Longevity Records

[Alex Lees]

http://www.bto.org/ringing/ringinfo/longevity.htm

some pretty amazing, and other not so amazing records here.... eg.

Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus 49.11.05
AT14414 2 17.07.1953 Copeland Island: 54°41'N 5°31'W (County Down)
EJ14240 R 22.06.2003 Copeland Island: 54°41'N 5°31'W (County Down)

Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus c. 38.07.07
1007952 6 29.10.1959 Dunning: 56°18'N 3°35'W (Tayside)
X c. 05.06.1998 Gladhouse Reservoir: 55°46'N 3° 8'W (Lothian Region) 66 km SSE

Buzzard Buteo buteo 24.3.28
HW73421
1 23.06.1980 Kilchrist Castle, Kintyre: 55° 25'N 5°39'W (Strathclyde)
X 28.01.2005 near Loch Ken: 55° 13'N 4°38'W (Strathclyde) 69km ESE

Knot Calidris canutus 27.03.29
CE25745
3 21.10.1978 Brora: 58°0'N 3°52'E (Highland)
VV 07.03.2005 Dijk THV Vuurtoren, Den Helder: 52° 58'N 4°44'E (Noord-Holland) Netherlands 778 km SE

Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica 32.00.18
DS66532
4 03.08.1973 Friskney New Marsh: 53°4'N 0°13'E (Lincs)
R 21.08.2005 Wainfleet Marsh: 53°5'N 0°17'E (Lincs) 5 km ENE

Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus 34.10.27
GM21509 1 03.07.1965 Walney Island, Barrow-In-Furness: 54° 5'N 3°15'W (Cumbria)
+F 30.05.2000 Tarnbrook Fell, Bowland, Abbeystead, near Lancaster: 54° 1'N 2°35'W (Lancashire) 44 km E


Razorbill Alca torda 41.11.23
AT73954 1 02.07.1962 Bardsey Island: 52°45'N 4°48'W (Gwynedd)
M23170 R 25.06.2004 Bardsey Island: 52°45'N 4°48'W (Gwynedd) 0 km Local


Swift Apus apus 17.11.05
SB10553 6 25.06.1981 Bescot, Walsall: 52°34'N 1°59'W (West Midlands)
R 30.05.1999 Marston Sewage Farm, Grantham: 52°58'N 0°40'W (Lincolnshire) 99 km ENE


Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba 11.03.21
KN38606 4F 26.07.1977 Sutton Courtenay Gravel Pit, near Abingdon: 51°38'N 1°15'W (Oxfordshire)
X 16.11.1988 Didcot Power Station: 51°37'N 1°15'W (Oxfordshire) 2 km Local

Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla 10.08.15
KP35134 3M 22.09.1977 Beachy Head: 50°44'N 0°15'E (Sussex)
+F 06.06.1988 San Jose Del Valle: 36°36'N 5°47'W (Cadiz) Spain 1642 km SSW

Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus 10.01.01
RA59406 4F 24.05.1986 Gibraltar Point: 53° 6'N 0°20'E (Lincolnshire)
B 25.06.1996 Site Confidential: 52°27'N 0°23'E (Cambridgeshire) 72 km S

Raven Corvus corax 17.11.15
HW96507 1 08.05.1982 Troutbeck, near Ambleside: 54°25'N 2°55'W (Cumbria)
XF 23.04.2000 Bassenthwaite, Keswick: 54°40'N 3°13'W (Cumbria) 34 km NW

Starling Sturnus vulgaris c. 17.07.25
XK36908 3F 20.11.1983 Shotley: 51°58'N 1°15'E (Suffolk)
X c. 15.7.2001 Phillipova Gora, Demianski Rayon: 57°32'N 32°58'E (Novgorod) U.S.S.R. 2122 km ENE

House Sparrow Passer domesticus 12.00.12
BC37543 4M 11.04.1966 Pontypool: 51°42'N 3° 0'W (Gwent)
X 23.04.1978 Pontypool: 51°42'N 3° 0'W (Gwent) 0 km Local

Wren Troglodytes troglodytes 06.08.13
9B2979 3 07.08.1993 Slimbridge: 51°44'N 2°24'W (Gloucestershire)
XF 20.04.2000 Slimbridge: 51°44'N 2°24'W (Gloucestershire) 0 km Local

[MichaelF]

That Manx Shear is very impressive - from what I've read, it was ringed as a breeding adult (i.e., already at least 5 years old, so not less than 55 when last caught, and who knows how much more), and has had to have its ring replaced 3 times over the years because the older rings weren't tough enough to cope with the wear from the bird shuffling along its nest burrow. Chris Mead also reckoned it must have flown over 5 million miles in its lifetime - more than all but a handful of the most dedicated airline pilots.

There's also the Eynhallow Fulmar, which outlived the man who ringed it.

[AndyB]

Also impressed by the 18 year old Starling recovered 2100 km away

[Alex Lees]

It would seem like such a crime to shoot a 38 year old goose (not that this one was shot) but presumably that happens quite frequently. I don't think we have that good a handle yet on just how long seabirds can keep going for - especially for albatrosses and such like for which data sets aren't old enough yet....