I'm off on travels on Thursday. Hoping for some decent birds and great photographs from a trip to Extremadura (Spain) - some of which I will share with you in May.
When I get back, it will be straight back into work and then the CES ringing season starts.
Recent ringing has seen me at Priory Country Park - a pre CES session producing 27 birds including Dunnock, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit Chaffinch, Blackbird, Chiff Chaff (4) and Blackcap (8). One Blackcap was a male bird first ringed here last year on 20th July.
It has been slow at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve with catches of 8, 7 and 4. The Magpie you will have seen a picture of in a previous post. Otherwise, last weekend (15th) I was hoping for but didn't get the first Whitethroats and Grasshopper Warblers as they were both present on the 16th April last year. The weather has been different this year though and is apparently delaying the arrival of some species.
Other recent news is of a Goldcrest control trapped on 17th Dec at PCP - it was first ringed on 10/09/11, at Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire! 98 days, 221km south.
Nice one!
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Friday, 6 April 2012
Something to Pica pica your interests!
Earlier in the year, one Pica pica got away at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve. Not so this time and this bird is the latest addition to the species ringed list for the site (the 6th added this year so far and the 40th in total).
Above: Magpie (Pica pica).
I can't really remember how it started but I always want to call them Eipgam's or variations thereof. I guess it's my mind working away in a backwards way.
There isn't anything else to report from the ringing totals (low numbers but two retrap Great Spotted Woodpeckers). A check of what else was around produced a sighting of 2 wheatears in the big sheep field.
Above: Magpie (Pica pica).
I can't really remember how it started but I always want to call them Eipgam's or variations thereof. I guess it's my mind working away in a backwards way.
There isn't anything else to report from the ringing totals (low numbers but two retrap Great Spotted Woodpeckers). A check of what else was around produced a sighting of 2 wheatears in the big sheep field.
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Spring Migration
Spring migration for birds in 2012 is definitely underway. The first Chiff Chaff's started appearing 2-3 weeks ago and Blackcaps are moving through. In the last couple of days, Willow Warblers have started arriving (though as yet I haven't ringed this species this year). Large numbers of more species will arrive in the next month and I hope to catch up with Grasshopper Warblers and Whitethroat (at SSNR) before going on holiday towards the end of April.
Above: A Male Blackcap
Above: A female Blackcap - out of 10 ringed at Priory Country Park in the last 2 weekends, only 1 (this one) has been female. Several were carrying fat suggesting they haven't finished their migration yet.
A few Chiff Chaff's have also been trapped, including one ringed at Priory CP last year.
Reed Buntings are not one of the species you would immediately associate with spring, but in March Reed Buntings make their appearance at feeding stations. I first noticed this last year at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve (SSNR) as in March and April this species was caught in the feeding station net rides whilst for the rest of the year they were absent from this area. I have read reports of Reed Buntings found at Garden feeders during this time also. The same occured this year at SSNR and at Priory Country Park (PCP).
Above: This pair of Reed Buntings were ringed at SSNR.
Tonight I recieved confirmation that a Blue Tit (ring no. Y230511) caught at Priory Country Park on 7th Sept 2011 was originally ringed at Willington, Bedfordshire on 3rd July 2011, 66 days earlier, 3km away (west). Originally caught by MT, I may even have attended this ringing session! This isn't a significant movement but it was the first of 3 birds I have now caught with somebody else's ring on. Here's hoping for more!
There's not been a great deal else to report except for a Ringing Demo held at Priory Country Park on the last Sunday of March where we were lucky enough to demo a Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker and the first Blackcap of the year on a foggy morning (it didn't start that way!).
Above: A Male Blackcap
Above: A female Blackcap - out of 10 ringed at Priory Country Park in the last 2 weekends, only 1 (this one) has been female. Several were carrying fat suggesting they haven't finished their migration yet.
A few Chiff Chaff's have also been trapped, including one ringed at Priory CP last year.
Reed Buntings are not one of the species you would immediately associate with spring, but in March Reed Buntings make their appearance at feeding stations. I first noticed this last year at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve (SSNR) as in March and April this species was caught in the feeding station net rides whilst for the rest of the year they were absent from this area. I have read reports of Reed Buntings found at Garden feeders during this time also. The same occured this year at SSNR and at Priory Country Park (PCP).
Above: This pair of Reed Buntings were ringed at SSNR.
