By a babbling brook ...

The stream eating into the bank alongside the 1st net run

At last! Have managed to cut out three of last year's racks so far. The stream is still high (for summer-time) and the crossing points are 2 feet deep or more, thanks to the re-alignment of the stream following the winter and spring floods. Getting over to the 'orchard' side is currently out of the question, since "Bob", a poorly nag, is occupying the 2 acre entrance field which we have to negotiate in order to cross the 'leat' to get to the other side of the water meadows. The problem will go away shortly as the owners have to take a silage cut in the very near future [the grasses are very tall and seeding right now] and access will then be restored.   

Not wanting to waste all that hard work, I put up three nets in said racks. The weather was not at its best for ringing but, nevertheless, I did manage a few birds, namely 13 new and a couple of retraps. It is noticeable that there is a distinct lack of tits this year and that the finches are particularly late in nesting. The warblers are all beginning to sing again, a sign that they are attempting a second or replacement clutch. The only really noticeable birds are the House Martins, Swallows and Swifts, feeding over the meadows, along the hedgerows and skimming the water.     

Jay - doing what Jays do!  Ouch!

 Once more, a modicum of success, especially as it was an afternoon session. Top bird was surely the Jay that was ringed as an adult in the garden 13 months beforehand. The other retrap was a 6 female Blackbird that was ringed in mid-November. All these short-winged Blackbirds seem to stay with us all year; by short-winged I mean 127/128mm when fresh, females generally a tad shorter than the males, as normal.     

Jay (1)
Blue Tit 1
Chiffchaff 2
Blackcap 6
Blackbird (1)
Dunnock 2
House Sparrow 2     

Recently fledged Chiffchaff  (don't know why it flipped)

It is exactly one year since I started ringing down at the water meadows and, looking at my records, I can see that the pace will not pick up here for another two or three weeks. Definitely a dispersal site, where many young birds come and feed up prior to ab-migration.       

i managed to achieve two significant 'tetrad' upgrades for the local county Bird Atlas (in its last year) during my visit. First was a Garden warbler with food for young that also gave me some serious ear-ache. Second was a male Reed Bunting entering a nest on the edge of the stream, this as part of a food pass to its mate and a 'comfort break' for her.

Next, garden chores to catch up on, now that I am feeling better. Mowing, fence repairs and a good bonfire are on the cards. Then it's off to see my disabled brother and my grand-daughter whose birthday I missed. If the weather holds next week, it'll be more ringing and taking the 50-year old front fence down. See you soon.            

While we wait

While we wait for the weather to improve and the majority of the leaves to descend to the ground, out of harms way, I thought it might be a fitting time to recap on the year so far. To this end, here follows a list of the top twenty species that I have ringed so far this year.

1. Goldfinch - 290
2. Blue Tit - 264
3. Chiffchaff - 150
4. Blackcap - 127
5. Blackbird - 117
6. Great Tit - 105
7. Long-tailed Tit - 104
8. Greenfinch - 94
9. Dunnock - 67
10. Brambling - 52


That amounts to 77% of all the new birds ringed by me thus far.

11. Robin - 49
12. Chaffinch - 48
13. House Sparrow - 47
14. Siskin - 42
15. Willow Warbler - 31
16. Wren - 27
17. Whitethroat - 25
18. Coat Tit - 24
19. Goldcrest - 17
20. Meadow Pipit - 14

These 10 species account for another 18.5%, leaving a mere 4.5% to cover the other 23 species. Of those 23 species, eight have only 1 bird ringed against their name, the rest averaging five apiece.

Somewhere between 8 and 9 should come Manx Shearwater but they were all birds done at the RSPCA hospital at West Hatch. [See blog of Sept. 11th.]

Depending on the weather, and more especially the temperatures both here and on the continent, the finch and thrush totals could well move around a bit before the year's end. At this moment I am anticipating ringing the 1500th bird within my home 1km grid square before mid-month. Meanwhile, we wait.

PS. I did knock out an 80' net ride now that the veg. is shrinking, to supercede the current 40' Net 1 alongside the stream. It should prove a better proposition and still catch the Dippers and Kingfishers as well as the tits and finches!. Other net extensions to follow over the winter, thanks to a brush-cutter and high pruners.