Alert turns to warning

Todays lovely "drought-weather" pictures

This morning

This avo

Thats my ringing site you're looking at!!! (above)

Where the Doniford and Monksilver streams meet (below)

Normal

Alert

Warning

To the main A39 (flooded)

 

The runaway river came down the tracks ....

Just got to mop up in the lounge again (leak, not a flood).

Evening update

At least 46mm of rain since midnight - and still raining. Forecast is for it to intensify again for 12 hours, finally clearing W. Somerset early Monday afternoon. Could be another 15-20mm yet - or more. River flooding due to peak Tuesday into Wednesday. We're not finished yet!!!

Still they come

Tuesday

I managed to get in a couple of hours 'early doors' before the April weather re-asserted itself. It wasn't too bad considering; 6 new birds with 4 re-traps, including the pair of Robins that were re-caught last Saturday. A female Blackcap, with a fat score ESF20, could only be aged as 3CY+ by its broad primary coverts as the retrices had become wet in the bag and there were no other 'anomalies'. No Willow Warblers, though.


Blackcap 1, Wren (1), Blackbird 1, Robin (2), House Sparrow 1, Greenfinch (1), Goldfinch 2, Siskin 1. 

Friday

The rains had eased off, if only until mid-afternoon. The day before, the showers were accompanied by blustery winds, reflecting the non performance of the nets. The 'local birds' were busy feeding in the fruit trees and raiding the bird table, but I didn't connect with many un-ringed 'strangers'. Now it was a different picture. The female Blackbirds appeared (including the controlled bird), looking for morsels for their offspring, which I will be extracting from the nets in about 4 weeks time. The tits took to the top of the trees, looking for "micro-beasts" amongst the opening leaf buds, despite not having young at all. And, best of all, the Phylloscs were on the move!

The full morning's tally, I was able to keep the nets open until "the drought set in" mid-afternoon, was 18:

Collared Dove 1, Blue Tit (1), Great Tit (1), Willow Warbler 9, Blackcap 1, Blackbird 1 (1), Robin (1), House Sparrow 1, Siskin 1.

Female Willow Warbler P. trochilus "in the pot" being weighed.

As anticipated, all bar one of the Willies were females, carrying fat between levels 10 & 30. One of the birds 'trended' towards the northern Scandinavian form abietinus and, incidentally, had a wing length 2mm longer than the rest but the same 'wing formula'. 
Fellow ringer, John, was at Dunster Hawn this morning and "had a 'mega sighting' with most of the bushes teeming with Phylloscopus warblers and Willow Warblers calling and singing from almost every one of them. Numbers must have been well into treble figures". Seems like it was a "Troch and Roll" day! [thanks, Peter]


The dove was a welcome catch after the many that 'get out' of the net by being too close to the pole. "She" hit the net dead centre, where there's most 'bag', and got some 'bling' for her pains.

Saturday

As it had been forecast as the best (half) day of the weekend by the TV weather persons, I intended to carry on ringing, hoping for more Phylloscs.Not to be!


Friday teatime, we had a heavy shower, dumping 5.5mm of "wet drought" on us. Come 'Horlicks-time', the heavens opened and we were graced with 16mm more "wet drought" over three-quarters of an hour. As our new roof was not yet sealed to the old wall, the strong winds drove the rain hard onto the wide chimney breast and then it ran down into the new loft and then on across the old roof (half of which had been removed) and onto the sitting room ceiling. Panic stations!!!

The offending chimney breast and half-finished tiling

It was midnight before we got to bed. On waking today, a quick 'butchers' round the orchard and it was apparent that 'No ringing' was the order of the day, thanks to a force 6 ENE blow. Fortunately, the weather remained dry enough (just) for the rest of the tiles to go on and the "soakers" to be fitted, sealing the roof to the wall. A dehumidifier quickly sorted the damp problem out. 



Heavy and prolonged rain forecast for tonight/tomorrow. That should take us well over the 150mm mark for the month! By the time we get out doing some proper ringing, all the birds will be gone, miles away!

