Friday 4 October 2013

Black-tailed Godwit - BYBB

A couple of weeks ago, while I was undertaking a BTO WeBS count at the Whitehouse Lagoon in Belfast, I noticed this colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwit amongst the flock of 984 using the lagoon to feed or roost. 


As you can see it is blue / yellow on left and on the right leg it is blue above knee and blue / metal below knee.

Later that same day, I happened to be speaking to my friend, Ben Herschell on the phone. Ben is the secretary of Tay Ringing Group and he mentioned something about Tay and Grampian RGs colour-ringing Blkwits at Montrose Basin and I told him about the bird I'd seen that morning.

Ben had a quick check of his notebook while we were chatting and it turned out that this bird was ringed as a "3" (i.e. born in current calendar year) on 26 September 2011 at Montrose Basin!  It was re-sighted a further 18 times during the following winter, all at Montrose, with the last re-sighting being on 13 April 2012.


This was a great find for me, as I used to be the Scottish Wildlife Trust Ranger at Montrose Basin and to see a bird which had been ringed at the reserve a couple of months after I left was a fantastic result.

What a fortuitous chance phone call that turned out to be!

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