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[2cy vs. AD] Black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus)

It's quite easy to aged 2cy Black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus). This post should help ringers to do it. There are two main features to differ 2cy and Ad:

2cy:- alula dirty dark, with dark outer
- bill and legs orange or dark orange

Ad:- alula clear white/silver
- bill and legs red

fot. Marcin Sowa - 2cy alula, dirty dark

fot. Marcin Sowa - legs of 2cy

fot. Marcin Sowa - feet of 2cy

fot. Marcin Sowa - bill and legs of 2cy

fot. Marcin Sowa - bill and legs of ad

fot. Marcin Sowa - ad alula, clear white

Dutch Bewick Swan, latvian Whooper Swan and german Greylag Gooses

Today Zbyszek Kajzer had lucky day. He observed just one Bewick Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) in the large flock of 180 Whooper Swans (Cygnus Cygnus) in Wiejkowo near Wolin. Surprised the swan had the dutch neckband! yellow 950A .

Also Zbyszek read latvian Whooper Swan (Cygnus Cygnus) blue 1C75 and Greylag Gooses (Anser anser) yellow N91, H32 and H81.

fot. Zbyszek Kajzer

How to colour-ring the Black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus)

We are using two kinds of colour rings in Polish Black-headed Project: made in Canada and made in Poland. Some of the ringers have problem with putting a colour ring on the leg without break it. Rings crack especially when the temperature outside is below 0 degree. Then the material is hard and unextensible so using pliers is not good solution.

On the movie below i show the easy and safety way to colour-ring the Black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus). I used a colour ring prodeced by Interrex as example. It takes only few minutes. What you need is just the pen (should be quite thick to put the leg into) and glue. If you ring gulls in this way for sure you will never break any colour ring.

Ready

Rubbish dumps

Some sights from polish rubbish dumps.

fot. Luksza Borek

First from Leczyca, where Lukasz Borek observed on friday: polish Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus) (see photo and life history) and belorussian Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) with long life history.

fot. Lukasz Borek - belorussian Herring Gull with red plastic ring

The life history
R I N G I N G D A T A
Date .......... 18.06.1999
Place ......... NEAR KAMENPOLIE VILLAGE, MIORY DISTRICT, VITEBSK REGION, BELARUS (BY28, former SU28)
Co-ordinates .. 55°38' N 27°32' E
Species ....... LARUS ARGENTATUS / HERRING GULL
Sex ...........
Age ........... PUL (unable to fly)
Other data ....
Ringer ........ NIKOLAI YAKOVETS
================================================================
This bird was observed also:
29.12.2000 Poland, Gdansk-Szadolki (Pomorskie) 54°20' N 18°33' E
19.12.2001 Poland,Konin rubbish dump 52°13' N 18°16' E
3.1.2002 Poland,Konin rubbish dump 52°13' N 18°16' E
23.7.2001 Germany, Muggelsee, Berlin-Kopenick 52°26' N 13°40' E
5.10.2003 Poland, Dzwizyno near Kolobrzeg 54°09' N 15°24' E
1.11.2003 Poland,Zielenieniewo, Stargard Szczecinski 53°22' N 14°56' E
23.1.2004 Germany, Tollensesee, Neubrandenburg, 53°33' N 13°15' E
29.2.2004 Poland,Zieleniewo, Stargard Szczecinski 53°22' N 14°56' E
12.3.2004 Poland,Leczyca, rubbish dump Stara Dabrowa 53°26' N 15°05' E
27.10.2004 Poland,Morzyczyn, Stargard Szczecinski 53°21' N 14°56' E
4.3.2005 Poland,Szczecin-klucz, Zachodniopomorskie 53°21' N 14°34' E
05.09.2009 MIEDWIE LAKE, MORZYCHYN, POLAND 53.21'N 14.55'E


fot. Lukasz Borek - polish BHG (Larus ridibundus)

The life history
ringed as 1cy 2007-12-23 Stargard Szczeciński Polska, Zachodniopomorskie 53°20'N 15°03'E

was obserwed also:
2007-12-26 Morzyczyn. jez.Miedwie Polska,Zachodniopomorskie 53°21'N 14°55'E
2008-01-05 Morzyczyn jez.Miedwie Polska, Zachodniopomorskie
2008-01-11 Morzyczyn jez.Miedwie Polska, Zachodniopomorskie
2008-01-13 Morzyczyn jez.Miedwie Polska, Zachodniopomorskie
2008-01-23 Morzyczyn jez.Miedwie Polska, Zachodniopomorskie
2008-02-04 Morzyczyn jez.Miedwie Polska, Zachodniopomorskie



Next the Lubna rubbish dump where Michal Rycak and Marcin Sidelnik obserwed the Caspian Gull (Larus argentatus cachinnans)with wingtag. The bird was ringed by Grzegorz Neubauer in Poland.

fot. Michal Rycak

Probably Croatian Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Today Piotrek Zientek were on Trzebiatow rubbish dump where observed the adult large gull with yellow ring S1KA. There is no exactl information about project on the Cr-birding.

fot. Piotr Zientek

fot. Piotr Zientek

The Łubna rubbish dump

Łubna rubbish dump is the largest stockyard of waste in Poland, so one of the best places to watching and reading gulls. Recently Michal Rycak and Marcin Sidelnik have read the 1cy Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans) with yellow plastic ring. The bird was ringed this year in Poland.

fot. Michal Rycak

See also some photos from Lubna at Bird pictures: Gulls in Amsterdam

Scary tits

Last weekend i was ringing birds at my feeder (Stargard Szczecinski). I caught standards like: Great Tits (Parus major), Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and Greenfinches (Carduelis chloris). Two of great tits looked scary, first had a big tick on the neck and second large scab on the head (ringed 2 years earlier in the same place).

fot. Marcin Sowa - trapped birds


fot. Marcin Sowa - Great tit with tick


fot. Marcin Sowa

How to colourring Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

The way to cr-ring Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) is quite easy. At first you need some tools (see the picture below):
- pliers to metal rings
- pliers to cr-ring (twist and thin at the end)
- stick fast glue

Tools which you need to cr-ring Greenfinches

now, see the movie..

