Welcome back to another blog post. In this post we will tell you why we visited two islands in two days. After re-reading the title 'two islands.. two days', it doesn't sound that crazy but I can tell you, it was a busy and tiring few days.
 |
| A lovely photo Paul B took of Herring Gull chicks |
As we have mentioned before, one exciting aspect of the MarPAMM work is to deploy telemetry equipment on several seabird species. Tagging and tracking technologies such as GPS data loggers, geo-locators, time-depth recorders and GSM phone tags, providing important information about the spatial ecology of many seabird species. This information can reveal feeding areas, overlaps with offshore development and areas where seabirds are at greatest risk of interacting with fisheries.
At the moment we are concentrating on gulls! We plan to fit solar charging GSM/GPS tags onto Great-Black Backed Gulls, Lesser-Black Backed Gulls and Herring Gulls. GSM/GPS tags focuses on two principal technologies: global systems for mobile communication (used to send and collect data) and global positioning systems (receives information about a location from satellites). Tags with solar panels means we can leave them on the gull for up to 3 years (hopefully!!!). This allows us to gather tracks and movements of individuals throughout the breeding season as well as the winter, giving us an amazing insight into the spatial ecology of these birds. Furthermore, this data will feed directly into the management plans being developed by the MarPAMM project.
 |
| GSM/GPS tags charging in the sun |
So, to tag gulls, we need to find gulls. We wanted uninhabited islands that have a good mix of gull species and plenty of them. Inishmurray and Inishtrahull are our selected study sites as they meet this criteria. The main reason for our visits to Inishmurray and Inishtrahull was to check the phenology of the gulls. We wanted to see what stages the gulls were at in regards to their breeding season. Were they building nests? Have they laid eggs? or maybe have their chicks started to hatch? The reason this information is important to us, in regards to putting on tags, is because adult gulls are easier to catch when they are incubating their eggs. If their chicks have hatched, different catching methods will need to be used.
On our visit to Inishmurray and Inishtrahull, we discovered the gulls have already laid their eggs with some nests in fact having chicks in the process of hatching if not already hatched. Now that we know what stages the gulls are at, we can plan our trip out to these islands next week where we will start to deploy the tags.
 |
| Eggs of LBBG on Inishtrahull and GBBG chicks on Inishmurray |
We do feel very privileged getting to go out to these islands with permission from NPWS. Inishmurray is an early Christian site and now a wildlife sanctuary, being a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the E.U. Birds Directive. It was a secluded retreat for St Molaise who founded a monastery there in the 6th Century. The last of the islanders moved to the mainland in 1957 and today Inishmurray is of national importance for both breeding and wintering birds. Inishtrahull is also an SPA and is situated approximately 12.5 km north-east of Malin Head, Co, Donegal, making it Ireland's most northerly point.
 |
| The cashel on Inishmurray |
We will tell and show you more of the islands when we head back out to them. So, visit our blog posts again to find out how we get on tagging the gulls.
Until next time,
The Paul's
Comments
Post a Comment