Tonight I recieved confirmation that a Blue Tit (ring no. Y230511) caught at Priory Country Park on 7th Sept 2011 was originally ringed at Willington, Bedfordshire on 3rd July 2011, 66 days earlier, 3km away (west). Originally caught by MT, I may even have attended this ringing session! This isn't a significant movement but it was the first of 3 birds I have now caught with somebody else's ring on. Here's hoping for more!
There's not been a great deal else to report except for a Ringing Demo held at Priory Country Park on the last Sunday of March where we were lucky enough to demo a Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker and the first Blackcap of the year on a foggy morning (it didn't start that way!).
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
A rare day!
Ringing at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve this year has been interesting to say the least. Several new species for the site have been ringed (Starling, Brambling, Mistle Thrush). Of these, I am told the Brambling is currently the only known record of this species in Bedfordshire this year so far. Lesser Redpolls have been coming to the feeders, Siskin numbers are way down on last year and the first bird ringed elsewhere (Chaffinch) has been caught at SSNR.
So today I took a day off work and decided to add more chapters to this short story and today's chapter is a rare one!
Numbers wise, it started off slowly and picked up a bit mid morning.
Above: It's always a good day when I catch a Siskin (on the right) or a Lesser Redpoll (on the left) and today these two were in the net at the same time.
For the third time in 3 days, I caught a new species for the site...
Above: A Common (Mealy) Redpoll. All the previous redpoll's I've caught have been of the Lesser variety. If you are unsure on field identification, the easiest way to tell them apart is that Lesser Redpolls are smaller with mostly brown plumage whilst the Common or Mealy Redpoll is larger and mainly grey in colour.
This bird and a Great Tit formed a small and impromtu ringing demonstration to two delighted passers by who took an interest in what I was doing.
After the Common Redpoll, another new species for the site (and for me) was the next bird out of the net and it was a rarity. There are only a handful of birds of this species in the county and are nationally scarce. I have never seen one before and it is a rare day indeed that one is ringed. I am told only 6 have been ringed in Bedfordshire since 1981, the last of which was ringed in 1992 - 20 years ago!
Above: A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
I'd always fancied catching one of these at this site since I started ringing there. The River Flit passes through the site and LSW's have been reported up and downstream and within 5 miles of this site. I was only saying to Amanda on Sunday the very same thing! Funny how things work out sometimes!
Above: Lucky git aren't I?!?
Above: A cheeky photograph with the newly installed interpretation board!
A number of Jays were seen. 2 Woodcock were flushed in Upper Alders (wet woodland), lots of fieldfare about, skylarks were singing, 2 buzzards and 2 Little Owls were seen. One that missed the nets (thankfully) was a Pheasant. One that got away was Sparrowhawk - would have been a site first but it extracted itself about two seconds after I realised something large was in the net!
Totals for the day in order of appearance: New (retrap)
Long Tailed Tit 2 (1)
Blue Tit 0 (4)
Robin 0 (1)
Coal Tit 1 (1)
Goldfinch 3 (0)
Great Tit 2 (1)
Wren 1 (0)
Lesser Redpoll 2 (0)
Siskin 1 (0)
Common Redpoll 1 (0)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 1 (0)
Chaffinch 2 (0)
Great Spotted Woodpecker 0 (1)
25 birds of 13 species - a good variety.
So today I took a day off work and decided to add more chapters to this short story and today's chapter is a rare one!
Numbers wise, it started off slowly and picked up a bit mid morning.
Above: It's always a good day when I catch a Siskin (on the right) or a Lesser Redpoll (on the left) and today these two were in the net at the same time.
For the third time in 3 days, I caught a new species for the site...
Above: A Common (Mealy) Redpoll. All the previous redpoll's I've caught have been of the Lesser variety. If you are unsure on field identification, the easiest way to tell them apart is that Lesser Redpolls are smaller with mostly brown plumage whilst the Common or Mealy Redpoll is larger and mainly grey in colour.
This bird and a Great Tit formed a small and impromtu ringing demonstration to two delighted passers by who took an interest in what I was doing.
After the Common Redpoll, another new species for the site (and for me) was the next bird out of the net and it was a rarity. There are only a handful of birds of this species in the county and are nationally scarce. I have never seen one before and it is a rare day indeed that one is ringed. I am told only 6 have been ringed in Bedfordshire since 1981, the last of which was ringed in 1992 - 20 years ago!
