We have two Darvic colour-ringed Mute Swans on the reserve at the moment and thankfully, having such big rings means that they are easy to read.
Orange 4COF has been around since before Christmas and does not have the most exciting of histories (despite its interesting ring code...) having been rung just 6km away at the Mute Swan hotspot that is Harrow Lodge Park in March 2017... This is the first site it has been seen at since though...
4COF - Graeme Truby- Surety
Orange 4AYH is far more interesting having been ringed as a first winter bird on the 8th October 2013 at Hollow Pond on Leyton Flats. It stayed there until March 2014 before disappearing for a year and popping up at Boreham near Chelmsford in March 2015, It was then not seen again until the 26th February this year when it popped up at Southmere, Thamesmead before arriving with us on the 12th March.
4AYH - Mike Hughes
To the best of my knowledge both birds are still present as parts of our potential breeding pairs so please let us know if you see either of them over the coming weeks.
Similarly a Black-headed Gull that was snapped on the 28th March had a legible ring even in flight and being yellow there was a good chance that it was ringed along the Thames. As it turns out Yellow 2HAV was first ringed on the 2nd January 2015 on Rainham Tip and was then seen across the river at Crayford in both February 2017 and 2018 before popping into Purfleet Scrape for a wash and brush up. There is a good chance that it actually spends its summers somewhere a lot further east into Europe. Wouldn’t it be great if it was seen in a colony out there?
2HAV - Graeme Truby- Surety
Thanks to Max Hellicar for submitting of ring data...
As for the BTO ring on the deceased adult Common Gull that Andrew found today - we shall just have to wait and see...
And some sightings from today...
Howard Vaughan, Information Officer