Lamsdell Bird Ringing and Wildlife Blog: Resighting flagged birds

Friday, 9 June 2017

Resighting flagged birds - Delaware Bay May 2017

From the twelfth we began re-sighting of flagged birds. there was a small team of dedicated re-sighters while those from the banding team were to contribute when not engaged with catching and processing. There were several beaches to be monitored, local ones such as North and South Reeds where we were all staying, Cooks and Kimbles just along the coast then extending to Pierces, Thompsons, Moores, Norburys Landing and creek, Villas and on to Fortescue some 70km away. The 2.6 miles of restored beaches have been particularly busy in the last few years - but all beaches should be visited every three days at least.

We started with the telescope but soon found photographing better to record tags in addition of those that we had seen as the birds moved in close proximity to each other. All birds flagged in Delaware have a light green with black print or dark green with white print. Other flags used along the east coast flyway are Orange (Argentina), Dark Blue (Brazil), Red (Chile) and White (Canada).

Dark Green flag engraved in white HAY

This bird was seen at Reeds North beach on the 14th and 20th. There is a long history on the report banded birds website.

http://report.bandedbirds.org/Search.aspx

Capture:
5/12/2005 3:15:00 PM - Mispillion Harbor, Delaware, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
Resightings:
5/30/2005 - Gandys Beach, New Jersey, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
5/19/2007 - Mispillion Harbor - Back Beach, Delaware, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
5/14/2008 - Mispillion Harbor, Delaware, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
5/21/2009 - Mispillion Harbor, Delaware, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
5/21/2009 - Mispillion Harbor, Delaware, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
5/25/2009 - Mispillion Harbor, Delaware, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
7/24/2010 - Longridge Base, James Bay, Ontario, Canada - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
7/24/2010 - Longridge Base, James Bay, Ontario, Canada - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
7/24/2010 - Longridge Base, James Bay, Ontario, Canada - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
8/4/2011 - Longridge Base, James Bay, Ontario, Canada - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
8/5/2011 - Longridge Base, James Bay, Ontario, Canada - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
8/7/2011 - Paskwachi Point, James Bay, Ontario, Canada - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
8/9/2011 - Longridge Base, James Bay, Ontario, Canada - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
8/13/2011 - Little Piskwamish - south flats, Ontario, Canada - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
5/22/2014 - Mispillion Harbor, Delaware, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
5/22/2014 - Mispillion Harbor, Delaware, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN
5/25/2014 - Mispillion Harbor, Delaware, United States - 1172-70916 FELGHAY REKN

This bird is over twelve years old and was banded and regularly seen on the Delaware side of the bay but spent a good deal of its time, during the 2017 migration north on the New Jersey side.

Red flag engraved HKU

Capture:
1/23/2007 - Tierra del Fuego, Bahia Lomas, Magallanes y Antártica Chilena, Chile - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/18/2016 - Reeds Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERHKU REKN
Resightings:
5/16/2007 - Cooks Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/16/2007 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/17/2007 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/18/2007 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/19/2007 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/20/2007 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/21/2008 - Stone Harbor - flats at 96th Street, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/21/2008 - Stone Harbor - flats at 96th Street, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/21/2008 - Stone Harbor - flats at 96th Street, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/22/2008 - Grassy Sound Meadow, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/22/2008 - Grassy Sound Meadow, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
3/30/2009 - Palmares de la Coronilla beaches, Rocha, Uruguay - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/31/2009 - Kimbles Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/17/2009 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/25/2009 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/21/2010 - Hog Island - mid, Virginia, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
7/31/2010 - Ile Niapiskau, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/26/2011 - Reeds Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/26/2011 - Reeds Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/26/2011 - Reeds Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/27/2011 - Reeds Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/27/2011 - Reeds Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/28/2011 - Reeds Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
7/17/2011 - Ile Niapiskau, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
7/18/2011 - Ile Quarry, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/21/2012 - Kimbles Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/21/2012 - Kimbles Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/12/2012 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/16/2013 - Cooks Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/17/2013 - Cooks Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/17/2013 - Kimbles Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/19/2013 - Cooks Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/19/2013 - Reeds Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/28/2013 - Cooks Beach - north, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/7/2013 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/20/2014 - Reeds Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
8/11/2014 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/16/2015 - Kimbles Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/9/2016 - Reeds Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERYE REKN
5/22/2016 - Reeds Beach - south, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERHKU REKN
5/22/2016 - Sunray Beach Preserve, New Jersey, United States - 1172-98275 FERHKU REKN
8/13/2016 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERHKU REKN
8/15/2016 - Grande Ile, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec, Canada - 1172-98275 FERHKU REKN
5/21/2017 - - 1172-98275 FERHKU REKN
5/24/2017 - - 1172-98275 FERHKU REKN