Above: A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
I'd always fancied catching one of these at this site since I started ringing there. The River Flit passes through the site and LSW's have been reported up and downstream and within 5 miles of this site. I was only saying to Amanda on Sunday the very same thing! Funny how things work out sometimes!
Above: Lucky git aren't I?!?
Above: A cheeky photograph with the newly installed interpretation board!
A number of Jays were seen. 2 Woodcock were flushed in Upper Alders (wet woodland), lots of fieldfare about, skylarks were singing, 2 buzzards and 2 Little Owls were seen. One that missed the nets (thankfully) was a Pheasant. One that got away was Sparrowhawk - would have been a site first but it extracted itself about two seconds after I realised something large was in the net!
Totals for the day in order of appearance: New (retrap)
Long Tailed Tit 2 (1)
Blue Tit 0 (4)
Robin 0 (1)
Coal Tit 1 (1)
Goldfinch 3 (0)
Great Tit 2 (1)
Wren 1 (0)
Lesser Redpoll 2 (0)
Siskin 1 (0)
Common Redpoll 1 (0)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 1 (0)
Chaffinch 2 (0)
Great Spotted Woodpecker 0 (1)
25 birds of 13 species - a good variety.
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Turdus viscivorus
Today I met Amanda at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve (SSNR). The first bird of the day was a Chaffinch. It turns out this Chaffinch was ringed somewhere other than SSNR and by somebody else other than me.
This is the first time I've caught somebody else's bird at SSNR and I'll be very interested to hear where it came from (it did have a British ring on it).
A rare Coal Tit and Greenfinch were good to get. Before Amanda left, she helped me put a net up in a new location decided upon by observations (both on the day and previous).
After Amanda left, I caught a site ringing first - Starling. Presumably coming to the peanuts, this bird was caught in my normal netting area.
Above: Starling
It was late lunchtime by now and I wanted to be back home by 3pm to see the Carling Cup final coverage. So, after ringing the Starling, I took down the usual nets and went to the new net site. It had caught something...
Above: Mistle Thrush - Turdus viscivorus
Another site first and a ringing 'tick' for me (my 4th self caught tick - all of which have been at SSNR). I couldn't have done it without help so thanks go to Amanda.
All in all, I was very pleased with the day's efforts and it was topped off by Liverpool winning the football.
Today's totals:
Chaffinch 4 (0) and 1 control
Dunnock 1 (3)
Great Tit 1 (4)
Coal Tit 1 (0)
Greenfinch 1 (4)
Blue Tit 2 (0)
Goldfinch 4 (1)
Starling 1 (0)
Mistle Thrush 1 (0)
25 birds of 9 species.
Yesterday, I was at Priory Country Park. On the non-bird front, I saw a Stoat! On the bird front, in order of appearance, ringing stoatals were: New (Retrap)
Blue Tit 9 (9)
Long Tailed Tit 0 (4)
Dunnock 1 (4)
Blackbird 1 (0)
Song Thrush 1 (0)
Bullfinch 2 (2)
Great Tit 11 (8)
Wren 0 (1)
53 birds of 8 species.
This is the first time I've caught somebody else's bird at SSNR and I'll be very interested to hear where it came from (it did have a British ring on it).
A rare Coal Tit and Greenfinch were good to get. Before Amanda left, she helped me put a net up in a new location decided upon by observations (both on the day and previous).
After Amanda left, I caught a site ringing first - Starling. Presumably coming to the peanuts, this bird was caught in my normal netting area.
Above: Starling
It was late lunchtime by now and I wanted to be back home by 3pm to see the Carling Cup final coverage. So, after ringing the Starling, I took down the usual nets and went to the new net site. It had caught something...
Above: Mistle Thrush - Turdus viscivorus
Another site first and a ringing 'tick' for me (my 4th self caught tick - all of which have been at SSNR). I couldn't have done it without help so thanks go to Amanda.
All in all, I was very pleased with the day's efforts and it was topped off by Liverpool winning the football.
Today's totals:
Chaffinch 4 (0) and 1 control
Dunnock 1 (3)
Great Tit 1 (4)
Coal Tit 1 (0)
Greenfinch 1 (4)
Blue Tit 2 (0)
Goldfinch 4 (1)
Starling 1 (0)
Mistle Thrush 1 (0)
25 birds of 9 species.
