Two bits of news in one day.

Firstly forward planning has hit new heights! Our trip for next year, that's right next year, starts on the 25th July - hurrah. Dust off those smelly bird bags and check out the new tent and we'll be away.
Second BB arrived today and with it was an article stating that Madeiran Storm-Petrels were seen following chumming in the Bay of Biscay. So, forget the mercaptoethanol and lets get in the blood, guts and smelly fish instead (or maybe just a pair of Kenny's socks!).

AND see:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hotel/old1/cornb64.html
the item under Armistice Day. We'll have to adopt this on behalf of the War Graves Commission.

Image borrowed from http://www.art-from-viewpoints.co.uk/ Stuart Mingham Copyright.

There have been requests for more photos from this year. However, this particular site is not that conducive to posting loads of pictures so, remember we also have a yahoo discussion forum at:



http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RoanIslandsRingingGroup/?yguid=38742412
It is much easier to post pictures here. I have put up some ones from last year, plus others from this year, and another folder with images from our boat trip around the island. The site is 'closed' i.e.open to members only but, once accepted as a member the site is fully accessible to all - you can post as much stuff as you like. If you would like an invite let me know.

Portuguese update.

One snippet from the control already reported - the genetic analysis has revealed it was female. We just now need the data on race - fingers crossed it's Med!

The others, all caught in the Algarve 37d04m N 8d47m W.
N04223 caught 05.06.2008 at 01.03hrs. Wing 126mm, weight 23.5g
N04461 caught 12.06.2008 at 01.41hrs. Wing 125mm, weight 26.4g
N03279 caught 14.06.2008 at 00.52hrs. Wing 123mm, weight 27.4g

All these notifications are 'unofficial' being received via email contact from Renata Medeiros Mirra (PhD student with Rob Thomas). All have been officially submitted to the BTO; as have the Norwegian controls.

Do skua eat stormies?

Yes.
In the Journal of Ornithology in Oct 2007 there was an article on nocturnal feeding by Great Skua of Leach’s storm petrel on St Kilda. It is well documented that skua feed nocturnally at breeding colonies in the southern hemisphere but not whether their congeners do in the north.
It was important to show skua feeding at night as they also have the potential to forage during the day, possibly taking birds at sea. Using radio-tracking and image intensifiers the group, from British Antarctic Survey, were able to show skua actively feeding on petrels at night. The end result of their study was that, on St Kilda at least, the presence of skua with the petrels was mutually exclusive – the rate of feeding of the skuas may affect the long-term survival of the colony.

So how does this affect Nan Ron? Well, for one, the number of Great Skua present was, to our mind, greater than it had been for the last four years – at one time we had 22 birds in the air (and this wasn’t all of them). So, with increasing numbers of skua there is the possibility for greater predation on stormies.

We collected 15 whole (regurgitated) skua pellets for examination. There were approximately three times this number of degrading pellets that were also looked at. Of those collected and those examined only eight showed absolute signs of containing bits of Stormie. On this rough and crude analysis it appears they may not be – they still feed heavily on crabs. But with this as a nominal baseline we’ll have to do more work next year.

Group three (Kenny) final figures

I've now put everything into IPMR so consider that these are the absolute final figures corresponding to Kennys' team visit.

New birds: 922
Controls: four Portuguese, four Norwegian, plus thirteen with British rings.
Retraps: having now excluded all the same visit retraps the final number is 168.

These retraps consist of:
one from 1995
fourteen from 1996
one from 1997
five from 2000
eight from 2001
two from 2002
three from 2003
nine from 2004
seventeen from 2005
thirteen from 2006
forty seven from 2007
the rest were all from birds ringed in 2008.

Totals - hot off the press.

Just heard from Dave with the totals for the year (for all groups visiting).

