Little, Rainbow, Barn

Sometimes, without trying, you get your timing just right. Last Friday I was working in Milton Keynes and on the way back, we stopped to put the last 30 binders on a layed hedge to complete a project (we ran out of binders on Tuesday when I had planned on finishing it!).



Above: Hedge 1 at Rectory Farm that we layed. Whilst using the outdoor 'facilities' here, I flushed a Little Owl sat in a hedge.



Above: A short drive later and I was at hedge 2 at Rectory Farm- also layed by BTCV. I needed photographs of the completed hedge for the funders (GrantScape) and my timing was just right to catch this rainbow too!

Then, on the way back to the office via Astwood my jaw dropped, my finger pointed ahead of me and I shouted Barn Owl! We watched it fly over the road and hunt in the field opposite. About 10 seconds after I shouted Barn Owl, somebody else in the mini-bus did!

Saturday morning, I went with Errol ringing at Priory Country Park where we ringed our first Chiff Chaffs of the year. It wasn't a classic morning but we finished with a couple of nice Song Thrush's. We also saw our first swallows (12+) and frog spawn.

Late Saturday afternoon and I took a walk out to Castle Mill (not far from my front door. Here I saw 1 Swallow, 2 Little Egret, 1 buzzard, 2 oystercatcher, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Grey Wagtails, Great Crested Grebes, Herons, Coots, Moorhens, Cormorant, Mallards, 5 Tufted Ducks, 1 Redshank.

Today, a ringing demo at Randalls Farm - 3 chiff chaffs and a pair of bullfinches were the highlight. Another walk to Castle Mill produced 2 (maybe 3) Mistle Thrushes and nothing that wasn't there the day before.

I was puzzled by the behaviour of the Oystercatchers. There is an obvious pair here and they stick to eachother like glue - even in flight (nothing odd there) but there was a third bird that called as it flew in and the pair seemed to chase it away. It (or another) came back and it was allowed to land. A minute or two later, the pair follwed and landed in the vacinity (hidden from my view) where all 3 remained for a few minutes. Then all 3 took to flight and the pair seemed to chase it away again. Then a short while later, it (or another) came in again and landed next to the pair. There were periods of quiet but also noisy periods. They chased it away and then let it stay? Could this 1 bird have been a male that was trying to outmuscle the resident male?

2 more came over later & two more as I was leaving. Puzzled I am.

Foray back home

A weekend in Gloucestershire:

On Saturday I went to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition at Nature In Art (www.nature-in-art.org.uk). In my opinion (humble as it is!), it wasn't as good as other years. Don't get me wrong, there were some good photographs, and some outstanding ones, but I rarely agree with the overall winner (or category winners). One that stood out for me was the photograph of Bramblings (see http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/photo.do?photo=2527&category=50&group=1).

On Sunday at my dad's house, an early start & good conditions for ringing (overcast but hardly any breeze & no rain!). Here are the results: 41 birds of 9 species - New (retrap)

Blackbird 4 (0)
Blue Tit 13 (1)
Chaffinch 2 (0)
Coal Tit 2 (0)
Collared Dove 1 (0)
Dunnock 5 (0)
Goldfinch 7 (1)
Greenfinch 3 (0)
House Sparrow 3 (0)



Above: A collared dove. I don't get much chance to see these birds in the hand, but having had a couple over Christmas flirting with the net, I was glad that this one left with a bit of silver.



Above: For a good number of years (10 or more) my Dad has been seeing Blackbirds with some white feathers in his Garden. Presumably all are related (and I think all have been male)and are part of the local population. If this is true then it is obvious that these birds have no trouble mating!



Above: A male Chaffinch. These do not visit the garden in large numbers, but they do visit regularly.



Above: A Goldfinch. These birds seem to be visiting the garden feeders a lot at the moment. A shortage of natural food at the moment perhaps. One bird of note, a retrap (first caught at Christmas) Goldfinch.



Above: Just an excuse to post another picture of a coal tit!



Above: Caught together, this male House Sparrow thought it only right and proper to preserve the modesty of the female House Sparrow. Usually, House Sparrows are clever and sit somewhere nearby to feeders most of the day and make a short foray to the feeders. At my Dad's house, I don't know of a nearby bush where they sit (that doesn't mean it doesn't exist) but I don't think they are very close by (otherwise I would have heard them).



Above: Relegated to 'the garage,' this is the view of my ringing station!

Call me quackers ..

I got an invite to go ringing at 10am today. Where? I didn't know but I suspected it had something to do with ducks. So I waddled off to meet Errol who kindly took me to Blunham where ducks were in fact waiting, ready to be ringed.

It will be a rare day for me now to get 6 ringing ticks in one day, but that is what happened today. Tufted duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Pochard, Wigeon and Teal.



Above: A male Tufted Duck.



Above: A male Gadwall.



Above: A wigeon



Above: A male pochard



Above & Below: My favourite of the 6 - Teal. It was much smaller than all the other ducks we handled today and there was only the one.



Below: Not a flattering angle of me, but just to prove I ringed a Teal!



Got home & had to wash all my clothes (they smelt of duck muck!).

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!

Rest in Peace

31st October 2009, a nice autumn day. My family met at the church in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire to inter the ashes of my Gran, Margaret Doggett (nee Roberts).

My Grandad (Frank Doggett) had already been laid to rest there nearly 2 decades previously. It was important to my Gran that she was laid to rest next to her husband (she had reserved that space at the time of Franks funeral).

My Gran and Grandad moved to Bourton-on-the-Water not long before I was born (I was born 06/01/1979 - so probably in 1977/78) when they retired. They regularly visited the church (see below) and were active members of the local Horticultural Society.

