San Valentino's dagen

Up early for a guided walk at the Park (Priory). The weather was a bit 'iffy', with a cold, damp wind and just above freezing (2C). Bird wise it was a bit limited but the object was to see the wildfowl before they leave for their breeding grounds.

First of the day was a Greater Black-back Gull, a really scarce bird here. Then on to 6 Wigeon by the sailing club. They moved up onto the grass and the GBBG landed amongst them. There were 13 Cormorants lined up on the piling, keeping watch. After we moved off, we stopped at a mixed bunch of birds, feeding on the lake-side veg.

A family of 7 swans, several Pochard (both sexes), Mallard, ten or so Coot and two pairs of Gadwall. Three Black-headed Gulls surrounded a lone Common Gull. Turning round and looking at the meadow, we saw 5 Blackbirds and 7 Redwing - until a terrier frightened them into the Hawthorn bushes.

On Fingers we found 2 male Tufted, two pairs of Great Crested Grebes setting up territory and starting on their nesting platforms, 3 Cormorant and an adult male Shoveler, an immature trying to look like "his dad", and an accompanying female. It looked like a pair of Blue Tits had already found the new nest box that we put up yesterday. The rangers have been busy this week and cut a swathe through the Corn Bunting roost in the 'Crescent' reedbed. No sign of the resident Chiff.

We wandered past 'the beach', up along the canoe slalom and up the river. A large party of Long-tailed Tits favoured us and several Goldfinches twittered their presence. On was taking pollen from the new Alder catkins, something I've not seen them doing before. Round at the hide, we were able to get close views of the the Pochard and some more male Tufteds. The main flock (150+) was sheltering behind the island - until a wind surfer appeared past the southern tip and put the birds to flight. I savoured the moment as they flew a couple of circuits of the lake before landing in the middle of the "safe zone". For those who don't know, the western side of the 64ac (29ha) lake is a wildfowl sanctuary and closed to the sailing club from 1st November until the end of March, whereas they have a 25yr lease on the eastern half.

We then walked up the old tow-path, Cardington Walk, passed the ancient pollarded willows. We were out of the wind but there was little to see or hear. There was no sign of the hoped for Stonechats and we could only hear the piping of the Teal on the Fenlake pool, obscured by the bankside growth. A large flock of Canada Geese, with the Greylag x Canada taking up the head, drifted downstream passed an angler fishing for Pike.

Then it was pack to terra firma along 'Blackbird alley' behind the sailing club clubhouse and the remains of the Priory Wall. Mainly 'garden birds' here with a Greenfinch 'wheezing' from the top of the only large Sycamore in the park. Finally farewell to the regulars and to Faith, a newcomer and immigrant lady from Sydney. Then home for a bath; not that I'm dirty, just needed warming up!

Mr & Mrs Redcap

 

A friend, Phil Slade, has put a bit about Goldfinches on his blog, which you will find here.

He has incorporated some of my study on the birds coming to the Norse Road feeders.

Snow joke

Today it snowed in NW Norfolk, quite heavily at times, that wet stuff. Ringing discontinued for obvious reasons.

Yesterday, Sunday, was overcast with the wind in the north-east, i.e. coming through the wood, which, in turn, protects the garden. As usual, a net up by the weeping cherry, the tree from which most of the feeders hang. It was a reasonable mornings catch of 37 birds, 20 of them new.




The real point of the day was catching Blackbirds. There were 8 in all, 2x 5F, 2x 5M, 2x 6F & 2x 6M. Each category had a 'normal' wing and a 'longer' wing, but no 'super length' continental-types. The weights had dropped down to 105-110g except for two birds caught just after 9 o'clock which were a 5M at 120g and a 6F at 131g. [5 = last year's, 6 = 2 years or older]




Over the morning, I caught 5 Lottis. The first was a pair just after 10:30, heading for the peanuts, the female being unringed. Two more were recaptured shortly after but another unringed one, a possible 5M, visited the fat balls
shortly before lunch.




Only 4 Coal Tits were caught, 3 of them already with BTO passports. Coal Tit activity has reduced over the two weeks since I last visited and there was no sign of the three or four old birds that are regularly caught (= net happy). Surprisingly, I am still catching new Blue Tits; today it was 5 out of 13 that needed brand new bracelets.

Great Tits were also in short supply - just 1 new and 3 recaptures. Chaffinches obliged with three more of their number insisting on being 'registered' before they flew off to pastures new.

The real tragedy was today's weather turned for the worse - and that prevented me from catching any of the army of birds that visited the garden. I saw at least 7 unringed Blackbirds and 6 unringed Chaffinches coming and going to bread.There were Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits and Marsh Tits zipping back and forth to the sunflower hearts like there was no tomorrow. A couple of strangers in the form of Greenfinchs hogged one feeder. It's amazing to think that the birds knew that cold nights were coming and that they must put on an extra 10% of body weight now if they were to get round to next weekend.

Which is more than we can hope for Jenny's poor old mum in the QE2 hospital. She will be 95 next Monday - if the "Liverpool care pathway" allows. A testing time.

Belgian 'taiga'

At last. The ringing details for BLB.9200638 have come through. This adult female Brambling was caught in the North Wootton garden on the last day of February last year, 2009.

It was originally ringed as a 2CY female on the 8th March 2006, in a western suburb of Bruges, which was presumably either somewhere within its then wintering area or during its return migration "north" away from its winter quarters.

The species is known to spend subsequent winters in different areas of Europe but many birds traditionally spend the time in a select few Beech forest sites in southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria. When heavy snowfall occurs, they move on to snow-free areas. In some years, birds reach Italy and the former Jugoslavia. They arrive back on the breeding grounds in northern Scandinavia in the last third of May; taiga country!

Distance: 258 km NW.    Duration: 2 years 357 days.

Wintering Blackcaps

I came across this piece when I was searching the web; thought it might be interesting to some. Click on 'Link'.

Link     It's about splitting Blackcaps into sub-species.

See what feeding the birds leads to!