It turned a bit parky

The weather this week has stayed poor with temps around the zero mark. I still walk the dog down the lane past the meadows every morning and do a spot of birding. This week has turned up 6 Little Egrets, a Stonechat, a Red Kite and a Grey Wag. I have seen the thrush numbers go up and then go down with the snow cover. 

Fieldfare arrived in strength after the first snows - just 50 or so at first then 100, then 300, feeding in one of the paddocks. It remained like that for another day before dropping off  to 100 when we had the second snow and finally to just 15. Redwings, on the other hand, have been around in low numbers for quite a while, but built up gradually after the first snow to 50 in the one field before jumping to 60, then 100 then 150 during the second snow period. They are still in the same field. There were also 40 Lapwing, a scarce bird for me, in between the snows.

East paddock pre-snow (nice and soggy) and after the second snow (thawing, still soggy)

I catch about 50 House Sparrows every year, quite a few as 3J/3's, but seldom retrap any. The reason for this is that they feed two or three doors up from us and overfly at 'full speed' on their way to the "tip" and council yard. This week, however, I re-caught 5 of the little 'so-and-so's". I have also been fortunate to catch another new, wintering Blackcap, this one another 3CY/6 female. It soon found its way around the fedeers - and nets - and seemed happy playing chase around the ivy, too, that is beginning to ripen.

Last, but not least, a 2CY Redwing launched itself into the net as I was gauping out of the kitchen window.

Male House Sparrow (winter)

Immature Redwing (winter) - 6 ogc's

So, cutting to the chase, 18 new and 22 re-traps of 13 species over the last seven days.

Latest adult female, wintering Blackcap

Goldcrest (1) - resident adult female, maintaining weight

Blue Tit (2)

Great Tit (2)

Blackcap 1 - 6F (pic)

Wren 1 - tiny female with 8 ogc's

Blackbird 1 (2) - new 2CY male & 2 adult females, weights = 98-106 gm

Redwing 1 - decent cp suggested a male; good weight @ 68 gm

Robin (3) - all 2nd calendar years on upper mandible

Dunnock 1 (3) - oldest a 4M on 12-01-11

House Sparrow (5) - oldest a 4M on 01-03-11

Chaffinch 6 - star species of the week; 50/50 on sex, 4 adult birds

Goldfinch 5 (1) - 1 new male, the rest females

Bullfinch 2 (3) - 3 adult & 1 imm. female , plus adult male

The weatherman tells us that we are in for the best part of a week of rain. How satisfying! Will be away for three days next week, anyway, on family business, so don't expect too much next time. But you never know.

Slow, slow, stop!

Not much of a week as it turned from "bland & cold" to "wintery & colder". On Friday, we copped the snow and it dumped between 3-4 cm of the wet stuff over the village during daylight. This turned into 14 mm of 'precipitation' in the rain guage. Everywhere is well and truly sodden at the moment and the grass turns to mud as you walk on it.

View from study (winter ringing room) am, Fri 18-01-13

I kept a couple of nets open - when I could attend to them - and finally ended up with 10 species, comprising 16 new and 14 'previous' for the 7-day slot. Fortunately, there was very little wind, although the coming days promise something different (stiff and cold easterlies).

Woodpigeon 1 - a big, fat (>600 gm) male

Great Tit (2)

Blackcap (2) - 1 of the males & 1 of the females of those 5 present daily

Blackbird 1 (2) - incl. a female not seen since last spring

Dunnock 1 (2) - another pair avoids the netting area

Chaffinch 3 (1) - at least 3 other unringed birds present

Greenfinch 2 (1)

Goldfinch 6 (2) - still they come!

Siskin 2 (1) 

Bullfinch (2) - and friends; probably eating the buds on our apple trees

As well as the above, the garden played host to the local pair of Herring Gulls (already tarting up their nest), a lone Black-headed Gull, two pairs of Collared Dove and their off-spring, a pair of Goldcrests, Blue Tits, Wrens, a Fieldfare in the snow and two pairs of Robin. Walking down to the meadows there was very little on show, but a couple of Fieldfare made a vanguard appearance. I also noted 6 Little Egrets feeding together in one of the sodden paddocks.