End of an era

My faithful (no longer) Sony Digicube 3-band radio, model ICF-102L, serial number 1098257, has bitten the dust.

"She" has been with me at three houses, in three counties, and was in 'her' 30th year! I can't remember how much I paid Currys for her; they were considered "de rigeur" in them days.

Fortunately for me, I have a replacement, in black, a similar, but later model, ICF-C102L, which now adorns the kitchen shelf. As this was in the bedroom, I have had to replace it and I went forth in the pouring rain and purchased a "new fangled" Roberts DAB/FM radio with snooze control.

Aah! Progress!      

Postscript: 

I was probably that Andrew Marr that finished her off, poor soul!     

Moving on

Garden Ringing

The weather precluded going down the water meadows, much as I would have liked. The nets there are set up some distance apart and it would be impractical to supervise them all if a squally shower came through. Meanwhile, my "assistant" is away on CABS duty in Malta.

A little rush of lady Willow Warblers over the weekend, pushing on northwards in a bit of a hurry, going by the fat they were carrying.

Results: 16 new & 6 re-traps

Blue Tit (1), resident, eggy female

Willow Warbler 4, all girls - maybe Scots Lassies, Fat Slags or Norfolk Dumplings? certainly not local.

Blackcap 2, both 2CY boys

Blackbird 1 (1), 

Robin (2), probably a young pair from next door

Greenfinch 4 (1) - [see also below]

Goldfinch 3

Siskin 2, incl. the 1st Juv. of the season
Bullfinch (1), smart 6M 


Escapees - Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook. One of each. What do you expect with a "superfine" set for LBJs? 
The remains of two recently fledged Greenfinches were found on the path by the fruit cage; Sparr suspected as the perpetrator.

The Blackbird I controlled last week was originally ringed back in 2006 as a fledgling. So far, she has survived 2122 days. There is no intermediate history.

Day trip

Took a day off on Friday to go on a coach trip to the Swanage Railway with the volunteers down at the local West Somerset Railway station. I attach a picture on the return journey of some of the reprobates before we boarded .

 

We were taken to the workshops where three 'Battle of Britain' class locos are undergoing "re-ticketing" or restoration. It was a long walk but this was well worth it.  

Havin' a Brue

I managed to sneak in some ringing before the weather turned and the builders created havoc. The above Song Thrush had been visiting the rockery every morning for some time now but it didn't have a ring on. I knew this must be the "wife" of the male Song Thrush that defends the Elm hedge at the bottom of the garden. She at last fell victim after I moved the 9m net to a place where I had no idea I would catch her. Her brood patch indicated that she has been sitting on eggs for some while and hatching cannot be far off.

The following is one of the pair of Jackdaws that is nesting close by in a neighbours chimney. A very wary pair of birds. I think I'll get the whoosh net out and the rest of the grain shortly after their young fledge. I've tried this trick before - but these Jacks are not the easiest of birds to catch as they are so quick to react ... and escape in the nick of time!


For a couple of days, this pair of Siskins has been 'twittering' up in the Ash trees. I presume that they have been coming to the feeders once or twice a day. It was a pleasant surprise to find them on either side of the net, just as the weather threatened to worsen. He was a splendid 3CY+ bird, while she was a 2CY female with a red and wrinkly brood patch indicative of 'young in the nest'. They were processed quickly as a consequence; the nest site cannot be that very far away, either.



I had a meet with a land agent down on the Somerset wetlands. We walked around some areas where they will let us ring, much of it I had been round before. I was taken into an area where a lot of "re-landscaping" was going on for the eventual benefit of reed-bed birds and mammals; this is relatively dry at the moment but will be re-flooded. The public will be able to view the area from a tower hide but access will be limited (for obvious reasons, i.e. disturbance). They are keen for us to add to the overall species database for the valley in order to improve management and coordination across all the many small and large sites that are now set aside for nature conservation. For the first couple of years we may have to 'rove about' somewhat in order to get a measure of the task ahead.

A couple of typical landscape shots follow but not of our exact net sites.