Brownstown Head ringing totals
** Latest recovery: 1st-yr male Goldcrest ringed Brownstown Head, 3 Oct 2003, recaptured
at Meols, Wirral, Merseyside in NW England, 8 Oct 2004 (371 days later, 300 km ENE) - a rare overseas recovery for this species.
Annual bird-ringing, mainly in autumn, has been underway at Brownstown Head (grid
reference X6298), at the south-east corner of Tramore Bay, since October 1988. Most ringing involves mist-netting at
garden sites, with additional nets along hedgerows or in other areas of scrub. Tape-luring for Storm Petrels has also
been done from the tip of the headland in some years. Small numbers of pulli (chicks) are also ringed.
Totals of new birds ringed are summarized below - in total, about 4800 birds of 59
species to the end of 2005. Coverage has varied from year to year, reflected in totals ringed (maximum 622 birds
in 2004). Goldcrests are by far the most common species ringed, partly reflecting the main period of coverage in September-October.
Rarer species ringed include Red-braested Flycatcher in 2005, Northern Parula and Pallas's Warbler in 2003, Barred Warbler
in 1989, Wryneck in 1992 and Wood Warbler in 2004, along with small numbers of Tree Pipits, Reed Warblers, Lesser Whitethroats,
Yellow-browed Warblers and Firecrests.
High coverage in 2004 contributed to record annual totals for species
and total numbers ringed, and for totals of Sparrowhawk, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Redpoll, Linnet and Greenfinch. Catches
of Linnets and, especially, Redpolls were boosted by use of tape-lures. Three species were added to the Brownstown ringing
list in 2004 - Kestrel, Wood Warbler and Treecreeper. But numbers of Wrens, Dunnocks and Reed Buntings were well down
on numbers ringed in the period 1989-95.
The total for 2005 were down somewhat (488 new birds), but was still the third-highest
ever total for Brownstown. This included record site-totals for Redpoll (223), Great Tit (40), House Sparrow and Greenfinch.
Despite the large numbers of passerines ringed at Brownstown, recovery rates for
such species are typically very low, and there have only been one distant and two local ringing recoveries of Brownstown-ringed
birds. A Goldcrest ringed at Brownstown in Oct 2003 was recaptured in Meseyside, NW England the following October.
The other recoveries were a Blue Tit recaptured in Waterford city, 13 km distant,
and a Bullfinch found dead at Kilmacomb, near Belle Lake, 7 km away. Recaptures at Brownstown itself are much more frequent,
and indicate that some migrants may stay off-passage for a week or more. A Sedge Warbler ringed in Belgium was found
dead (killed by a cat) at Brownstown. Unlike passerines, Storm Petrels have provided frequent recoveries,
reflecting targeted ringing efforts at headlands elsewhere in Ireland and Britain. There have been 10 Stormies ringed
at Brownstown and controlled at sites in Cornwall (England), Dyfed (Wales), Orkney (Scotland), Cork, Mayo and Sligo; and 13
birds ringed originally at sites in Cornwall, Humberside (England), Dyfed, the Isle of Man, Strathclyde (Scotland), Cork,
and Helvick Head (Waterford) controlled at Brownstown. A Sparrowhawk mist-netted at Brownstown in October 1992 had been
ringed as a chick near Mooncoin (Co Kilkenny) in June 1992.
Thanks are due to the various landowners on the headland who have provided access
for ringing and birding, and to the ringers and helpers involved over the years.
Last updated: 25 February 2006.