Yesterday, I was at Priory Country Park. On the non-bird front, I saw a Stoat! On the bird front, in order of appearance, ringing stoatals were: New (Retrap)
Blue Tit 9 (9)
Long Tailed Tit 0 (4)
Dunnock 1 (4)
Blackbird 1 (0)
Song Thrush 1 (0)
Bullfinch 2 (2)
Great Tit 11 (8)
Wren 0 (1)
53 birds of 8 species.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Bramble Jammy
This weekend I've been ringing at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve. There has been, as has been typical of this winter, a lack of birds coming to the feeders. However, this weekend a lack of quantity was made up for in quality (at least in my humble opinion).
Above: One of 5 Lesser Redpoll's ringed (previous site total = 2). Unfortunately, I saw a few more Redpoll's 'bounce' but I can't complain. 1 Siskin also ringed (the Siskin flock is smaller c. 150 at best this year than last c.300 at best, and still proving difficult to catch).
At 11.10am this morning I got jammy.
Above: A Brambling - a first for SSNR and my first self caught Brambling. A complete surprise as I hadn't even seen them on site before. It came to the feeders (so there is hope of catching more). Not many Bramblings have ever been ringed in Bedfordshire so I can count myself lucky.
What I didn't post earlier:
On Boxing day at my Dad's house, I caught a Blue Tit with an abnormally long beak. This kind of thing does happen, and when it does, one of the mandibles is usually longer than the other and/or misshapen. This one however was well formed and both mandibles were of equal length.
Above: The mandible of the Blue Tit on the left was 14mm compared to a more normal length of 8mm for the Blue Tit on the right.
On the 5th October last year, I added another species to my ringed list. Mute Swan at Priory Country Park. I include this so you can have a laugh at the photo below. It really wasn't as painful for me (or the bird) as the picture makes it look...
Above: One of 5 Lesser Redpoll's ringed (previous site total = 2). Unfortunately, I saw a few more Redpoll's 'bounce' but I can't complain. 1 Siskin also ringed (the Siskin flock is smaller c. 150 at best this year than last c.300 at best, and still proving difficult to catch).
At 11.10am this morning I got jammy.
Above: A Brambling - a first for SSNR and my first self caught Brambling. A complete surprise as I hadn't even seen them on site before. It came to the feeders (so there is hope of catching more). Not many Bramblings have ever been ringed in Bedfordshire so I can count myself lucky.
What I didn't post earlier:
On Boxing day at my Dad's house, I caught a Blue Tit with an abnormally long beak. This kind of thing does happen, and when it does, one of the mandibles is usually longer than the other and/or misshapen. This one however was well formed and both mandibles were of equal length.
Above: The mandible of the Blue Tit on the left was 14mm compared to a more normal length of 8mm for the Blue Tit on the right.
On the 5th October last year, I added another species to my ringed list. Mute Swan at Priory Country Park. I include this so you can have a laugh at the photo below. It really wasn't as painful for me (or the bird) as the picture makes it look...
Bird Jigsaws
I've been keeping quiet of late for various reasons, though there hasn't been a great deal to report. I hadn't done any jigsaws in a while but managed this one over xmas of Kingfishers:
And this Wentworth jigsaw (with whimsies) of a Great Tit.
And this Wentworth jigsaw (with whimsies) of a Great Tit.
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Just another days ringing...
David Howes & I went to Sandy Smith Nature Reserve yesterday (03/09/11) with the main aim of ringing Blackcaps (there are lots on passage at the moment) and to try something new.
I wasn't sure it was going to work, but nothing ventured nothing gained.
Having seen before how to catch Meadow Pipits and having bought new nets especially (nets of the same lenght being a requirement for this to work) I sussed out where best to put the nets the night before. It was time to test my skills.
The wind wasn't a problem when we arrived so we set about erecting nets, however the ground was very hard and it was proving difficult to put the guy poles in the ground. We found a brick and ended up bashing them in (even that was difficult!).
My ringing license permits me to use tape lures, so on went the tape and the wait started. Were there any Meadow Pipits about we wondered?
More waiting.
We went back to my car for something and on our return, hey presto - Meadow Pipits arriving, landing on the top of the net, on top of the poles and on the guy ropes! One mad dash later and..
Above: One of 3 Meadow Pipits ringed - new to my self caught list and new species ringed for the site.
With there being a lack of Meadow Pipits coming back after the first round, we put nets up elsewhere - a 30ft in amongst some plum trees (this net caught nothing but leaves and twigs!) and a 60ft in some ash regeneration near the wood with all the plum trees.
