The first Barnie causes a twitch... update

We have been informed by Scott Kruitbosch from the Connecticut Audubon Society that our Barnacle Goose 1291347 has again been on the move and was spotted at Wooster Park, Stratford, Connecticut some 67km from Orchard Beach.


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The first Barnie causes a twitch

There are very few reports of UK ringed birds in America and the majority are Manx Shearwater (8) and Great Skua (3). We have also had single reports of White-fronted and Canada Goose, Turnstone, Kittiwake, Arctic, Roseate and Common Tern.

Yesterday we received an email from Jack Rothman informing us of the first British ringed Barnacle Goose to be recorded in America! Barnacle Geese in North America are rare anyway but one with a known origin is brilliant. This bird was seen at Orchard Beach, Bronx which is 5204km from where it was ringed.


Barnacle Goose 1291347 was ringed by Steve Percival on 13/11/2002 and was seen frequently on Islay until March 2005 when it disappeared. One of its parents and a sibling where ringed at the same time and are still seen around Islay.


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Thanks to Keith Michael for finding the bird and Jack Rothman for letting us know and also for the photo.

Spoonbills and Barnies on the move

Reports of colour-ringed brids are always nice to receive, as they almost all have really nice histories attached to them. Just this week we've been following some commuting Spoonbills and a Barnacle Goose.


One of these four Spoonbills at Caerlaverock was ringed in The Netherlands in June 2006 and has been previously seen wintering in Spain. Two Spoonbills currently hanging out at Cley Marshes NWT reserve in Norfolk also have colour rings, also originally ringed in The Netherlands. One was ringed in June 2006 and has spent its winters in Cadiz, Spain (as the Caerlaverock bird had), and the other was ringed in June 2007 and has been seen rather more frequently! Click the pins on the map to view the sighting dates around the country for this bird.


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We also heard of Barnacle Goose Red BP, which was a feral bird ringed in July 2005 in Bedfordshire. It has since been seen in Swindon, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Staffordshire (9 May 2009), Cheshire (16 May), South Yorkshire (17 June, pictured below) and now Rutland Water, Leicestershire (from 18 June).



Many different species will be ringed, so do keep an ewye out for them. One photo we couldn't resist using is this one taken by Phil Kenyon of two birds from a local Dipper project.