May 2013 - Migration is late!

May 2013

Migration is very late + Gulls at Bullock Harbour

May 31st - Late addition to May Blog.

At Howth Harbour for 10 minutes late in the evening.  Only read one Gull.  Blue [1MC].  This Gull was in Bullock Harbour in April 2013.  It is good to see individuals again especially in a different location.

Great Black Backed Gulls with Blue plastic ring and three digit code starting with 0,1 or 2 should be reported to gulls-at-eircom.net

Great Black Backed Gull 1MC

Have tried to read the Oystercatcher rings at Sandymount without success.  I can clearly see their rings in the  flocks but mindful of disturbance I haven't got close enough to read them. They also have an annoying habit of standing on the leg that doesn't have the two digit code.  I will need to use a scope to read them.

Oystercatchers with rings

While looking at them I noticed some brent geese and then it struck me.  What are Brent still doing here in May?  Then what are the Oystercatchers still doing here and not at their breeding grounds? And the Godwits?  I would have expected them all to have gone by May.

With large gulls you expect juveniles such as 1st, 2nd and 3rd year Great Black Backed Gulls etc to still be around and they haven't disappointed.  So through out the month I kept a close eye on Bullock Harbour.  I still scan Sean Walsh Park every lunch time but since I saw 1NL  I have not even seen a metal ring!

So May 2013 looks like this

Great Black Backed	1JR	Bullock Harbour	03/05/2013
Great Black Backed	1TN	Bullock Harbour	03/05/2013
Great Black Backed	1JR	Bullock Harbour	04/05/2013
Great Black Backed	1PA	Bullock Harbour	06/05/2013
Great Black Backed	1JR	Bullock Harbour	06/05/2013
Great Black Backed	1JR	Bullock Harbour	11/05/2013
Great Black Backed	1TN	Bullock Harbour	12/05/2013
Great Black Backed	1JJ	Bullock Harbour	19/05/2013

Great Black Backed	1JR	Bullock Harbour	25/05/2013
Great Black Backed	1TN	Bullock Harbour	25/05/2013
Great Black Backed	1JJ	Bullock Harbour	25/05/2013

Great Black Backed Gull + Blue Darvic 1JR

1JR will be two years old in the coming weeks!  Ringed on June 25th 2011.  Photo May 2013

Great Black Backed Gull + Blue Ring 1TN

Larus Marinus, Great Black-backed Gull + Blue Ring 1PA

Well, what does 8 trips in a month to Bullock Harbour tell me - not a lot.

• 1JR, 1JJ and 1TN spent a lot of time in Bullock Harbour this month.
• 1PA was only observed once.
• In April 2013, I had not seen these birds at this location, although I had seen different GBBG with Darvics.  
• The number and type of Gulls vary and at the beginning of the month there were less adult GBBG present.  
• The percentage of adult GBBG increased throughout the month and the number of adult LBBG decreased.  In Sean Walsh Park inland, the inverse was noted.  The number of LBBG has increased and the number of GBBG has decreased.  

This is where reporting sightings is so important.  The observations of one birder by him/her self cannot give the complete picture.  If anyone else reported these birds you might discover the range covered. etc.  Where were they in April?   Where did the ones in April go to. was 1PA seen at Bullock by others.

DATA IS EVERYTHING!

Graham