I'm Finnished again

Just got a Blackbird recovery through from one of my 'C' ringers [EDG] who now operates the main site I worked for over 20 years.

It was ringed by my trainee [DTH] as a 3M (1cy male) with 1 ogc, a wing of 135mm, a weight of 112g at 08:00 [GMT] on Wednesday 9th December 2009. This was the one of two birds out of four 'continental types' that we managed to extract and ring, two "doing a Houdini". See http://ivelringinggroup.blogspot.com/2009/12/rain-has-stopped.html for a read of the session. It was found dead 653 days later on 23rd September 2011, at a place called Vistarna, Soderudden, Korsholm, Finland, some 1775km NE of Priory Country Park, Bedford.


This is my furthest recovery for a Blackbird (although I have had a Kestrel from much further north in Finland). I had another Blackbird from the same site found freshly dead at Vaxjo, Kronoberg, Sweden in 1993, 1117km ENE with a duration of 566 days; this was ringed in January as a 5F and found 18 months later at the end of July.

Of general interest is the latest DEFRA publication on The wildbird population changes in Britain from 1970-2010.
See http://t.co/NeLHPMno

Might be able to put the nets up again on Tuesday next (according to the Met. Office)

Water on tap

A week has gone by and the weather does not improve. As I write, it's blowing half a gale outside and raining to boot. This means two things - I haven't caught much in the way of birds and the kitchen refurbishment has moved on and we now have the water reconnected. The cupboards are also in and primed and the worktop is on and useable. Right now, it's time to tile! plus another coat of paint after the evening meal has finished.

I was Shanghaied by David Ballance to attend a meeting of the Exmoor Bird Monitoring Project at the National Park's offices in Dulverton. Who should also be present, representing the Devon atlassing team, but Paul Madgett, an old friend from Bedfordshire now living in Braunton. Going there, I took the scenic route (main roads & River Exe) and viewed the autumn colours of the Beeches and Hornbeams towering over the road. Returning cross-country over the tops, I was held up for a while by a farmer and his flock of ewes. Such are the joys of Exmoor.


Back to the bird-ringing. In a word, "Duff". Three snatched moments at dawn while the wind/rain had abated yielded a mere 6 birds, of which 5 are garden 'residents' - Blue Tit (2), Long-tailed Tit (1), Blackcap 1 [a 1cy male], Blackbird (1) & Robin (1). This is the 6th Blackcap in as many weeks.

Now a couple of progress photos to shew that I've not been slacking the rest of the time.

We are getting there and apart from a few finishing touches (gloss coat and varnish, knobs and some external plumbing) it should be a working kitchen again before I leave for the BTO conference at Swanwick (Derbys) on Friday.

Water, water everywhere

Another 10.5mm of rain yesterday mid-morning 'til dawn today. Kybosh on the ringing, what with the kitchen job in hand. However, I did sneak out before the rain yesterday for 8 birds:
Goldcrest (1)
Blue Tit (2)
Blackbird 1 (1) - both 3Ms with dark beaks & 131mm wings [that's big for round here, most of the time]
Dunnock 1 - another adult bird!
Robin (1)
Chaffinch 1 - a 4F

Also managed a late afternoon sesh today with a different set of species and 8 birds:
Woodpigeon 1 - a rather plump [555g] male that eats all my mate's bird-food over the road & spends most of its day in his leylandii
Coal Tit 1
Long-tailed Tit (3)
Chiffchaff 1 - with 'brown' legs & most likely an abietinus
Dunnock 1
Goldfinch 1C - origin may be fairly local, ring on left leg is a giveaway.
[It was local - ringed as a 4F, 3yr 8mth 3days ago, 2km to the west]

The first pic below shows the true colour of the Chiff but does not shew the bright yellow on the bend of the wing. The second was taken with artificial light. For those with an interest - E6, wp 3/4/5, 2=8, wing 63.5mm, wt. 9.4g, F35.




Kitchen refurb. well under way. Threw up another problem - the main stop tap doesn't close completely. Looks like the replacement of the lead main will now have to go on the agenda earlier than we thought.

Old Speckled Hen

Well, this is her!


Went out this morning in the company of a potential trainee, Liz, a veteran of the Italian, Maltese & other campaigns. It was the usual set-up for this time of year, a 60' at net1 (closest to the gate) and later, net2 40' that used to catch anything on the move. Today, net2 obliged with 3 Dunnocks, but, hey ho, 2 of these were new. One of them had a "yellow" eye-ring, which I presume was a collection of "eye-lash mites", similar to the one we humans have feasting on us. Any offers of a diagnosis?