Looks like we'll be getting a different flood next week - of thrushes avoiding the forecast snow up country.

Mild or bitter?

This week it has been rather mild and so little rain. I think it's the driest week since the first week in September. We have had >20 inches (514 mm) since then. It has turned a little colder now and the forecasters are expecting some wintery weather over the next week or so. Could be good for an influx of new birds!

This week was peculiar in that I only ringed 4 species, out of 12 species caught, and >70% were of one species, namely our speciality, Goldfinch. 25 different individuals were retrapped, a handful twice (excluded from figures below).

Adult male (6M) Wren

Adult male (6M) Greenfinch

Not many new birds around at present.
Blue Tit (2)
Great Tit (4) - looks like 2 pairs
Coal Tit (1)
Long-tailed Tit (1)
Blackcap (3) - 2 females & a small-winged returning male from last February
Wren (1)
Robin (2)
Dunnock (4) - the 2 garden pairs
House Sparrow 1
Greenfinch 2 (3) - 2 new females
Goldfinch 10 (3) - max. flock seen was 16
Bullfinch 1 (1) - a new male
Totals 14 (25)

Aberrant juvenile Jackdaw

Spotted this out of the window this morning; it has been around for a while now. It is, more often than not, alone. Obviously cold-shouldered by its siblings/parents. It seems to have partly attached itself to the 'Roughmoor 6' that frequent ours and our neighbours roofs.

Now to decorate our re-furbished downstairs loo as it's raining.

Turn-over

This week's blog stretches over both the old and the new years, and goes from the 364th day, last Saturday, round to the 4th (yesterday) of the current year. The weather, meantime has settled down, although the skies have remained 'grim' with a heavy overcast. As you can see in the side-bar, I ended the year on a measly 1224 new birds, added to by 517 recaptures of some of these birds and ones from the previous year and 10 of other peoples, although not from that far away (all to the west).

On day 1, after recapturing a 5F Blackbird of likely continental origin, and a 6F Goldcrest that's been hanging around since the summer, followed by a 5F Blackcap, another bird sent courtesy of the European Union, that seems to avoid the two others of the opposite sex, I finally got to put my first ring on a new bird.

Inevitably it was a first year King Harry (actually a Princess Harriet).

Voila!

No.1 and in the lead - Carduelis carduelis (5F)

14 species for the period, made up of 35 newly ringed birds and 17 doing the rounds for a second time or more. Lots of "young" birds.

Collared Dove (1) - a miracle! [they don't usually get caught twice!]

Goldcrest (2) - possible a pair bond

Blue Tit 1 (1)

Coal Tit (2)

Long-tailed Tit 6 - a third roving flock

Blackcap (2) - the two 'permanent' 2CY females

Wren (1) - ringed as an adult female, first winter period last year

Blackbird 6 (3) - surprise bird of the week; why?

Robin (1)

Chaffinch 5

Greenfinch 2 - both "1st years" (now 2CY)

Goldfinch 13 (3) - top spot again

Siskin 1 - a 5F

Bullfinch 1 (1) - another new male and a 2010 female

Checking through the Blackbirds' wing-lengths, the following is noticeable. There were two males with 'continental' lengths, 138 & 137 mm, and the other a northern UK or 'near continental' size of 134 mm, with which I was more familiar in East Anglia. There were two females with "long" wings, 136 & 134 mm, two 'intermediate' at 131 & 130 mm, and the final two with the more expected wing-length of 128 mm for local birds. Some of our local females are as short as 124 mm, so these last two were on the "big" side. All the new birds were rather "speckled" on the breast, i.e. with pale edges to the body feathers, suggestive of migratory birds.

The last couple of days have turned mild, temperatures at night being more reminiscent of January daytime figures (8-9 deg C). Whether this will inhibit birds from seeking out and using the feeders, time will tell. Some birds are striving to get into breeding condition and breeding plumage. At this time of year you're quite likely to "acquire" a few body feathers, especially from Dunnocks, as they go through a pre-nuptial moult. I sometimes wonder if these birds are not being a bit premature, but I suppose they'll survive.

My little helper ("Amber" - Lakeland x Border)

A very happy, fortunate and mega-birdy New Year to you from   Cardew Ellis