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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. AN INCREDIBLE DIPPER STORY: 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. Back to index of EURING Newsletter Volume 2
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