A year ago to the day...

... I was ringing at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve and caught 51 birds of 11 species. The standout birds were a single Jackdaw and 16 new Whitethroats.

Today (7th July 2014), I set about putting the same nets up in the same places (something I do almost every time I'm there). Today I ended up with 59 birds of 14 species as follows (retraps in brackets):

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 (1)
Wren 4 (1)
Dunnock 2 (2)
Robin 1 (0)
Sedge Warbler 1 (0)
Whitethroat 1 (0)
Blackcap 9 (1)
Chiff 1 (0)
Goldcrest 1 (0)
Coal Tit 1 (0)
Blue Tit 2 (0)
Great Tit 7 (21)
Jackdaw 1 (0)
Chaffinch 1 (0)

The highlight one year later was, again, a Jackdaw - the last one I ringed was exactly a year ago today. Funny how things work out!

Above: An adult Jackdaw

Lacking in numbers so far this year (and today), at SSNR, are juvenile Whitethroats. Given the weather conditions have largely been good and food prey species numerous, I can only think that either I've missed them (they're around but just not today) or more likely the heavy rain in May didn't help the breeding success for first broods. The latter may also explain why there is a lack of juvenile Blue Tits around at the moment too as, for the first time at SSNR, Great Tits are far outnumbering Blue Tits. I did, however, catch a Coal Tit today...

Above: A juvenile Coal Tit (one of my favourite birds)

and a ...

Above: A juvenile Goldcrest

Of course, the point of ringing on this day exactly a year later, was because it is the anniversary of the passing of my dad. I wanted time to remember that day and to remember him and give myself some time to grieve a bit. It was a nice day, I got what I wanted and I was pleased with the Jackdaw (truth be told I was hoping to catch one today).

The sale of his house is almost complete. Contracts are exchanged and Thursday 10th July is down as completion day. On Saturday, I took my last things from his house, which included this poem from my childhood:

My Dog

I've got a dog as thin as a rail,

He's got fleas all over his tail;

Every time his tail goes flop,

The fleas at the bottom all jump to the top!

I can't tell you whether I came up with it myself or just copied it, but there's a dodgy drawing of a fat (not thin), out of proportion, dog with fleas jumping around the tail!

Yesterday was the Constant Effort Site ringing at Priory Country Park. Overall numbers seem to be picking up & are certainly better than last year. A new Green Woodpecker (my favourite) was a welcome addition and the oddities came in the form of 2 juvenile Magpies (a species not often caught in mist nets here).

Above: A juvenile Magpie

Finally, I had a bit of a red letter day last week at SSNR (1st July) when I caught 3 Jays. It's unusual to catch Jays here (2 singles have been ringed previously) but I think it may become more common as the surrounding vegetation & young alders become more mature. They may also be taking advantage of my feeding routine. I think I'll let them, don't you?!?

Above: A juvenile Jay. The fluffyness of the underparts being the giveaway to ageing this bird.

All the other Jays now ringed here (4 others) were all adults. The ringing tally was 71 birds ringed of 12 species. This included the first juvenile Reed Bunting to be ringed on site.

Now that the sale of my dad's house is completing, and everything is moved, I am hopeful of having more time to update this blog. Sorry if you've been checking it to find no updates. It's been a long hard slog this year and I now hope to turn my efforts into happier endeavours. But without doubt, that will include more ringing!

Blue Tit alley

You think to yourself as you watch those birds come to your feeders, well there's at least 6 blue tits (as that's how many you've seen at the same time), but probably not many more.

At least that's what my dad used to believe! I've now shown him that there are at least 61 blue tits visiting the feeders in his garden! My cold fingers took a right hammering. Especially today as 27 of 36 birds caught and ringed (including 2 retraps) were blue tits!

Totals were as follows (from 24/12/09 to 03/1/10): new (retraps)

Blue Tit 61 (2)
Dunnock 5 (1)
Robin 3
Goldfinch 7
Starling 1
Coal Tit 6
Blackbird 5
Great Tit 5
Chaffinch 3
House Sparrow 1
Greenfinch 3

Total 100 new & 3 retraps of 11 species.

