Bumper Little Stint year

With a latin name meaning a small grey waterside bird, the Little Stint is a gem among waders, especially in its breeding plumage.

We have had very few recoveries of this species in the history of the ringing scheme but things are now picking up. Up to 2011 we have had only had 16 reports of Little Stint ringed abroad and found in the UK and Ireland. Of these the majority (11 birds) were ringed in Norway, these were reported in the 1940s (1), 1960s (1), 1970s (2), 1980s (4), 1990's (2), 2000s (1).

Little Stint feeding - Dave Crawshaw

Due to a new colour ringing project in Norway, we have had a grand total of 7 sightings this year! Mike Marsh has let us know that he saw a group of 5 Little Stint at Orfordness, Suffolk. One of these was colour ringed and stayed around for a couple of days.This bird had only been ringed a mere 14 days previously and covered a distance of 1188km.

Little Stint winter in Africa, around the Indian Ocean and as far south as South Africa. There are also variable numbers in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, so it had a little further to go.


View Little Stint in a larger map

Thanks to Mike Marsh for letting us know.

Travels of an urban gull

We've just found out one of 'our' new population of city gulls is holiday-ing in Spain for the winter. Lesser Black-backed Gull GA37483 was originally ringed as a chick in the massive colony at Orfordness, Suffolk, in July 2002. The colony was home to 25,000 pairs of gulls, but after years of Fox predation, the colony has shrunk to just 7,000. Many of these have birds moved inland, and since 2006 Norwich is slowly being colonised. Most birds are seen in industrial sites around the city, and one site held over 30 pairs last year.

These birds still retain their natural migration patterns though, and GA37483 does get around. It was seen in Portimao, Portugal, in March 2003 and is currently in Malaga, Spain (see Google map below).


View Larger Map

How do we know all of this? Well GA37483 also carries a single red ring with SUD stamped on it, enabling it to be read through a telescope. The photo here shows a similar Orfordness bird, with ring RJS. Many birds such as gulls and waders carry these colour rings, and they are unique to that bird. So if you do happen on a colour-ringed bird, then do report it online at www.ring.ac.

Thanks to Mike Marsh from the Landguard Ringing Group for letting us know about this bird, and also for the photo.