The weather was fairly abyssmal, dank and breezy. I picked up Kingfisher, Dipper, Chaffinch and Green Woodpecker on call in the gloom, none of which graced the nets. As we were clearing away, one of the Lotti flocks that was approaching the net burst into sound; the cause, a Sparrowhawk across the end of the net behind young Liz's back. We also had the company of a very large and friendly grey gelding. At one point it checked out the net lane, but it's surprising the effect a thin white guy-line has in turning horses away. [The paddocks are marked out with just two thin white tapes]. It liked the BTO apple very much - excellent crunch!

The day's total was 17 birds of which 14 were ringed and 1 was a local control.
Blue Tit 4
Great Tit 1
Blackcap 1 - a 3F
Wren 2 juvs
Blackbird (1) - ad male of recent origin
Dunnock 2 (1)
Goldfinch 3 - all adult birds
Siskin (1C) - from last winter (early March)

A first glimpse of Liz - holding her first female Blackcap. More of her will be divulged as time goes by!
How many more Blackcaps are there out there? One a week at present and no real targetting effort.

It pays to ALWAYS check both legs, especially when a mate rings on the left and yourself on the righ!
[I did remove the later one].

This mild weather

... continues here in the south-west. One day the fronts track up from France and it rains heavily and then the wind goes easterly and we're bathed in bright sunshine one minute and under a cloud blanket the next. When you wake up the next day, it's all round to the west with hill fog and drizzle. When the wind clears the murk, the leaves are being shaken off the trees. Such is a ringer's, hard life hereabouts! you just have to cope and get in a few hours when you can.

Any road, I have been fortunate in that the garden has been protected from the worst of the wind this week. The meadows were unringeable as the nets sites were all vulnerable to the wind on any one day. A couple of achievements this week have been the capture of bird species No. 40 for the 1km grid square, the spotting of No. 76 and the ringing of No. 1500 this year.
The Grip - it rejected the pencil in favour of my fingers!
"I'm watching you, mister" [Magpie age 3 (1CY)]

As you may have guessed by now, species number 40 was a juvenile Magpie. They are not very common round here (I suspect they get shot fairly frequently) but there is a successful pair on the outskirts of Watchet which I often see from/at the meadows.

I also caught the first Greenfinch since August, an adult female. They are now very scarce here during the summer months and I suspect their breeding numbers in the area are low, that is until you get closer to the wooded slopes of Exmoor.
Another species that I have not been catching is the Goldfinch. The local breeders (in my tall, front hedge) know full well where the nets are in relation to the feeders and make sure they don't get caught too often.
Understudy for 2011 Goldfinch No.289 or new ring No. 1500

The last "exciting" bird I caught was another Blackcap. This is the fourth in four weeks (an adult female, an adult male and latterly two 1CY males). The only month this year when I haven't caught one of these is, ironically, May, always thought of as one of the better months for overall numbers.
So, as usual, to the totals for the first three days this week (Mon-Wed) . 16 new birds and 14 retraps of 14 species. All the retraps were birds of the year; the only adults were 2 new Blue Tits, a male Blackbird, both new Robins, the male Chaffinch and the female Greenfinch
Magpie 1
Blue Tit 3 (2)
Great Tit (1)
Coal Tit (1)
Long-tailed Tit (5)
Chiffchaff 1
Blackcap 1
Wren (1)
Blackbird 3 (1)
Robin 2 (2)
House Sparrow 2 (1)
Chaffinch 1
Greenfinch 1
Goldfinch 1

Yesterday was shopping in the county town for groceries and materials/fittings for the refurb. Today and the next few days will be non-ringing days; first, it's rip the kitchen out and then varnish the insides of the cabinets before they go in, tomorrow is the BTO/SOS Garden Birdwatch day conference and Sunday is getting the old tiles off and sealing any mdf., i.e. make a mess while the 'good lady' is away in Norfolk. Fingers crossed I'll be able to get the nets up sometime towards the end of next week if the weather holds fair ... and if we get the new kitchen finished.

Sunshine!

After six days of inclement weather - and 14mm rain Friday evening - the sun came out, just, at dawn today, Saturday. The tops were shrouded in cloud and the hill fog was creeping down the north facing slopes. Fortunately the brightness stayed with us and the south-east wind was light, if not in the best direction.

