Surge of the Siskins

The fine days, when ringing was practical, were memorable for the influx of, first, the continuing show of Siskins, mixed in with a bit of movement through the area, and , secondly, for the passage of Goldfinches. The latter are now under-going a bit of pre-breeding fattening and are also showing signs of some body moult. Got to look their best!

It is quite noticeable with Goldfinches how they hold their weight down in winter when they can rely on a regular source of food, i.e. somebody's feeders. This is a survival mechanism, allowing them to flee quickly from predators. On the other hand, birds on passage can be picked out by either having a residual store of fat and, sometimes, low muscle condition (both used to give up energy for flight) or the fact that they can be re-caught after a day or two with a higher 'fat score', as they go about replenishing their energy levels, never to be seen again. The local birds are picked off early in the day, breakfasting on the feeders, most with "BTO bling" in evidence; thereafter, they spend much of their time singing and preening up in the tops of the boundary trees. Strangers, however, are usually caught during the 'body' of the day, as are some of the irregular "district" birds that circulate between the local ringers.  

Here's a jolly young Greenfinch in his first breeding season- all dolled up ready to catch the lady's eye! 

I managed to catch the following in dry, less windy interludes over the period, consisting of 72 new birds & 31 re-captures from earlier:

Woodpigeon (1) - another "fatty" from last spring (>600 g)

Blue Tit (2) - one of two resident pairs

Great Tit 2 (1) - strangers these days - looking for a nest site or a food source?

Long-tailed Tit (1)

Blackbird 2 (1) - the new immatures turned up on consecutive days - passage? 

Dunnock 1 (1) - the 5th new Dunno of the year!

House Sparrow 2 - a 'saucy' pair not looking what they were doing?

Chaffinch 1

Greenfinch 4 (2) - showed up for a few days and then disappeared again

Goldfinch 25 (16) - 19 of these were 2CY females 

Siskin 35 (6) - 26 were males & 33 were 2CY birds

        Just 11 species, but it won't be long before the migrants begin to show. Our male and female Blackcap are still with us, but I have not made any deliberate attempt to intercept them on their way to or from the bird table that houses the sultanas. I will need to before they depart.

A new black cat, I suspect it's a youngish one, has appeared a couple of times when the net(s) have been open. It soon beats a hasty retreat when our dogs charge over to that corner of the garden in full cry, where it will, hopefully, make a sharp exit over the larch-lap fence. I have planted Hawthorn and Dog-rose there as a future deterrent. Meanwhile, our cat remains indoors, oblivious, usually on the bed.

Whoosh!

Well, we've had some more torrential rain - and our third severe gale of the winter. Trees down, tiles off, glass smashed ... but the nets stood firm! February rainfall now 168mm, that's more than twice the monthly recorded average for the time of year, and we're only half way through the month. Any way, it's started raining again. The forecast does look to be improving at long last, though. That should help the pumps down on The Levels (locally re-named "Lake Paterson"). 

I managed to get out and set the net for the best part of a day on three occasions this week, whenever the wind had died down to a safe level. I do have some shelter in the orchard if the wind is in the right vector. Ryan, a trainee, came yesterday and cut his teeth on a new species for him, Siskin.

Male Siskin

The 21 re-captured Goldfinches comprised - 1 from the 2010/11 winter period, 3 from 2011/12, 4 from 2012/13 & 13 from previously this winter. The oldest bird would have been hatched in 2009 (or earlier). One of the Siskins was a control from 8km west, ringed as an adult male last spring; the other re-trap was also from the last winter period, while it was still immature. The suspicion is that the wet weather and the gales have ruined the remaining Alder tree seeds for the Siskins, bringing them back into the gardens at last.

How we got on:-
Great Tit - 2; first of the year
Chaffinch - 1; a large, adult male bird
Greenfinch - 6 (1); an awaited increase in numbers
Goldfinch - 36 (21); still coming through, (see above)
Siskin - 16 (2); a sudden, noticeable increase in numbers coming to the feeders
Bullfinch - (1); a 2011 female
Others - 5 spp. (8)

The sun's come out, albeit briefly!

