From the point of view of natural history research, this rather poor photograph was a stroke of luck.
At the end of last month I did a slide presentation and talk at the excellent Castle Espie Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre, near Comber, and this photograph of a cormorant, taken in May 2007 on Islandmore, caught the eye of the National Trust’s Hugh Thurgate. I must admit I hadn’t noticed when I took the photograph, but this particular bird had been ringed, and Hugh told me that if I could zoom in on the inscription there was a fair chance he could tell me when and where.
When I got back to the island I had a closer look, and to cut a long story short, Hugh’s detective work and the partly obscured inscription “ABL” or “ADL”, led to the discovery that, subject to confirmation from further research, this cormorant is likely to have been ringed as part of a managed program by Davey Andrews, with whom Hugh worked for some years, on Bird Island, Strangford Lough, in June or July 1989.
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I love that publication of The Blue Cabin, and these promotioanal events, continue to throw up new anecdotes and information. Several people have approached me after talks with stories about my father and the island, which particularly pleases me – stories I would never have heard otherwise.
At the end of last month I did a slide presentation and talk at the excellent Castle Espie Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre, near Comber, and this photograph of a cormorant, taken in May 2007 on Islandmore, caught the eye of the National Trust’s Hugh Thurgate. I must admit I hadn’t noticed when I took the photograph, but this particular bird had been ringed, and Hugh told me that if I could zoom in on the inscription there was a fair chance he could tell me when and where.
When I got back to the island I had a closer look, and to cut a long story short, Hugh’s detective work and the partly obscured inscription “ABL” or “ADL”, led to the discovery that, subject to confirmation from further research, this cormorant is likely to have been ringed as part of a managed program by Davey Andrews, with whom Hugh worked for some years, on Bird Island, Strangford Lough, in June or July 1989.
.jpg)
I love that publication of The Blue Cabin, and these promotioanal events, continue to throw up new anecdotes and information. Several people have approached me after talks with stories about my father and the island, which particularly pleases me – stories I would never have heard otherwise.
