New England Coastal BIrds

New England Coastal BIrds

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Part 7, Day 13- "More Tags, Bands and Markers"


     Day 13, Thursday, January 11, Circle Beach, Madison, CT-  On my way to Hammonasset, I  stopped by Circle beach to see if the Iceland Gull was still there, and it was. This time it was back in the spot it frequented last year; right at the small beach cove where Neck Road changes over to Circle Beach Road.-




     I drove down the road a few hundred miles to Circle Beach to check for "other" Gulls. The Iceland Gull followed me down there (apparently it missed me). I couldn't resist a few more images of the bird against a piercing blue sky background-







     There were also a few flocks of Brant flying by (probably the same group from Guilford Harbor)-



Hammonasset Beach SP, Madison, West beach paring lot- I always look through the Gull roost on the western parking lot. And sure enough, another banded and leg marked Montreal Ring-billed Gull.-



     "AAH" seemed familiar to me. I then remembered, this may be the same Gull I found last year in the same parking lot.....looks like this Gull enjoys wintering at Hammo. I reported the band information to Professor Giroux and my suspicions were confirmed. I had reported the same Gull about a year ago.-


     This adult female Ring-billed Gull was banded on April 14, 2009 at Ile Deslauriers, Varennes, Quebec. Band # 954- 13503 and yellow leg marker "AAH"









    Here is the record of all my band reports from the University of Quebec, Montreal-
                             Ring-billed gull sightings by Keith Mueller 


BFMK 954-14991 Female Adult 2010-05-01 Varennes, Île Deslauriers 2013-01-01 Narragansett,Scarborough Beach

BP6Z 954-19502 Unknown Adult 2011-07-12 Varennes, Île Deslauriers 2012-02-26 New Haven,Long Wharf

JAAH 954-13503 Female Adult 2009-04-14 Varennes, Île Deslauriers 2011-12-07 Madison,Hammonaset Beach

JAAH 954-13503 Female Adult 2009-04-14 Varennes, Île Deslauriers 2011-12-15 Madison,Hammonaset Beach

JAAH 954-13503 Female Adult 2009-04-14 Varennes, Île Deslauriers 2012-01-24 Madison,Hammonaset Beach

JAAH 954-13503 Female Adult 2009-04-14 Varennes, Île Deslauriers 2013-01-10 Madison,Hammonaset Beach

JAAH 954-13503 Female Adult 2009-04-14 Varennes, Île Deslauriers 2013-01-11 Madison,Hammonaset Beach

JCCK 954-13727 Female Adult 2009-05-05 Varennes, Île Deslauriers 2013-01-04 Guilford Harbor, Marina

TOTAL 8 * Codes starting by B are for blue bands and by J for yellow bands.



     Day 14, Friday, January 12, New Haven Harbor- West Haven boat ramp,  New Haven, CT- 
I made a quick run down to the West Haven boat ramp this morning, and when I pulled in by the guard rail, a flock of Gulls were flying by the pier.-



     The first winter Ring-billed Gull caught my eye as it flew past.-


     And the reason why? It was wearing an orange wing tag...another tagged Gull from Ken Mackenzie's program.-



     The Gull flew around the area.....



     .....and then landed on the railing of the pier.-




     Then it hopped down onto the parking lot. The Gull only had one patagial tag on its right wing "A 768".-






     I could never read the complete numbers on the leg marker, just the last two numbers- "82".


     A few more image studies of this Gull-














     I reported the information to Ken Mackenzie. and this juvenile Ring-billed Gull was banded on November 19, 2012 at the Price Chopper Plaza in Worcester, Mass. The band # is 0894-68467, and the red leg marker is 382.

     Please Note: These various Gull studies are very important in many ways for the birds and the environment. Please report all the Gulls you find with bands, tags and markers. You can find all the band reporting information on the Related Sites" section of this blog on the upper right column. The link will bring you to a past blog report. All the information and links are at the bottom of that report.

     Here are a few more images-











Long Wharf, New Haven Harbor-  I stopped by Long Wharf on my way home, and found many Gadwalls....




     .....and this very small Herring Gull. This Gull was about the same size as a Ring-billed Gull.-



      The flock of Ruddies and Scaup (mostly Lesser) are starting to build behind the Fish Tale (formally Leons).-






     Circle Beach, Madison- I know......more Iceland Gull images!! But I couldn't resist. This Gull has become a friend and he is always posing for me. And it is getting more brave by the day......






     .....by plunging right into the middle of the feeding Gull frenzy!-








     One of the few Greater Black-backed Gulls that show up on the beach.-


     Good practice if you find finding different challenging. This Iceland Gull stands out right in the middle.-



     How about now? Can you find it?-




     Beautiful bird!-


     Still see it?-





     Mungertown Road, Madison-  On my way home on Mungertown Road, this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk flew by my truck.....






     .....and landed on the wires-




     The Hawk let me approach closely to take a few pictures-








    Part 8, Day 15, Saturday, January, 12, Rhode Island- "Drizzle, Fog and Three Black-Headed Gulls in Two States" continues.......

           Click on "Older Posts" below right-