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EURING Newsletter - Volume 2, December
1998
PECULIAR RECOVERIES
All those involved with ringing know that birds can be recovered
in the most incredible situations; some of these odd circumstances
are just funny, others offer very interesting insights into unusual
bird behaviours.
This new section will offer an opportunity to report peculiar situations,
like the two cases offered here by Lukas Jenni from Sempach and
Gerrit Speek from Heteren.
All schemes are kindly requested to contribute with their ‘special
cases’ to this section for the future issues of the newsletter.
AN INCREDIBLE DIPPER STORY:
NESTLING DIPPER CINCLUS CINCLUS AQUATICUS FROM
SWITZERLAND MOVES 1055 KM TO POLAND AND BREEDS
WITH A SWEDISH DIPPER C. C. CINCLUS
During a long-term Dipper study in Switzerland, over 1000 nestlings
and 250 adults were ringed by Dr. Johann Hegelbach and co-workers,
Zoological Museum, University of Zurich. One nestling whose parents
were also ringed, was ringed near Langnau, Switzerland on 2 June
1992 (S 109854). It was recaught on 19 October 1992, determined
as a male, colour ringed and observed overwintering in the area
until 15 March 1993. Almost 8 months later, on 5 November 1993,
this bird was caught by Arkadiusz Sikora at Goscicino near Gdansk,
Poland and overwintered there. On 5 December 1993, the Polish colleagues
controlled a female Dipper 6 km from Goscicino with a Stockholm
ring (4358137), ringed as a nestling in Ossjon, Central Sweden on
1 June 1993. This bird was caught again at Goscicino on 24 February
1994, with the Swiss male present. On 10 and 18 March, they built
a nest, but nestbuilding was stopped on 25 March. However, they
built another nest on 4 April which contained 3 eggs on 24 April
and 2?3 nestlings on 15 May.
The Swiss male spent the winter 1994/95 again in Poland and was
last controlled on 29 March 1995, 31 October and 15 November 1995.
The Swedish female, however, was caught near Stockholm on 9 November
1994, roosting in a nest box. It reappeared in Poland on 30 November
and was controlled there on 15 February 1995. Apparently, this female
went back to Sweden after breeding, but regained Poland for the
winter.
The Swiss male of the subspecies aquaticus moved over the longest
distance known for Dippers, crossed an area free of Dippers across
Poland, established itself in the area of the subspecies cinclus,
became part of the exceptional breeders in northern Poland, mated
a bird of the other subspecies and bred successfully.
See Hegelbach and Koch (1994), Ornithol. Beob. 91: 295-299,
and Sikora (1994), Notatki Orn. 35: 182-185, supplemented
by additional records of the Sempach ringing scheme, checked by
Roland Staav, Stockholm, assembled and communicated by Lukas Jenni.
MUTE SWAN MIGRATING TOWARDS THE
SUN
An urgent fax arrived at the Vogeltrekstation Arnhem on 29 January
1997: a Mute Swan with a Dutch ring, 139N139N, had been found on
Gran Canaria, Bahia Arguineguin (28.00 N 15.30 W). The bird had
been ringed on 5 August 1995 as a female cygnet near Groningen,
in the north of Holland (53.12 N 06.33 E). The distance that the
bird had travelled - 3350 km - is exceptional for a species that
usually stays in Holland all year around.
The local Authorities in the Canaries had found the bird in the
pond of a hotel and the hotel manager showed them the bill from
the local pet shop! The bird had been sighted twice in December
1995 in the Netherlands, so the bird had certainly fledged there.
This suggests that it was caught illegally during the moult in the
summer of 1996. Surprisingly, the bird's kidnappers hadn't thought
to remove the ring. Our Spanish colleagues made an enormous effort
to send the bird back to Holland with all the necessary documents
(veterinay, customs declaration etc.) because the local habitat
(cacti and salt water) is not ideal for Mute Swans. So on 15 June
1997 the Swan arrived at Schiphol airport, perfectly housed in a
dog kennel. The ringer (J. Beekman) released it the next day at
Lauwersmeer, accompanied by reporters and photograhers from the
newspapers.
Vogeltrekstation Arnhem Holland.
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Volume 2
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