17 August 2014

Returning Curlews from the Continent

We've had a little run of colour-ringed Curlew sightings recently, with three different birdsringed in three different countries. Two of these are in fact returning birds, proving that there's some degree of faithfulness to wintering sites of European birds.


Red/Metal, Red/Green was ringed as a breeding male on 30th May 2013 in Kattenvenne, Germany, and was first seen at Rosemullion on 10th August 2013. It then returned to breed at Kattenvenne in 2014 and was back at Men-aver beach, Helford River, on 13th August 2014.

RM,RG at Rosemullion in August 2013
This morning at Devoran, in amongst over 100 roosting Curlew, were two other colour-ringed birds. White (S), Red (A) was a bird ringed as a chick on 13th June 2013 at Sekdoorn, Zwoll, The Netherlands. It was first seen in Cornwall on 22nd September 2013 and then at Devoran on 29th December 2013 and again today (17th August 2014).

SA when it was ringed a a nearly-fledged chick...
...and as seen at Devoran in August 2014
The other bird was a new one to us, but we do know that it was a bird ringed as part of a BTO project looking at how waders use the Severn Estuary. This will have been a bird ringed in autumn/winter so may have been on passage when ringed, or has now switched wintering area.

BL/M, R/YW at Devoran in August 2014
Thanks to John St Ledger for the photo of RM,RG and Gerrit Gerritsen for the photo of SA as a chick.

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