In Ceredigion there are just about no opportunities to see colour-ringed geese, but we do get lots of Mediterranean Gull rings to view, so it was good to see so many colour-ringed Pale-bellied Brent Geese last Friday at Foryd Bay.
In a group of around 100, at least 6 had colour rings but the wind made it hard to read them but we did get a couple and Graham McElwaine of the Irish Brent Goose Research Group sent me the details of those birds and remarked that they were the first colour-ringed birds reported from that site this winter and that "Records from Wales are like gold nuggets!"
Both birds had red rings on both legs. The one with a B on the right and D on the left had been ringed as age category 6 (hatched before previous calendar year but exact year unknown) at a pitch and put course near Dublin 19/2/14. Subsequent sightings were 4/4/14 Dublin Bay, 16/11/14 Strangford Lough, 5/12/14 Menai off Caernarfon, 26/1/15 Dublin Bay and 4/1/15 Killough Bay, N. Ire.
The other bird, K on right leg and X on the left, was ringed 1/3/14 near Dublin, also age 6 category and seen there to 14/4/14, then 17/10/14 and 31/10/14 Strangford Lough.
So far the Group have ringed 4,500 -5,000 geese. Sightings of colour-ringed birds can be sent direct to grahammcelwaine@btinternet.com
Before we left we saw a noisy Green Sandpiper at the pool behind the hide.
Superb sightings and very interesting results with the rings.
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