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Recent colour ring sightings and ringing recoveries - October to December 2021

MisterT

Always Birding
2 recent reports of birds ringed here in Askernish and found elswhere involved a Lesser Redpoll ringed on 23-May this year controlled (caught and released) at Icklesham, Sussex on 23-October, a distance of 874km and a duration of 153 days. The other was a very fortunate Goldfinch, ringed here on 11-June this year which was only after hitting a window in Westhill, Aberdeenshire on 15th October, a distance of 308km and a duration of 126 days. These records are in line with past recoveries reflecting the tendency of Goldfinch to move east - west and Redpoll to move north - south.

lesre ask-ick.JPG goldf ask-abs.JPG
 

MisterT

Always Birding
A colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwit, seen on Bornish Machair on 5 occasions between 18 - 26-September this year had previously been ringed in Iceland on 18-July-2021

colour ringed godwit24sept21 (002).jpg Blackwit iceland-Bornish.JPG
 

Hawkeye

Eyes and Ears Everywhere
A ringed Herring Gull seen in Stornoway harbour recently whose ring number was found from a series a photographs taken over a couple of days was truly a local bird. It was ringed as a nestling not quite 5 km away on 24-June-2005, 6,017 days previously.

hergu ring.jpg map herring gull stornoway harbour.JPG
Image (C) Steve Dodd
 

MisterT

Always Birding
A windy and cold weather spell brought 7 Chaffinch (3 males, 4 females) in the garden on the same day in December, a scace visitor to Askernish. Of the 3 males, 2 had been ringed elsewhere at opposite points of the compass. The first had been ringed in Uigen, Lewis on 31-July-2019 (Duration 865 days distance 117km), the second at Buaile nam Bodach, Barra on 16-October-2021 (Duration 58 days Distance 25km).

Capture.JPG
 

MisterT

Always Birding
News of another 4 birds ringed here at Askernish and controlled (caught and released) on Barra continues the show interchange between the two islands, but the reverse of the Chaffinch above.

Firstly, 2 juvenile Lesser Redpolls ringed on 26-July 2021 (71 days) and 19-August-2021 (47 days) were both in Castlebay (27km) on 05-October, and then a male Chaffinch ringed on 20-September-2021 was in Bruinish (23km) on 09-October (19 days), and a Goldfinch ringed on 05-March-2021 was also in Bruinish on 12-October (221 days)

Ask-barra recoveries.JPG
 

Hawkeye

Eyes and Ears Everywhere
A colour ringed Little Egret, seen several times at Eochar and Ardmore, South Uist throughout December had initially been ringed in the nest at Penrhyn Castle, Bangor, on 6th June this year.

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MisterT

Always Birding
As part of our study of House Sparrows here in Askernish, colour ringed individuals are often recorded at differnt locations in the Uists and more recently on Barra. This year (2021) on South Uist, 3 birds were reported from a new site in Daliburgh (South - 4km), another 3 from Bornish (North - 5km), and 4 birds were seen at South Glendale (south 11km). One of the birds at South Glendale (O31) has been there since November 2017, arriving 3 months after fledging and is now our third oldest bird. There was one new site at South Lochboisdale (south – 7km) which many of our newly fledged birds favoured with reports of 22 individuals being present between August and October. One bird seen there later returned to Askernish.

There was only one report from North Uist, a bird (X52) was seen in a garden at Kyles Paible in September, a distance of 44km (north).

Two birds made the journey to Barra this year. T39, ringed here in the March was later seen at Cuidhir (22km) in the October. The other, a bird originally ringed at Brevig in February 2021 was caught here at Askernish (25km) in the February when a colour ring (T43) was added. This bird then made the return journey at some time, only to reappear in Brevig in the June! This is the second instance of a bird making a return journey to Barra. A more detailed summary of 2021 can be found here

spuggy sightings uists 2021.JPG spuggy movements to barra 2021.JPG
House Sparrow movements within the Uists and to/from Barra in 2021
 
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