For
the first time since resuming ringing (in 2004), I managed to ring just
over
3,000 birds, with the final total being 3,064 birds of 57 species. Given my
family commitments, ringing activities were once again strongly focused
on Ty
Coed, although this year I did extend my net run slightly to include
the nearby
“canal”, and a single 12m net over the water to the main
island at the Vale
Marais. These nets added to the Vale Marais ringing totals this year.
Although
the 1,073 birds ringed at Ty
Coed during the year was not a record, variety was
high with 38 species ringed.
Of these Mallard (13), Common Moorhen (one),
Spotted Flycatcher (five) and Carrion Crow (five) were all additions to
the
garden ringing list, while the following species enjoyed record
totals:-
Lesser
Black-backed Gull (19), Herring Gull (64), Common Wood-pigeon (84),
Eurasian
Collared Dove (14), Dunnock (24), Eurasian Reed Warbler (13), Greater
Whitethroat (three), Garden Warbler (four), Blackcap (41),
Yellow-browed
Warbler (three), Firecrest (seven), Pied Flycatcher (four), Great Tit
(68),
Eurasian Magpie (14), and European Goldfinch (ten).
The
gulls resulted from new attempts to trap these birds as they feed on
food
scraps, while the wood pigeons and corvids similarly resulted from a
concerted
effort with funnel traps.
Other
interesting birds trapped at Ty Coed included Eurasian Sparrowhawk
(one),
European Robin (43), European Blackbird (37), Fieldfare (one),
Brambling (two)
and European Greenfinch (372).
On
the disappointing side, I did not manage to ring 200+ warblers in the
garden
this year. The total was only 148 - largely as a result of a lack of
Common
Chiffchaffs (40) and Willow Warblers (42). To counter this, however,
the nets
set on the Vale Marais more than made up for this. Warbler totals
ringed there
included Sedge Warbler (37), Eurasian Reed Warbler (28), Greater
Whitethroat
(three), Garden Warbler (two), Blackcap (34), Common Chiffchaff (65)
and Willow
warbler (122) – i.e. a total of 291 warblers.
During
spring evenings I tried on 15 days, between 21st March and 13 May,
to spring net Northern Wheatears at Jaonneusse Bay. A superb early
start
resulted in 53 birds being ringed before the end of March, but this
early
promise then evaporated with just 12 birds being ringed in April and
seven in
May. Nevertheless the resultant total of 72 wheatears ringed was a
record for
me.
Other
record totals were achieved for European Storm petrel (45), Little
Egret (13),
Herring Gull (155), Razorbill (five), Mallard (28), Barn Owl (two),
Common Wood
Pigeon (86), Great Tit (129), Eurasian Magpie (18) and Carrion Crow
(five).
High
totals ringed during the year included Northern Gannet (734 – 4th
highest), Great Cormorant (33 – 3rd highest), European Shag (333
– 6th
highest), Great Black-backed Gull (26 – 4th highest), Common
Guillemot (ten – 3rd highest), Common Swift (19 – 2nd
highest), European Robin (62 – 3rd
highest), Cetti’s Warbler (four – joint highest), Blackcap
(75 – joint
highest), Firecrest (ten – joint 4th highest), Chaffinch (30
– 4th
highest) and European Greenfinch (398 – 2nd highest).
Seldom
ringed species included:-
Eurasian
Sparrowhawk (two), Eurasian Kestrel (three), Eurasian Woodcock (one),
Common
Sandpiper (one) and Yellow-browed Warbler (three).
As
can be seen from the above, seabirds were a major feature of 2006. In
fact they
remain one of the ringing highlights of any year for me. This year
Catherine
and I were privileged to spend a night on Burhou in early June ringing
Storm
Petrels. We caught 39 new birds with a similar number of retraps and
one
British control (see below). Later we spent two nights on Sark ringing
four
Storm Petrels at the south end and two at the north end.
Our
original trip to the gannetries of Les Etacs and Ortac on 11th June
proved to be too early, so we returned to both colonies again on 24th
June. As a result 1,361 gannets were ringed by the team (the second
highest
total ever), of which Catherine and I ringed 734 between us.
