull was ringed on June 22 2010. Also T1XB was seen again today on the promenade by the pier .

July comes to an end

Still having work done to the house but nearly finished now so not many early mornings for ringing. More for making up teen cups of tea for Plumber, Gardeners, and roofers. Managed to get net up in garden and the Siskin numbers are doing well with 31 being ringed so far.

July has been a good month for me with 317 new

birds ringed

Yesterday was back at the Sandmartin colony and 59 new birds were ringed and i got a control

ring number L159213 Kevin tells me it is not one of the Manx ringing groups ring strings so will be interesting to see where it was first ringed.

Mark Fitzpatrick is a ringer who has been ringing on the isle of Man since the 70s he has spent time on the Calf and comes every year for 2 weeks with his family.

Today i met up with him at one of the sites

he found and continues to ring at every year. A nice piece of reed bed

and Willow scrub a bit boggy but a few planks here and there and it would be great.

In the last few days Mark has ringed 24 Sedge Warbler here.

Watch this space with his permission and the owners i can see a bit more ringing going on there.

I was down at Port Moar yesterday as well and set a few spring traps for Rock pipit within 10 minutes i had ringed one . The first of many i hope.

The Herring Gulls with the colour rings are getting reported, they are staying local but people are seeing them, check this map out Kev has made also see his blogg for his movements from the south of the island.

TX3B A Herring Gull Andy ringed in my garden on the 22 July was seen at Hibernian on Wednesday.

End of week

A great end to a busy week, another 26 birds ringed in my garden yesterday mainly finches

Siskin 8 all young birds

Goldfinch 6

Chaffinch 3

Greenfinch 4

Dunnock 2

Blue Tit 1

House Sparrow 2

Then off to Peel , Wife wanted to go to St johns shopping , so i dropped her off and took the Gull Trap to Peel .

3 more Herring gull ringed and a Darvic put on left leg. Plus a female Mallard ringed.

So Far 54 Herring Gulls have been colour ringed.

Black Guillemot

Me and Andy went down to Peel at 7 this morning and had a go at catching the Black Guillemots on the harbour wall . Twenty minutes later we had our Guillemot . I have spent many an hour watching and photographing these little birds they are truly magical. Thanks to Chris and Kevin for giving us permission. On the way out of Peel we stopped up by the river and set the spring trap for Herring Gulls another two ringed and darvics placed on left leg.

Andy has gone back to Yorkshire tonight , and i know this little island has left a great impression on him .

Last few days

Had a great late night out with kevin, catching Storm Petrel at Fort island. 8 Stormys caught 5 new and 3 controls. Then my old mate Andy came to stay for a few days. A great couple of days showing him this great Isle and of course ringing a few birds. 5 more Herring Gull ringed today and a Lesser Black Backed Gull plus a Ringed Plover Chick and 10 more Sandmartins.

Another GBBG

Met up with Kev this afternoon to ring a few more Gulls. We spent a good hour searching in an area where there had been up to 10 young on Friday and all we found was a GBBG that was nearly ready to lift off. Better than nowt. 3 more juv Siskin and a Willow Warbler ringed at Port Lawaigue this morning.

Busy Day

Started yesterday at the Point of Ayre as there was no wind , this gave me the opportunity to set up for Sand martins, i caught 12, then had to meet up with Chris, Adam and kate.
We visited 2 more Harrier nest sites and rang 2 more chicks. Got back at 5:30. Then set off to the point again and set 2 nets for Sand martins and Swallow.
18 more Sand martin ringed and 9 Swallow and 1 Meadow Pipit.

Siskin

A Nice mornings ringing in garden this morning 24 Birds caught mainly House Sparrows.
A Carrion Crow in the mist net was a nice surprise also a cracking juvenile Siskin.
14 House Sparrow
1 Carrion Crow
1 Siskin
3 Goldfinch
2 Coal Tit
2 Greenfinch
1 Gt Tit
2 More Herring Gulls ringed as well on Friday

The Gull Production line

Catch Gulls and take back to ringing Hut {Garden Shed}

Ring with BTO Metal Ring on right Leg

Place Individual Darvic on left Leg and check age and moult

Measure wing

Weigh the birds

and Release

Pictures courtesy of Victoria Gray BA

New Species for me

The Hooded Crows that visit my garden from time to time are very nervous of the woosh net and keep well clear normally .
Today an adult female decided to come in for some bread.
They are a stunning bird in the wild and in the hand

T4TV

I got a message from Adam at Manx birdlife that one of the Gulls i had put a Darvic on T4TV was seen feeding in a garden in Ramsey on Tuesday
This is the first sighting of any of the Gulls i have placed Darvics on.
39 Herring Gulls so far have been individually marked
T4TV was ringed on 19 June 2010 as a full adult (over 4 years old}
2.5 KM travelled, no great distance but good to know the darvics are working.

Gull Chicks

A Great morning out with Kev ringing Gull Chicks . 9 Lesser Black- backed Gull Chicks 1 Herring Gull Chick and Two Great Black- backed Gull Chicks ringed along with 2 Oystercatcher Chicks and another Little Tern chick. Also ringed another Oystercatcher chick at Port E Vullen yesterday. Thanks to Kev and to Chris from the gravel Pits for letting us have a look round



Gt Black-backed chicks







Lesser Black-backed Chick

Down on the beach

A Nice afternoon ringing

3 Oystercatcher chicks
2 Little Tern chicks
1 Adult Ringed Plover

Another Nest found

A nest of Hen Harrier i thought i couldn't get access to turned out OK today. With 1 Chick ringed sometimes the Adult Female gets a bit annoyed when approaching the nest which is understandable and the Male, if about normally in my experience clears off or looks on from afar . Today wow the male was the one who took offence and stayed near me all the time until i had left a good 50 meters away.Good dad