Another GO

(That's word-play for you old-time, CBC workers)
Written on 8th February 2014.

As it is, I did have another go. Actually, it was four goes after the Goldfinches and another for the Siskins, which seem to have descended on the property in the last fortnight. As a by-catch, I think I caught all the local Blackbirds, Robins and Dunnocks, too. Well, almost.

It was a bit "hazardous", especially under-foot, as we are still in that run of Atlantic lows that have brought us repeated heavy rains and high winds since the middle of December. Since I last blogged (19th Jan), we have had another 170 mm of rain ... and some of that was hail, driven at 40-50 mph! Its "persisting down" outside right now as I type! Over the last eight weeks (up to last night, 7-8th) we have now had 471mm; or over 18.5 inches in old money and more than half the average annual rainfall recorded over the last 30 years!!!

Male - per Svensson

With all this wet weather, the horse paddocks are a haven for the Little Egrets. We can't aspire to the ten of last month but we have managed six together this week. I also saw a flock of twenty or so Chaffinches up the lane but just a pair around the garden. There are still a few Fieldfares and Redwings around, picking through the hedgerows, but the high water levels, and the brick red colour of the discharge, have kept the Dippers, Kingfishers and Grey Wagtails away. Yesterday, I did see a flock of over twenty Pied Wagtails feeding in one of the sheep fields now the sheep have been packed off to market. [Best place, or they'll end up with bad feet or even foot rot] .

The male and female Blackcap that have visited us every year since the winter of 2011-12 are still visible most mornings, snaffling sultanas and suet off the bird tables. They see most birds off except for the two cock Robins, who turn the tables. The Collared Doves just look bemused when one of the Blackcaps pops out of the Camellia and hops onto a tray. The "resident" Pied Wagtails keep looking at the top lawn for the meal-worms I put out especially for them. I have to change tack every so often because the No.1 cock Blackbird is also rather partial to them.

Adult female - per Svensson

The sex ratio of Goldfinches has evened out a little and is nearer to parity. The females still hold sway overall (4:3), but males dominate in the cohort of birds returning for a second or third winter by 2:1. A large tranche of those recaptured belong to birds ringed after last season's post-breeding / post-juvenile moulting. I've noticed that there are usually three main periods of feeding activity - the first approx. 30-40 minutes after I can make out birds (usually Blackbirds) at the bottom of the garden on brighter days or after dawn on a cloudy day. The second is half an hour either side of sidereal noon, with the third some two to three hours after that; then it goes "cold". Neither rain nor wind seems to reduce their activity at the moment, only mine. For interest, the temperatures have been ranging between 3C pre-dawn and 8C early afternoon, although one day it did reach 10C. During a couple of the storms, the temperature has dropped dramatically, as evidenced by the hail stones rattling on the windows.

Hard-won results:

Woodpigeon 0 (1) - presumed male, shot after 204 days

Blue Tit 2 (1)

Coal Tit 0 (1)

Long-tailed Tit 0 (2) - pair

Blackcap 0 (3) - 2x males, 

Blackbird 1 (4) - I know there are 4 of each sex hanging around; potential pairs?

Redwing 1 - fine adult

Robin 0 (2) - probably the females of the 2 pairs

Dunnock 2 (4)

House Sparrow 1 (1)

Chaffinch 1 

Greenfinch 2

Goldfinch 54 (35) - see above; oldest - a 4M from Oct 2012 (480 days)

Siskin 12 (5) - oldest retrap was a 5M from May 2012 (637 days)

Bullfinch 0 (4) - all females, 2 of which were full adults

Total - 15 Species, 76 newly ringed, 62 individuals re-captured. 

Imm female - per Svensson

The weather forecast is for more of the same for the foreseeable future (month?), so again it's wait and see. I doubt if I'll be able to top prune the apple trees this winter - more birds escaping over the nets! See you soon.