1. Put a metal ring
2. Put a cr-ring and stick it
3. Wait a while

Ready

"The Feeder Project 2009/2010" - winter bird ringing

Last weekend we started "The Feeder Project 2009/2010" in Poland. Like every year we will be ringing birds near our feeders. The project has 30 participants who are catching in 24 places (the same time) in whole Poland (see the map). We ring birds, measure them, weigh and check the fat. The present results you can find here(ringed 468,recap 145, 17 species). Already we have 2 interesting controls: belgian Great Tit (Parus major) and lithuanian Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris).

Terms that we will be catching:

5-6.XII.2009
19-20.XII.2009

2-3.I.2010
16-17.I.2010
30-31.I.2010

13-14.II.2010
27-28.II.2010

I will be report results after each date.

Photos from last seasons you can find here

Finnish visitor

Recently Agnieszka Labudda read the Herring gull (Larus argentatus) on the Sopot beach. The bird was ringed in Finland, but actually don't know where exactly.

fot. Agnieszka Labudda - yellow C29AK

Too warm to catching coots

There is presently quite warm in Poland. More than 10°C in november it's pretty much for polish conditions. Last weekend Łukasz tried to catch coots at Nowogardzkie lake. It's great place to catch them. We always ring there at least 3/day using bread & hands or fishing line. Unlucky this time coots weren't hungry. Birds were swimming on the middle of the lake instead near coast. Łukasz hardly caught just 1. Hope soon will be a little bit colder :)

fot. Łukasz Borek - birds on Nowogardzkie lake

fot. Łukasz Borek - the coot with neckband C10 produced by Interrex

Gulls on the Miedwie Lake

Today on the roosting place at Miedwie Lake still croatian Black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) white S740 and 2 from the polish project: T16N, T59N. Also observed some hering gulls and BHG with metal ring, but was to dark to read them.

fot. Marcin Sowa - white T59N (polish project)


fot. Marcin Sowa - sunset on the Miedwie Lake

Traped Brant Goose (Branta bernicla)

Today Zbyszek Kajzer traped the Brant Goose (Branta bernicla) in Dziwnow. It's fantastic news! because we ring just 0-4 each year in Poland. As you can see the bird was tame so easy to trap.

fot. Zbyszek Kajzer

Old familiar friend

Recently Piotrek Zientek observed a old familiar friend Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) with the black cr-ring C.MK4 in Niechorze (zachodniopomorskie) (was ringed in Finland). The gull was in Niechorze also year ago, as you can see at pictures.

fot. Piotr Zientek - 01.X.2008 sub. ad. Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)


fot. Piotr Zientek - 26.XI.2008 sub. ad. Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)


fot. Piotr Zientek - 18.XI.2009 ad. Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

Redpolls catching

On the 9th XI 2009 Michal Korneliuk and Piotrek Zientek were ringing Redpolls in Chojty (Pomorskie). They were using calls to bait birds and were unaware of Arctic Redpoll (Carduelis hornemanni) on the net.

fot. Piotr Zientek


Also they ringed very atypical Redpoll ?! (see photos below).

fot. Piotr Zientek

More ringers in the Greenfinch CR-project

The Greenfinch CR-project is increasing. At the moment we are ringing birds in several locations (green points on the map).

fot. Marcin Sowa

Foreign Great tit (Parus major)

Autumn and winter is the best time to catch birds at feeder. Yesterday Łukasz Borek caught the Great tit (Parus major) with belgian metal ring 51V26850 BRUSSELS in Stargard Szczecinski. It's not the first belgian tit in Stargard, on spring 2009 we had also one with code 50V91308 BRUSSELS.

fot. Łukasz Borek - 51V26850 BRUSSELS

Two days earlier I also caught a foreign Great tit with polish ring near my feeder in Stargard. Probably was ringed by AB ringing station in Kopan (distance 150 km).

fot. Marcin Sowa

fot. Marcin Sowa

Coots banding

Last time we ringed some coots, this time in Szczecin. One in Kacprowicza park (only malards were there...just one coot on the lake) and the other on Kanał Zielony (Green canal).

fot. Marcin Sowa

fot. Marcin Sowa

Also our project has the first foreign recovery. The coot with white neckband E17 ringed in Chodziez was observed after week in Berlin (Tegeler lake).

See E17

First Greenfinch CR-project in Poland

We have started with a new CR project on Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) in Poland. Birds are being ringed with white colour rings (all combination of 3 letter and alphanumeric code). We are going to ring migrants and wintering birds in a few localities in Poland. This autumn/winter season will be ringed about 10-15 thousand of Greenfinches. If you want to cooperate, please read the instruction and write the project leader, Marcin Faber.


fot. Marcin Sowa

fot. Marcin Sowa

fot. Marcin Sowa

3 Croatian Black-headed gulls on the Miedwie lake!

Miedwie lake is the one of the best places in zachodniopomorskie to watch the roosting gulls. Durning last 2 weekes were observed here 3 Croatian BHG. The white S552, which was at Miedwie also in 10 VII 2008 and S740, S866. A fortune..?!

Actually we know the life history of the S552. Was ringed as an adult in Split on April 2007 and flew 1115 km to the Miedwie lake.

fot. Zbyszek Kajzer

fot. Zbyszek Kajzer

The S552 path.

Pokaż Croatian Black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) na większej mapie