Catherine
and I enjoyed a couple of superb days with Andy Cook in Sark visiting
in early
June to ring mainly European Shags and then mid-month to ring gulls. In
addition to landing on L’Etac de Serk we also visited Grande Moie
and Petit
Moie, Les Burons and Breniere, Sark. In Alderney Catherine and I ringed
a few
European Shags on Burhou and more on Cocque Lihou, while closer to home
we made
successful visits to Jethou, the Humps and Lihou.
In
2006 I received news of 22 foreign recoveries – again all
seabirds except for
one European Blackbird (originally ringed by Catherine while looking
after the
nets at Ty Coed while I was in the UK with Sophie when she had her
spinal
operation in October 2005). These recoveries are detailed below.
Two
birds wearing foreign rings were caught in 2006 (European Storm Petrel
and
Eurasian Reed Warbler).
Finally
a Greater White-fronted Goose was seen with a colour ring and a neck
collar,
enabling its original ringing details to be discovered.
Foreign
Recoveries
Northern Gannet
F
17353
Pullus
25.06.93 Ortac, Alderney
X
24.05.06 Cap Gris-nez, Pas de
Calais, France (94th),
300 km, 4,716 days
F
17222
Pullus
19.06.93
Les Etacs, Alderney
X
14.06.06 Cayeux-sur-Mer,
Somme, France, (95th),
270 km, 4,743 days
F
32504
Pullus
20.06.05 Les Etacs, Alderney
13.07.06 Mimizan,
Landes, France, (96th),
620 km, 388 days
F
6999
Pullus
28.06.86 Les
Etacs, Alderney
X
26.10.06 Bowleaze
Cove, Weymouth, England,
(32nd),100 km, 7,425 days
F
31305
Pullus
23.06.05 Ortac, Alderney
X
04.08.06 Moreton,
Wirral, Merseyside, England,
(33rd), 420 km, 407 days
F
31723
Pullus
20.06.05
Les Etacs, Alderney
X
10.08.06
Wangerooge-Nordostrand, Germany, (19th),
800 km, 416 days
F
33774
Pullus
11.06.06
Les Etacs, Alderney
X
02.09.06 Wigers Cape, Spain, (24th), 670 km, 83
days
F
34416
Pullus
24.06.06 Ortac, Alderney
X
16.09.06 Prai da Atalaia,
Faro, Portugal, (4th) 1,480 km, 84 days
F
18186
Pullus
12.06.94 Les Etacs, Alderney
VV
21.09.06 Helgoland, Germany,
(20th), 860 km, 4,484
days
F
34118
Pullus
24.06.06 Les Etacs, Alderney
X(long)
30.09.06 Porthluney Cove, Cornwall,
England (34th),
190 km, 98 days
F
10356
Pullus
21.06.88 Ortac, Alderney
S
(released)
05.10.06 Oostduinkereke, West
Vlaanderen, Belgium,
(5th), 390 km, 6,680 days
F
33954
Pullus
24.06.06 Les Etacs, Alderney
X
18.10.06 Alvor Beach,
Algarve, Portugal, (5th),
1,510 km, 116 days
F
34730
Pullus
24.06.06 Ortac, Alderney
X
(net)
27.10.06 Ponta de Piedade,
Faro, Portugal,
(6th),
1,500 km, 125 days
F
8924
Pullus
28.06.86 Les Etacs, Alderney
X
15.12.06 Garnholmen Island,
Ostfold, Norway, (4th), 1,350 km,
7,475 days
European Shag
F
16212
Pullus
01.06.93 Crevichon,
Jethou
V (on nest)
11.05.06 Cap Frehal,
Brittany, France, (141st), 100
km, 4,727 days
F
33429
Pullus
15.06.06 Jethou
X
(net)
19.08.06 Barfleur, Manche, France, (142nd), 90
km, 65 days
Lesser
Black-backed Gull
E
5359
Pullus
05.07.92 Burhou,