These nets weren't doing particularly well either to begin with, and going back to the Meadow Pipits, there were none so having passed the skills test it was time to concentrate on Blackcaps.
Wren - and that was it for that net round! However whilst David was extracting the Wren (that's what helpers are for after all!), my attention was drawn to an area dripping with birds (Goldfinch, Green Woodpeckers, different varieties of Tits and a species that I couldn't quite see properly to clinch the ID though I had a good idea). Wren extracted and we both looked and said - we can get a net in there between the teasels and the trees (Plum, Elder, Hawthorn etc.), so we erected a 60ft and 30ft jap net in a dog leg around the corner where all these birds were - the emphasis on were because they disappeared when we went to put the nets up!
So we left the nets alone to see what was happening. 15 minutes later and I went for a sneak peek - a few birds were in the 60ft in the ash regeneration. A net with a bird in is never bad news. A Marsh Tit was seen hanging around nearby too. Another 15 minutes later and we went back to find nearly 20 birds in that net! Mostly Blackcap, a couple of Chiff Chaffs, a Robin, a Whitethroat.
Extraction began - half way through my attention was drawn to a Green Woodpecker noisily flying out from the teasels, staying low, towards the net. Still low enough, still towards the net - RUN! I wasn't going to give this a chance to get out of the net. Approaching 2 more were already in the net!
Above: 2 Green Woodpeckers - a new species ringed for the site. Sadly, one got out of the net before I could get to it. I shall remember for the future now I know where to go to catch them! There are lots on site.
This was turning out to be a great day. A couple of Goldfinch, another Blackcap, a Long Tailed Tit and one other bird made these 2 extra nets productive.
David ringed most of the birds - I just took a Green Woodpecker and one or two others to keep me happy whilst I scribed. However the last bird from the round was for me:
Above: A juvenile Spotted Flycatcher! This is only the second species I have never ringed before and caught myself (the first being Grasshopper Warbler). Needless to say, the 3rd species new for the site on this really really great day!
Above: The Spotted Flycatcher from the front.
Having now cleared the area of the majority of birds, we were left with a few Wrens to punctuate the waiting.
We gave up eventually at around 1.30pm. Gathering up all the equipment we were walking back to the cars when my eyes caught sight of a bird that appeared to come out of a rabbit hole! This rabbit hole was in the hollow dug out by The Greensand Trust to create a bee habitat (the geology is greensand & therefore the ground is very sandy). We got the binoculars out and identified the bird but could we turn this ordinary day (ha ha) into a spectacular day?
After making sure it wasn't going to be a waste of time, a net was hastily erected and 5 minutes later (that included a bit of jumping for joy) I was ringing this:
Above: The birds 'armpit' feathers.
Above: The birds tail.
Above: I'm ring the bird. Know what it is yet?
Above: It's a Wheatear. It was carrying some fat - a bird on passage. There aren't many birds of this species that have been ringed in Bedfordshire.
Above: A happy very chappy. My 3rd self caught ringing tick, hot on the heels of number two! And the 4th new species ringed for the site in one day. A spectacular day complete.
Above: This post however, wouldn't be complete without a picture of David. Thanks for helping and I couldn't have done it without you. A learning experience for both of us.
I wasn't sure it was going to work, but nothing ventured nothing gained.
Having seen before how to catch Meadow Pipits and having bought new nets especially (nets of the same lenght being a requirement for this to work) I sussed out where best to put the nets the night before. It was time to test my skills.
The wind wasn't a problem when we arrived so we set about erecting nets, however the ground was very hard and it was proving difficult to put the guy poles in the ground. We found a brick and ended up bashing them in (even that was difficult!).
My ringing license permits me to use tape lures, so on went the tape and the wait started. Were there any Meadow Pipits about we wondered?
More waiting.
We went back to my car for something and on our return, hey presto - Meadow Pipits arriving, landing on the top of the net, on top of the poles and on the guy ropes! One mad dash later and..
Above: One of 3 Meadow Pipits ringed - new to my self caught list and new species ringed for the site.
With there being a lack of Meadow Pipits coming back after the first round, we put nets up elsewhere - a 30ft in amongst some plum trees (this net caught nothing but leaves and twigs!) and a 60ft in some ash regeneration near the wood with all the plum trees.