One that left without a ring: Redwing (could have been 12 species). I wasn't happy as that is going to be a hard one to get again! It was a first for the location.

I was happy though that I hit 100 birds ringed over the festive period. Today I had higher numbers than on other occasions, but not so much variety. I now look forward to handing out jewellry to Bedfordshire birds after I have collected my Ivel Ringing Group rings.

Boxing clever

I changed, slightly, where I put the net today in an attempt to make the net less visible. The problem being, my Dad's house (in the Cotswolds) is the only house in the village that is brick (all the others are cotswold stone). When it was built they must have sneaked it past the planners (or at least got in before they tightened the rules!). It is also painted white (sorry, I've been corrected, magnolia). It is easy for the birds to see a net against a magnolia background!

I don't have much room for feeders and a net so, to catch the birds, I have to box clever!

Boxing day brought 27 birds of 7 species into the net. 14 Blue Tits, 2 Goldfinch, 3 Dunnocks (one being a retrap from Christmas eve - it didn't take long!), 1 Starling, 1 Robin, 3 Coal Tits and 3 Blackbirds (a second net caught these and nearly caught a 4th).



Above: With my brother behind the camera, he had me posing with this Blue Tit. 11 of the Blue Tits were born this year, with 3 adults. On Christmas eve, 2 of 3 Blue Tits caught were adults.

I noticed a complete absence of Great Tits at the feeders today. My Dad says they visit occasionally, but are outnumbered by the blues. Perhaps the nesting sites nearby are dominated by the blues?



Above & Below: Coal Tits are my favourite of the tit family. They sneak in, grab some food, and sneak back out to eat. Again, I've been corrected again, apparently here, they stick around on the feeders for quite a while. They must feel safer.



Below: A blackbird. I put a net up elsewhere in the garden especially to catch these. They feed near the other net, but fly in and out low. I'm after a blackbird with somebody else's ring on it (I'm informed there is one in the area. Perhaps just a matter of time and perserverance).

One blackbird was a possible continental. All were born this year.



Below: The patio is where birds feed on my dad's scraps. I had to move the feeders from being all against the fence (most birds would have come in over the fence, into the bushes, fed, and popped back over the fence had I not moved them!



All in all, I am pleased with the total. A starling was a bonus. The Goldfinch are a target species (my dad is particulary interested in these and he did give me some money to buy the rings!). After the two I caught early on, the rest seemed to see the net at the last second & avoid it.

The Dunnocks all seem to fly into the net at the same place from the same direction. I think it must be the way they follow the bushes around and circle the house! My first and only retrap so far was with a Dunnock caught on Christmas eve.

A house sparrow made a brief visit. I'm still waiting for a pied wagtail & jackdaw to come feeding (they do on my dad's patio). Then we'll see whether they make it into the net!

A festive first

My first ringing session on my own.

In order of appearance, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Robin. I had a bet (no money passed hands) with my dad as to how long it would take to catch a bird (I had already predicted a blue tit would be the first bird!). I had less than 5 mins and my dad had more than 5 minutes. As it turned out it was around 5 minutes. I didn't count the seconds.



Above: The better photo of the two is the Dunnock (no birds were harmed - the hob under the cooking pot was not on!!).

Below: The camera is a bit tempremental, therefore I released the bird before getting a better shot of it (well, it is only a blue tit!).



A collared dove and several blue tits flirted with the nets! Also seen nearby 2 coal tits, several more blue tits, goldfinch, greenfinch, blackbirds, more dunnocks and robins. This time I only put one 30ft net up for an hour. Next time I shall have a longer session (I'm going to try for a all day one on boxing day (I'll let them feed on christmas day!). I'm also going to put a net up elsewhere to catch the blackbirds. My dad says he's seen a blackbird with a ring on it recently so there's a possible control (that's what's call a bird that we catch, but somebody else e.g. not me - has put a ring on) lurking about somewhere!!

Merry Xmas everybody!