One Portuguese control

From Rob Thomas via Renata and Stephen.
N03399
Caught Ponta de Almandena, SW coast of Portugal (3704N 0847W) on 7th June 2007 at 23.26 hrs. Wing 121mm, weight 25.4g. Culmen length (to feathering) 11mm,, total head and bill 31.8mm, tarsus 21.8mm, BP=no, leg damage = no, age = 6. DNA data to follow regarding sex and possible genetic origin.

Well, it's over again for another year. This year the team from Merseyside consisted of thirteen in all - five A permits, one C, two trainees, three scribes and two runners. We arrived on the island on Sunday 27th in warm and sunny weather. As is usual we did however have a period of rain resulting in wet tents and feet but, after that passage, the rest of our stay was in warm, sunny and, sometimes, windy conditions.
The group split into two ringing teams who essentially ringed separately. One team did two nights ringing on the slabs, split by a session on the Maze, while the other team did three nights on the Maze. The last night was a quick session by a reduced team on the Lower Camp site, while others had an early night prior to the journey home.
In all we ringed 922 new Stormies, with 240 recoveries, including eight controls - four Nowegian and four Portugese. One of the Portugese is currently under investigation as a 'possible' from the Mediterranean race of Stormies.
We also managed two Great Skua, four Fulmar and a 3J Wheatear.

We continued our practise of taking wings and weights, and this year combined this with taking faecal swabs for analysis. One night we took intense measurements of bill lengths and ratios - with most of the birds photographed as well. We also collected Skua pellets to see if, as elsewhere, Skuas are taking Storm Petrels. Of fifteen full, in tact, pellets collected, eight of them showed signs of containing bits of Stormie.

More details to follow - including our boat trip around the island.

We're away...

Sat 26th July will see the number three team making its way northwards. This year ten of us will be making the journey - four for the first time. Unfortunately some cannot make it this year due to other commitments.
It's a bit too early to check the weather but there have already been reports of mozzies having a good year - so its time to get the' jungle formula' in!
On this visit we are planning to again take as many wing and weight measurements as possibly and have another go at ageing individuals in the dark. We also plan to take faecal swabs as part of our collaborative study with the University of Liverpool Veterinary School (this will tell us both what they have been eating as well as if they carry any diseases of note). Additionally we are going to collect as many skua pellets as possible in an attempt to determine whether they are making a meal of night-time catching of Storm Petrels as has been reported elsewhere.
The days are counting down......

Possibly the last records from Team 3 for this session

2608596 ringed ENR 31.07.2006
controlled Flamborough Head 04.07.2007 333days 558km 153d

260526_ ringed Lunga, Treshnish Isles, Strathclyde 25.06.2006
controlled ENR 30.07.2006 35days 262km 29d

POL N03460 ringed Ponta de Almadena, Algarve PORTUGAL 08.06.2007
Controlled ENR 22.07.2007 44days 2409km 8d
(wing 122mm, weight 26.1g, time 2330hrs)

Some more recoveries (Team 3)

The following birds are from the 2006 season, all caught on ENR on 31st July 2006.

2497258 // ringed ENR 18.07.1997 //3300days

2E08921 // ringed Revekaien, Klepp, NORWAY 07.08.2003
1089days 569km 268degrees
also retrapped ENR 16.07.2005

E548403 // ringed Rauna, Farsund, NORWAY 12.08.2004
718days, 645km, 275degrees

2504602 // ringed Harrington, Cumbria 28.06.2005
398days 442km 355degrees

The following birds are from the 2007 season.
Caught on ENR on 22nd July.

2404545 // ringed ENR 18.07.1997 (3656days)
2489224 // ringed Faraid Head, Highland Region 17.08.1997 (3626days)
2522701 // ringed ENR 25.07.1998 (3284days)

Caught on ENR 24th July.

2497453 // ringed ENR 19.07.1997 (3657 days)
2519074 // ringed ENR 25.07.1998 (3286days)
2523191 // ringed ENR 26.07.1998 (3285days)
2523049 // ringed ENR 27.07.1998 (3284days)