These nets weren't doing particularly well either to begin with, and going back to the Meadow Pipits, there were none so having passed the skills test it was time to concentrate on Blackcaps.
Wren - and that was it for that net round! However whilst David was extracting the Wren (that's what helpers are for after all!), my attention was drawn to an area dripping with birds (Goldfinch, Green Woodpeckers, different varieties of Tits and a species that I couldn't quite see properly to clinch the ID though I had a good idea). Wren extracted and we both looked and said - we can get a net in there between the teasels and the trees (Plum, Elder, Hawthorn etc.), so we erected a 60ft and 30ft jap net in a dog leg around the corner where all these birds were - the emphasis on were because they disappeared when we went to put the nets up!
So we left the nets alone to see what was happening. 15 minutes later and I went for a sneak peek - a few birds were in the 60ft in the ash regeneration. A net with a bird in is never bad news. A Marsh Tit was seen hanging around nearby too. Another 15 minutes later and we went back to find nearly 20 birds in that net! Mostly Blackcap, a couple of Chiff Chaffs, a Robin, a Whitethroat.
Extraction began - half way through my attention was drawn to a Green Woodpecker noisily flying out from the teasels, staying low, towards the net. Still low enough, still towards the net - RUN! I wasn't going to give this a chance to get out of the net. Approaching 2 more were already in the net!
Above: 2 Green Woodpeckers - a new species ringed for the site. Sadly, one got out of the net before I could get to it. I shall remember for the future now I know where to go to catch them! There are lots on site.
This was turning out to be a great day. A couple of Goldfinch, another Blackcap, a Long Tailed Tit and one other bird made these 2 extra nets productive.
David ringed most of the birds - I just took a Green Woodpecker and one or two others to keep me happy whilst I scribed. However the last bird from the round was for me:
Above: A juvenile Spotted Flycatcher! This is only the second species I have never ringed before and caught myself (the first being Grasshopper Warbler). Needless to say, the 3rd species new for the site on this really really great day!
Above: The Spotted Flycatcher from the front.
Having now cleared the area of the majority of birds, we were left with a few Wrens to punctuate the waiting.
We gave up eventually at around 1.30pm. Gathering up all the equipment we were walking back to the cars when my eyes caught sight of a bird that appeared to come out of a rabbit hole! This rabbit hole was in the hollow dug out by The Greensand Trust to create a bee habitat (the geology is greensand & therefore the ground is very sandy). We got the binoculars out and identified the bird but could we turn this ordinary day (ha ha) into a spectacular day?
After making sure it wasn't going to be a waste of time, a net was hastily erected and 5 minutes later (that included a bit of jumping for joy) I was ringing this:
Above: The birds 'armpit' feathers.
Above: The birds tail.
Above: I'm ring the bird. Know what it is yet?
Above: It's a Wheatear. It was carrying some fat - a bird on passage. There aren't many birds of this species that have been ringed in Bedfordshire.
Above: A happy very chappy. My 3rd self caught ringing tick, hot on the heels of number two! And the 4th new species ringed for the site in one day. A spectacular day complete.
Above: This post however, wouldn't be complete without a picture of David. Thanks for helping and I couldn't have done it without you. A learning experience for both of us.
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Priory Country Park - Of late
The Constant Effort season is over at Priory Country Park. All 12 visits were completed (including the odd extra visit). I haven't posted CES totals for a while and on this occasion, for my ease, I'm going to lump visits 8-12 all into one (including non-CES birds/sessions).
238 new birds, 57 retraps (in brackets) of 23 species:
Wren 8 (1)
Dunnock 6 (6)
Robin 6 (7)
Blackbird 10 (8)
Song Thrush 8 (1)
Sedge Warbler 1 (0)
Reed Warbler 24 (1)
Whitethroat 25 (6)
Lesser Whitethroat 2 (0)
Garden Warbler 19 (2)
Blackcap 91 (8)
Chiff Chaff 2 (3)
Willow Warbler 2 (1)
Blue Tit 8 (5)
Great Tit 6 (3)
Long Tailed Tit 0 (1)
Chaffinch 3 (0)
Goldfinch 10 (0)
Greenfinch 1 (0)
Bullfinch 4 (3)
Treecreeper 0 (1)
Sparrowhawk 1 (0)
Wood Pigeon 1 (0)
We'll start with the standout total for Blackcap. This site has always been good for Blackcaps - more Blackcaps have been ringed than just about all other species in the park. The total above includes birds caught outside the CES. On Saturday 27th August I caught 26 Blackcaps (the majority new and the majority male). These birds must have moved on and another lot moved in as by the following Wednesday (31st August) I caught 30 Blackcaps (only one retrap from the weekend and only because it's from a late brood & not ready to go yet).