These are just two of the Red Knots recorded. We also collected data on Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone and Semipalmated Sandpipers. This year the symbols +, =, # and % have been used to increase the number of individualise codes available.

=HL, flagged this year, forages along the rising tide line.

In addition to recording flags we also did flagged to un-flagged ratios, flock counts and inter-tidal counts to feed into the shorebirds study.

As our time there progressed it became clear that the numbers of waders were not building up as expected. There has been little spawning of the Horse-shoe crabs, probably due to generally cold air and water temperatures, strong onshore winds some days and this has affected the numbers of available eggs for the birds to eat. Birds have been forced to dig for eggs rather than just eat loose eggs off of the surface of the sand. Turnstones do this most readily, defending their excavation and the eggs within from other birds. It was clear that pickings were quite thin along the shoreline. Added to this, difficult weather conditions to the south were thought to be a reason behind the lower numbers of birds in the bay.

Turnstones excavate where Horseshoe crab eggs were laid.

Combined counts never exceeded 4000 and an aerial count on the 21st confirmed that there were indeed a substantial number of the expected birds missing. Further to this the birds present were not at the expected locations of Cooks and Kimbles, with the bulk being at Norbury on the aerial count day. There was some spawning over the next couple of days but not on the usual scale so egg availability remained low.

With very few eggs on the beach surface birds cluster around two egg laying sites

as the rising tide agitates the sand and dislodges some eggs.

For more on the progress of migrating Red Knots and Turnstones see the link below.

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/blog/2017/05/24/in-dangerous-territory-on-the-delaware-bay/

We continued with resightings until the 25th of May. All of our flagged birds ( over 1000) were entered into a data sheet and handed over before our departure. Some 90% will also have photographic evidence to confirm the resightings.

A Canadian flagged bird ringed in 2016

TT1, ringed before 2014 in Tierra del Fuego

PAX was flagged on 21st October 2016 at Avalon, New Jersey

(so NOT during the spring migration flagging efforts).

A6T ringed 1st March 2013 - Ilha de Curupu, Maranhao, Brazil

In spite of the print wearing away identification is possible from the photograph.

Sanderling P0K

Ruddy Turnstone MPV

When our time with the Red Knot project came to an end it was still unclear where the remainder of the migrating birds were - further information should come through on the link given above.

Special thanks to Humphrey for making it possible for us to participate on the project, and to Gwen, Gerry, Angela, Barrie, Peter and Guy - who brought us up to speed, showed us some excellent birding spots and helped with identification of birds by call and song, were good house mates and excellent company.

Optics used were an Opticron HR80 scope (product code 41006), SDL eyepiece (product code 40936). In addition the Universal tele-adapter UTS (product code 40951) provide additional zoom capabilities to read rings at a great distance. Thanks to Opticron for optics support.

About us

Chris and Denise Lamsdell

We have both been birders for about 40 years based in South Bucks near the West London reservoir complexes.

Since September 2021 we have been based in North Norfolk. We have done our bit of twitching in the past, but with other priorities this has become a much reduced activity with a preference for seeing new birds where ever our travels take us.

We both have been ringing since 2005. Our local group was the Runnymede RG while based in Buckinghamshire. Since moving to Norfolk we have started a new group called The Iceni Bird Monitoring Group, aimed at increasing public engagement through colour ringing projects on Black-headed Gull, Turnstone and Lapwing. We ring at several sites including Sculthorpe Moor, Sandringham Estate, Deepdale Farm and also monitor bird populations for the Norfolk Rivers Trust. We do ringing at home and support with foreign projects when opportunities allow. Chris also has an interest in Butterflies and Dragonflies and contains his limited photographic skill to them.