Hard cheese

Hard graft, more like, for a few more weeks to come. My absence has been forced by a computer "mal-function", commonly known as the OS going nutty during a Win7 update, forcing complete closure and re-programming. Still - we're up and running now, but minus a large chunk of my ringing database. Hence the introductory comment.

A few ringers have been remarking on the poor breeding season, with special regard to provisioning of the young with food. Irregular feeding results in poor quality plumage in extremis but is generally evident in the growth bars present in the flight feathers. (That includes the tail). Sometimes the feathers lack pigment, giving the young birds an uncommon plumage hue. Their poor quality can lack insulation properties, making life even harder than it should have been as they enter the world. Here are two of the examples I have handled  recently.

Blue Tit fledgling

House Sparrow fledgling

Well, it's not been all bad. I've managed to ring in the garden in between fixing "the box" and other duties, wind and sun permitting. Suddenly, it seems as if the one-time nestlings have all popped out and are having to fend, in part, for themselves. I've racked up 94 new birds since being "off air", with another 21 recaptures. Today, I sloped off down to the 'river' after a three week gap, and added to the garden mix by way of Blackcap, Dipper and Swallow juveniles. 

Juvenile Dipper

Juvenile House Sparrow

Juvenile Siskin

Juvenile Goldfinch

Things are very quiet down there, with many birds singing heartily still, but very little evidence of any young about, excepting some Blue Tits, ... but the wind didn't help.

The totals over the 16 days were as follows; no double-counting. The re-traps, by and large, were adults

Jackdaw 1 - a cocky male

Blue Tit 9 (1)

Great Tit 7 (1)

Swallow 1 - juv

Blackcap 1 (1) - first juv and a 2010 male

Wren (1)

Dipper 1 - second juv

Blackbird 15 (4) - 7 were adult

Robin 7 (4)

Dunnock 5 (5)

House Sparrow 15 (2) - the r/t's say why I don't do a RAS!

Pied Wagtail 1

Chaffinch 5 - plus 2 with leg mange (unringed)

Greenfinch 5 (1)

Goldfinch 17 (1)

Siskin 4 - all juvs

16 spp., 94 new, 21 r/t 

The last bird of the day was a re-trap, male Blackcap. He was originally ringed, as a 2CY bird, in virtually the same spot, on, to all intents and purposes, the same day two years ago. It was only the third ever visit I had paid to the site and the first time I had set a net between those trees. Nine of the 12 Blackcaps I caught that day were juveniles. Not so this time. I do love my Sylvia warblers. 

I'll try to get another bulletin out before our German & Austrian visitors arrive in eleven days time. So long.