I ventured to the water meadows, a very soggy water meadows with the stream running brown and high. I stopped barely 50m inside the gate to avoid getting stuck and proceeded to erect just the one 18m net in the newer part of N1. to say the least, it was a peculiar morning with very little movement at lower levels, i.e. with the slightest hint of being interceptable by my net. The water was high enough to stop the very big grey (horse) from crossing the stream today.


As usual, the thrush family were the first to venture out on the look-out for their breakfast. The Blackbirds hereabouts have wings some 3mm shorter than those in the east and even shorter than northern birds. We're still waiting for their arrival. Then a long wait before I intercepted the first tit group, which included a flock of Lottis that normally hang around my garden. An hour or so later, another group that contained the Lotti flock I associate with this end of the meadows site (there is a third that tends to concentrate downstream, only coming as far as the orchard and N2).

First off, my presence made three Roe Deer skitter off to the next field, where they would not be able to see me because of the tall hedge. Birdwise, I was greeted by a squealing Water Rail that shuffled across the narrow end of the grass to spend the morning in the wet ditch the other side of the metalled trackway. About 80 Starlings made their way west in 5 groups between 09:30 and 10:00. I could see the local 8-bird, Herring Gulls' club perched on a factory roof beyond the railway station, but their 'wailing' was drowned out by the noise of a diesel loco that ran non-stop (while stationary) for over 90 minutes. A white, farmyard goose accompanied a Canada on the next field and was joined lated by a similar coupling. About 10 Mipits made their was leisurely southwards, a slightly different direction than the "main push".

Two flocks of Goldfinch were working the Alders. One consisted of 20 birds, the other 10. Joining them from time to time were small parties of Siskin, of which there are about 40 all told in the immediate area. There were one or two Goldcrests around but the three Chiffs seem to have moved on.

With the second batch of tits, I caught both Goldfinches, and, right at the last knockings, the second, this time unringed, Song Thrush.


A pleasant morning at a pace that would have suited a trainee.
Blue Tit 1 (2), an adult and 2 1CY's
Great Tit 1, a 1CY male
Long-tailed Tit (8), 2 distinct groups
Blackbird 1, adult male (above)
Song Thrush 1 (1), both Euring age3 (above)
Robin 1 (1), both adults, with 4 tiny spots on their greater coverts
Goldfinch 2, both age 3, a male and a female on rictal bristles
Total: 7 new (13 retraps)

Let's hope for some fair weather from now on; it might mean colder nights and improved catching! See you again soon, and thanks for dropping by.

Inevitably

Having chopped out a 'new' ride, I thought I might as well use it. Getting on site some three-quarters of an hour before sun-up, I soon had 2x 40' in action. Making a jaunt round this spot, I also realised that I could still use the original 40' site if I opened up another 40' closer to the stream. This latter combination might be suitable for a whole morning session in spring and summer when I neede to make use of the shade from the trees to obscure the netting.

Any way, back to the matter in hand. Nets set and a Kingfisher flew right over the nets in the half-light. Two thrushes 15 minutes before sunrise got me started. Then it was a lengthy period counting the Siskins going to and fro. Two of the four Little Egrets returned from the beach, no doubt moved on by early morning dog walkers at high tide (currently only 6m, so plenty of beach left exposed). A Water Rail squealed in the stream and later a Moorhen skittered off. Four Magpies flew across the field followed shortly after by one of the male Sparrowhawks. Two Grey Herons got up and moved to other fishing spots; the stream is still running high after the recent rains. [86mm in 10 days].

There were several small flocks of Siskins busy in the Alders, accompanied by some Chaffinches, but well above net height. Half an hour after sunrise, a mixed flock, mainly of tits, came my way. Eventually they reached the clump of willows, Alder and Hazel where the nets (N1) are situated. Out of this crowd I caught and ringed all my other captures bar one. An hour later I was surprised to find a fine male Siskin in the net, one that hadn't managed to follow his feeding party. The first of many this winter? I watched, hopefully, three different Chiffchaffs utilising the trees in this area. All were calling noisily but nothing would tempt them down to net level. As one of my favourite birds, I'll try for them another day soon.


Male Siskin, Nov 2011, Euring code 4.

All in all, 12 birds, and a good mix.
Goldcrest 1
Blue Tit (1)
Great Tit 1 (1)
Long-tailed Tit 1 (2)
Blackbird 1
Song Thrush 1
Robin 1
Goldfinch 1
Siskin 1

By 10am, the sun was very bright and the NW wind had picked up, not just blowing the nets but dumping lots of leaves into them as well. Pack up time!.

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.