Ringed herring gull !

[michael23]

hi there i photofraphed this herring gull yesterday in scarborough, it had 2 rings on it, its left leg had a silver ring but was unreadable in the shots i got, and on its right was an orange ring numbered 2056. Anyone know how to find out details?
http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv283/michael23_photo/bempton09132.jpg

[Colin Key]

Hello Michael,

Try the BTO website http://www.bto.org/ and click on "report a ringed bird" in the right-hand column menu.

Colin

[michael23]

hi colin, thanks for that. I had totally forgot about that part of there website. Have reported it, so will wait and see.

[MichaelF]

Don't forget to post the answer when you get it!

[michael23]

hi michael, i shall remember! im looking forward to finding out.
:beer:

[GerryR]

Go to www.cr-birding.be which has a register of colour ringing projects, select Gulls and then Herring Gull and then "Orange". It looks like your bird with four black digits comes from Sara Bone's project out of the Central Science Lab at Sand Hutton, Yorks, which would fit with the fact that you saw the bird in Scarborough. Sara's contact details are given. Good luck.

[Brian S]

If you refer to this site http://www.cr-birding.be/, you will find this

'Orange (tall) ring with green / black code (4 numbers) on tarsus and BTO metal ring on other leg.

Sara Bone, Central Science Laboratory to the food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), , Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, United Kingdom.

e-mail: sara.bone@csl.gsi.gov.uk

note 1: used numbers are from 0001 till 9999.

note 2: note 2: birds may be colour dyed with either Rhodamine (pink/red) or picric acrid (yellow) ; these sightings
should be sent to Andy Baxter at a.baxter@csl.gov.uk'

Brian S

[GerryR]

Brian, great minds think alike!

[Colin Key]

I actually got a bit pi$$ed off with the BTO lack of response after several submissions - not a single acknowledgment, let alone a result.

I was referred to ico@ornitologia.org for seabird ringing information and got an almost immediate (within 15 minutes) response for a ringed (but dead) Audouin's Gull which I found at Ria de Alvor.

Colin

[michael23]

thank you to you all, for the links, will keep that thhem in my favourites, i have emailed the person mentioned, so will wait and see what information i get back.
:smile:

[Brian S]

I don't think we should slag the BTO off. My own experience is that they are a dedicated group and work very hard.

Brian S

[Colin Key]

I don't think we should slag the BTO off. My own experience is that they are a dedicated group and work very hard.

Brian S

Not slagging them off Brian, just stating a fact they have not (as their website promises) got the ringer of the bird involved to contact me on four separate occasions - filling-in that online form is quite time-consuming and I will not be doing it again after being directed to several other more efficient organisations who are very appreciative of the sightings and who respond personally and quickly.

Colin

[michael23]

after e-mailing the person, whos details were provided via the link posted by brian and gerryR (thankyou again) i received a reply today; Just thought I would share with you the info i received.:smile:

"Hi Michael, Thank you for reporting your sighting of Herring Gull Orange 2056. the details for this bird are attached. As you can see this is a local bird, with multiple sightings. It was ringed as part of a project looking at the roof nesting gulls in Scarborough, so the sightings of these birds, still in Scarborough are very useful, as they confirm that the bird is still in the area! Thank you also for the photograph, very nice! This is actually the first photo I have had of 2056, and given that this is now the gull with the most sightings, it is interesting to have a photo to go with them! Thank you for taking the time to report this sighting. if you have any questions, or any more sightings, please get in touch. Cheers Sara Bone"

The bird was origionally ringed on 16/05/2006, it was aged at 4th calendar year.
:beer:

[Colin Key]

Very nice to get such a polite, friendly and informative response Michael - why do the BTO not react in such a positive manner?

Colin :err:

[michael23]

Hi colin, i sent the details the same day to the bto, and i have had no reply yet! :err:
This was my first ever report to send to them, so will wait and see what reply I get, when i get it!
this is on their website

"Most colour ring sightings are sent on to volunteer species coordinators. The coordinator tries to identify the project and sends your sighting to the relevant ringer who will then get in touch with you. This process can take some time, especially if there is doubt about the identity of either the bird or the marker, so please be patient. However, if you have not heard anything after six months please email colourringing@bto.org and we will investigate."

at least they state it can take some time.

[Colin Key]

Hello Michael,

I sent in four submissions to BTO and never got any response at all - very disappointing considering their promise that they will get the ringer to contact you directly.

On my last report (including a photo of the dead ringed Audouin's Gull) I mentioned that previous ringing reports had not been responded to.

I was re-directed (by a young Dutch ringer here) to another organisation in Spain who almost immediately sent this reply:

Dear Colin,

Thank you very much ineed for your e-mail. This Audouin's Gull was ringed at the Ebro Delta (Punta de la Banya, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, NE Spain, 40.35N 0.40E) on 25/06/06 as a chick in the breeding colony. Since the bird died soon after ringing, we do'nt have additional sightings before the recovery.

Thank you very much for your collaboration.

Best regards,

Raül Aymí
Institut Català d'Ornitologia
Museu de Ciències Naturals
Passeig Picasso, s/n
08003 Barcelona
ico@ornitologia.org


I might also mention that I know the person (Anna L.) who was in charge of the Audouin's Project in Portugal (I have met her several times whilst she was doing fieldwork at Ria de Alvor) and I also sent her the photo and ring details, but did not get any response.

Just another aspect of "bird ringing" which does them no favours, in my opinion.

Colin

[GerryR]

There is a clear difference between contacting the responsible ringer directly, which should get a very quick response as has happened with this Herring Gull, and contacting the BTO which is a central collation agency for very large numbers of records from c.2000 ringers, most of whom submit their data periodically. i.e. the BTO might well not have the data at point when a query is submitted. The BTO has limited resources and the Ringing Office does a fantastic job, which together with the BTO's other projects, vastly enriches the UK ornithology scene and makes a huge contribution to science-based conservation.