I call on all ringers north of Bedfordshire to get a move on and ring some Blackcaps! Out of all the Blackcaps I've ringed here in the last week or two, none have been ringed other than on site. You can increase my chances of catching one of your birds!
Above: Female Blackcap
Above: Male Blackcap
Above: This bag contains a big living ball of feathers (see below)!
Above: A Wood Pigeon (the big ball of feathers).
Above: A Lesser Whitethroat. This bird represents one of two ringed on 27th August. This species used to be more regular in the park but there have been very few records this year. I assume therefore that these two birds (juveniles) were migrating through the park (we would likely have caught the adults & juveniles earlier if they had bred).
Above: Normally seen in the skys above & normally too good at airobatics to be caught. This juvenile Sparrowhawk is obviously still learning then!
238 new birds, 57 retraps (in brackets) of 23 species:
Wren 8 (1)
Dunnock 6 (6)
Robin 6 (7)
Blackbird 10 (8)
Song Thrush 8 (1)
Sedge Warbler 1 (0)
Reed Warbler 24 (1)
Whitethroat 25 (6)
Lesser Whitethroat 2 (0)
Garden Warbler 19 (2)
Blackcap 91 (8)
Chiff Chaff 2 (3)
Willow Warbler 2 (1)
Blue Tit 8 (5)
Great Tit 6 (3)
Long Tailed Tit 0 (1)
Chaffinch 3 (0)
Goldfinch 10 (0)
Greenfinch 1 (0)
Bullfinch 4 (3)
Treecreeper 0 (1)
Sparrowhawk 1 (0)
Wood Pigeon 1 (0)
We'll start with the standout total for Blackcap. This site has always been good for Blackcaps - more Blackcaps have been ringed than just about all other species in the park. The total above includes birds caught outside the CES. On Saturday 27th August I caught 26 Blackcaps (the majority new and the majority male). These birds must have moved on and another lot moved in as by the following Wednesday (31st August) I caught 30 Blackcaps (only one retrap from the weekend and only because it's from a late brood & not ready to go yet).
I call on all ringers north of Bedfordshire to get a move on and ring some Blackcaps! Out of all the Blackcaps I've ringed here in the last week or two, none have been ringed other than on site. You can increase my chances of catching one of your birds!
Above: Female Blackcap
Above: Male Blackcap
Above: This bag contains a big living ball of feathers (see below)!
Above: A Wood Pigeon (the big ball of feathers).
Above: A Lesser Whitethroat. This bird represents one of two ringed on 27th August. This species used to be more regular in the park but there have been very few records this year. I assume therefore that these two birds (juveniles) were migrating through the park (we would likely have caught the adults & juveniles earlier if they had bred).
Above: Normally seen in the skys above & normally too good at airobatics to be caught. This juvenile Sparrowhawk is obviously still learning then!
Sandy Smith Nature Reserve - Of late
It's been a while since my last post. That's because I've been having an interesting time ringing at every opportunity I get. It's left me too knackered to organise myself to count up totals and edit photographs. I've also been up & down from East Yorks helping build a Heligoland Trap.
Ringing at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve between my last post and the end of August. 160 new birds and 80 retraps of 20 species (retraps in brackets):
Kingfisher 1 (0)
Wren 11 (2)
Dunnock 9 (7)
Robin 3 (0)
Blackbird 4 (1)
Grasshopper Warbler 0 (1)
Sedge Warbler 4 (0)
Reed Warbler 1 (0)
Whitethroat 36 (9)
Garden Warbler 2 (0)
Blackcap 22 (1)
Chiff Chaff 3 (0)
Willow Warbler 3 (0)
Coal Tit 1 (0)
Blue Tit 20 (23)
Great Tit 22 (36)
Chaffinch 3 (0)
Goldfinch 13 (0)
Bullfinch 1 (0)
Treecreeper 1 (0)
The Reed Warbler (on passage with a good fat score & not a resident) represents a new species on the 'ringed' list for the site as does Bullfinch and Treecreeper.
Above: Reed Warbler caught whilst on passage.
Above: A male Bullfinch.
Above: A Treecreeper
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