Andarríos grande, 963 km en 26 horas y 30 minutos

Andarríos grandes, uno de ellos con anillas de colores

Maite Garrigós Gabilondo y el que esto escribe vimos y fotografiamos el 24 agosto de 2021 un par de Andarríos grandes (Tringa ochropus) en el Humedal de Las Llamas, municipio de Santander (Cantabria). Tomé varias fotografías entre las 18:26 y las 18:28.

Detalle del ave con las anillas

Una de las aves tenía anillas de colores en las tibias. Una de color amarillo en la pata izquierda y dos anillas en la derecha, una roja y otra blanca. En la página web European Colour-Ring Birding encontré la dirección del responsable del anillamiento y le escribí el mismo día de la observación. Al día siguiente me respondió (adjunto más adelante su carta). 

Distancia entre ambas localidades: 963 km

El anillador se llama Barry Trevis y anilló el ave cuando era juvenil el 31 de julio de 2018 en la Reserva Natural Lemsford Springs, de donde es guarda honorario. El ave permaneció en el lugar del anillamiento hasta el 22 de septiembre del mismo año. No se vio al año siguiente, pero volvió a verse en dicha Reserva entre el 4 de julio y el 28 de agosto de 2020. En 2021 fue visto entre el 29 de julio y el 23 de agosto, cuando se observó a las 16:00 horas. Nuestra observación se produjo a las 18:30 horas del día siguiente, lo que implica que en 26 horas y 30 minutos voló desde la localidad inglesa, a 963 kilómetros de distancia en línea recta del punto donde le vimos.

Barry Trevis con un Andarríos grande recién anillado en la Reserva Natural Lemsford Springs

Hola Juan Manuel

That is great. So, as well as the distance the bird has travelled (our first ever to Spain) you may like to know that I last saw the bird at 16:00 (BST) on Monday, 23rd August 2021 here at Lemsford Springs Nature Reserve, Lemsford, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK, of which I am Honorary Warden. Co-ordinates are: 51.48 North, 0.14 West.

Lemsford Springs was established as a watercress farm in 1860 and was taken over as a nature reserve in 1970 and provides a spring-fed, pristine chalk stream habitat. It is only 2.5 hectares in area. The main attraction for the Green Sands are the large populations of Freshwater Shrimp (Gammarus pulex) for them to feed on. Being spring-fed the water never freezes. Because of this accessible food source it has the highest density of the species wintering in Britain (photo attached of the lagoons).

So NV86609 (Colour-rings LBM,LAY;RAR,W) travelled that considerable distance all within some 26 hours. Incredible! It must have gorged itself on shrimps before heading to your site.

I will follow-up with a more detailed ringing and re-sighting 'history' of the bird but just to say the bird was ringed as a juvenile on 31 July 2018 and stayed until 22 September 2018. It was not seen in 2019 but turned-up on 4 July 2020 and stayed until 28 August 2020. This year it showed up on 29 July and seen on the Reserve on 13 days until last seen on 23 August.

The colour-ringing of Green Sands at Lemsford Springs has been ongoing since 1983 and is now reputed to be the longest running colour-ringed wader project in Europe. We have produced papers on site-fidelity and feeding biology and documented territorialism We are currently working on a 'movements' paper as we have been satellite tracking certain loyal wintering birds on migration and at their breeding grounds in Scandinavia for which we have data from nine birds so far. This study continues. In addition to your record being our first to Spain, we have only had one other on southward migration, that one found freshly dead in central France.

Thanks again for reporting the bird. I'll be in touch again with the full history.

Best Wishes

Barry