Alderney
X
(long)
03.08.06 Chesil Beach,
Portland, Dorset, England, (4th),
100 km,
5,142 days
E
5326
Pullus
05.07.92
Burhou, Alderney
VV
05.11.06
Gafanha da Nazare, Beira Litoral, Portugal,
(17th), 1,130 km,
5,236 days
Great Black-backed
Gull
J
0070
Pullus
20.06.06
Godin, Herm
VV
14.09.06 Sept
Iles, Brittany, France, (5th),
100 km,
86 days
Little Egret
E
14683
Pullus
27.06.06 Crevichon,
Jethou
(colour
ring) X (predator)
01.09.06 Ricard
Island, Morlaix Bay, Brittany, France,
(1st),
139 km, 66 days
E
12999
Pullus
15.06.06
Crevichon, Jethou
(colour
ring)
VV
04.09.06 River Caen,
Braunton, Devon, England, (1st),
220
km, 81 days
European Blackbird
T
25691
Ad
18.10.05 Ty Coed, Vale
Marais, Guernsey
+
05.02.06 Saint Sauveur,
Finistere, France, (3rd), 150 km, 110
days
Foreign
Controls
European Storm
Petrel
London
Ad
02.08.03
Gwenapp Head, Cornwall, England (1st),
2575096
V
05.06.06
Burhou, Alderney, 250 km, 654 days
Eurasian Reed
Warbler
London
Ad
05.08.01 Barrow
Gurney Reservoir, Avon, England, (10th),
N177885
V
21.04.06 Vale
Marais, Guernsey, 212 km, 1,720
days
Foreign
Colour Rings
Greater
White-fronted Goose
Rey
134176
Ad
female
26.09.05
Hvanneyri, Andakillshreppur, Iceland (1st),
orange
S2H
VV
04.11.06
La Miellette, Vale, Guernsey, 2,024
km, 404 days
VV
28.11.06
Alaw estuary, Anglesey, Wales,
(1st)
Local
Recoveries/Retraps
European Storm
Petrel
P
11438
Ad
12.06.04
Plemont, Jersey
V
05.06.06
Burhou, Alderney, 723 days
P
11439
Ad
12.06.04
Plemont, Jersey
V
05.06.06
Burhou, Alderney, 723 days
In addition to
the above
two birds, and a control from Cornwall (see above section) a one
night session catching Storm Petrels
on Burhou on the night of 4th/5th June 2006 resulted in
52 retraps being caught. The original ringing details were as follows:
- 2000
(eight birds), 2003 (25 birds) and 2005 (19 birds). In addition 39 new
birds
were ringed on this night.
In accordance
with current
practice no tapes are used on the Burhou colony. The two birds
originally
ringed in Jersey, along with the Cornish bird, were wandering birds
tape-lured
away from any known colony.
Northern Fulmar
D
3342
Ad
31.05.02
Jethou
V
15.06.06
Jethou,
1,476 days
Originally ringed
by Jamie
Hooper and Catherine, and retrapped on the same nest site.
Northern Gannet
F
10605
Pullus
11.06.88 Les Etacs, Alderney
V(net/rope)
11.06.06 Les Etacs,
Alderney,
6,574 days
One of the lucky
birds cut free during our visit.
European Shag
F
11276
Pullus
15.06.89
Crevichon, Jethou
X
08.02.06
Grandes Rocques, Guernsey, 6,082 days
F
14542
Pullus
28.05.92
Longue Pierre, Herm
X
25.08.06
Millard’s Corner, Jersey, 5,202 days
F
15184
Pullus
08.06.92 Galeu,
Herm
X
10.11.06
Port Soif, Guernsey, 5,268 days
Lesser
Black-backed Gull
E
4115
Pullus
10.07.89
Brecqhou, Sark
X
31.08.06
Les Hubits Farm, St
Martin’s, Guernsey,
6,261 days
My oldest L B B
Gull to
date.
Paul
K Veron
Channel
Islands Bird Ringing Permit Number 129