They lived at Stile End - the 'last house on the left' on the road out towards the Rissingtons.



Above: A 'record shot'. A view of the location (see yellow & white flowers) within the Graveyard should anybody wish to find it in the future.



Above: Standing in the same place as the 1st photograph, but facing a different direction, a view of the church. My Grandad was a photographer and took many photographs of churches. As a chartered accountant, during his retirement, he was a treasurer for this church.



Above: Frank George Doggett, Margaret Doggett, Christopher Kiri Doggett and Jane Doggett (born Hilary Jane). This family photo must have been taken in the mid to late 1950's.

Whilst I carried the ashes to the grave, Mark (my brother and youngest of four Grandchildren to Frank & Margaret) placed them in the ground. Other grandchildren: Lissa Olson (born Doggett) and Andrew children of Christopher Doggett. There are also 2 Great Granchildren: Kayla & Chloe, daughters of Lissa Olson.

Frank and Margaret are also missed by other members of close family and friends, including Shirley Doggett (wife of Christopher), Christine Dayman (nee Britton, Margaret's niece) & Martin Britton (Margaret's nephew) and Penny (Vera's adopted daughter). Sadly, Margaret's sisters Kath Britton (nee Roberts) and Vera have both passed away. Frank has surviving relatives including Peter Doggett who now lives near Bolton.

Most of their friends in Bourton-on-the-Water, and elsewhere, have since passed but Margaret and Frank are remebered by, in particular, the Spears family.



Above: Frank George Doggett (1914 to 1990) and Margaret Doggett (1922 to 2009). They are both remembered with a great deal of love.

Cork the claws of this Hawk!

Yesterday (07/11/09), a ringing visit to Priory Country Park brought a trickle of birds throughout the morning/early afternoon.

Early on, a Sparrowhawk was passing the feeding station in search of food (in this case Great or Blue Tits, not the nuts). It came away empty clawed! But Errol must have wished we had put a cork on this particular birds claws: he was telling me to keep my extremities away from the claws of this sharp toed hunter, but did not heed his own advice ... Ouch!



Above (thanks to Errol for this photo): A Sparrowhawk. This male was born this year (it had heart shaped markings on its front). This bird, already sporting a ring (thanks to Errol a few weeks back), did not add itself to my ringing list. The spectacle was enjoyed by regular birders at PCP Dave B, Dave K & John A.

For a list of other birds caught at Priory on 07/11/09, visit the IRG blog: www.ivelringinggroup.blogspot.com

Were I to keep a list of birds handled and/or processed but not ringed it would be short. I'd like to keep it this way! Others include:

Marsh Tit (processed but not ringed)
Mute Swan (recoveries of colour ring numbers from the field)
Eider Duck (handled only)
Curlew Sandpiper (handled only)
Turnstone (extracted from a mist net only)

Other news:

This afternoon, at Cardington Tesco, I was approaching the car, only to look up at the sound of very agitated Long Tailed Tits. The reason for this was a Sparrowhawk passing over towards Longholme Way.

I am close to aquiring my 'C' license. I am organising and amassing equipment etc. in earnest!

Down the hatch!

Call me a nut if you like for all the bad jokes, but I've got one hatchet job left to tell you about!

Last weekend, on Saturday 24th October 09, it was Feed The Birds day/weekend. The RSPB were holding many events across the country, one of which was at their HQ - The Lodge at Sandy. Being nearby and having been told about a ringing demonstration at this event, I decided to help out at a site I have never ringed at before. I was rewarded with another first:



Above: A Nutchatch. We don't know whether this bird hatched this year or before as there are no significant details in the plumage (i.e. differences in the moulting process of birds of different ages) to be able to tell the ages apart.

I have to thank somebody else for the above photograph (I don't know who) but I have a few photographs on my camera that I currently cannot get to work so I may post some of those when I can access them.

We also caught & ringed a number of blue tits, great tits, a long tailed tit, coal tits (my favourite of the tit family), chaffinches and a song thrush. A large number of people - old and young alike - took great pleasure in watching and being told about the birds & why we ring them. Some even got to release the birds, so hopefully there will be some young people walking around with a memory that will last them a lifetime!

After 6 hours demonstrating bird ringing at The Lodge, on Sunday 25th, I visited another site I have never even been to, let alone ringed there - Stockgrove Country Park. I spent another 6 hours demonstrating bird ringing to lots of interested visitors. More details about the event and what we caught can be found at http://www.ivelringinggroup.blogspot.com/

Another new site brought another new bird for me:



Above: A Redpoll. Whilst the Nuthatch was not a surprise at The Lodge as I know they are there, this Redpoll was. The shape of the tail feathers (pointed and not rounded) meant this bird was born this year.

News: I have recently had my application for a 'C license' endorsed by my trainer, so I am awaiting a decision from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) as to whether this has been approved. If it is, I get to go out on my own with a couple of nets (albeit under remote supervision).

Coal and Marsh Tits

Last weekend I made a trip to North Wootton (Near Kings Lynn, Norfolk) with my trainer, Errol. As well as partaking in witty banter (I wasn't just the butt of the jokes, I got a few digs of my own in!), we did some ringing despite only catching 30 birds (averaging just over 1 bird per hour!). I did get my wish though as my favourite tit came visiting:



Above: I ringed this one personally - my first Coal Tit.



Above: A retrap (one of Errol's 'I did this earlier') Marsh Tit. The first and only one I've ever handled.



Above: Another Coal Tit. Born this year (it had one old greater covert - a feature we can age this bird on).

Thank you to Jenny for letting me stay and providing some good grub.

Errol has his own blog now at http://www.masterringer.blogspot.com/. In his own words "Tits & things - Ramblings of an old man who is now content to catch all the common birds - when the fancy takes him!"