Holiday time and the rain returns

No sooner had I written "we could do with some rain", than we get 16mm overnight, thanks to a belt of thunder-storms coming up from France. Around midday the lights went out as well, care of a lightning strike on an exposed cable nearby, so we had a cup of coffee using the Camping Gaz stove. We had "another dose" of thunder and lightning last night, too. At least it pushed the humid air away somewhere else.

The BTO have kindly sent me a report of a Siskin [Y319780] that I caught in the orchard on 4th February this year. It had travelled at least 167 kilometers (105 miles) since leaving Kings Norton in Birmingham on 14th March 2013 [327 days]. It was a full adult male and where it had finally ended up breeding last year is anybody's guess, but most likely north of Birmingham. 

Male Siskin (library picture)

Local ringer Karen sent me an email enquiring about another Siskin. It turns out to have been ringed by her trainer, Denise, on 25-09-2013 as a 3J, then caught by me on 28-12-2013 and now in her garden this Maytime. It only missed one other local ringer! The other bird she sent me was yet another Siskin, which I had ringed as a 6M on 04-07-12, then got re-caught by John, the fourth ringer, on 03-03-2013 and finally over to Karen's on 03-05-2014. Perhaps Denise's next stop? These little finches are highly mobile (as I found out in Norfolk) and move around seeking the right food at the right time and shifting their nest sites between broods as well. 

The weather has mainly been unsettled or full sun since last time. However, it has recently deteriorated, but it has been warm for the most part. The garden is full of young birds busy trying to feed themselves on whatever they can find that suits. At this time of year the feeders do not empty as fast as they usually do since the number one job for the birds is to hunt out insects that we consider pests and they consider delicious. 

Young Goldfinch

Degraded male Blackbird retrices

Also, the main consumers, Goldfinches, are virtually absent during late May to early August. The thing that is shifting like no tomorrow is dried meal-worms - parenting Robins, all manner of Blackbirds, but first and foremost, the Pied Wagtails. Our cat is also partial to a few! (meal-worms, that is). The Jackdaws rob out the suet pellets before anything else can get a share, too. Expensive time of year!

I chucked out some stale dog food onto the lawn one afternoon. Low and behold, seventeen, yes, 17, Herring Gulls swooped in all at once and removed it in ten seconds flat!! Three pairs are currently nesting on neighbours 'roofs' and there are some dozen or so pairs actively nesting in the village. Next door's have lost two wee youngsters from their chimney-pot nest site. Both rolled out down the roof onto the car spaces; the second one was quickly snaffled by the local Sparrowhawk in front of the owners' son and his girlfriend. Mum & dad HERGU weren't best pleased! They soon forgot about it/them.

Day-old HERGU chick

Over fifteen days to 7th June, I managed to catch, intermittently, the following:

"Think you're a big boy! Wait 'til I get hold of yer! I'll make y' squeal!"
[Juvenile Blue Tit - soon after fledging]

Woodpigeon 2
Rook 2 - 1 of each sex

Goldcrest (1) - breeding female

Blue Tit 36 (3) - 10 adults & 29 juvs

Great Tit 11 (2) - 10 juvs & 1 adult male hatched in 2011

Coal Tit 1 - 1st juv of the year
Reed Warbler 1 - NFY, "quelle surprise"
Wren (1) - adult female with BP
Blackbird 10 (4) - 9 juvs in this total

Robin 10 (4) - new birds all juvs, retraps = parents, incl. 2 females hatched 2011

Dunnock 1 (1) - promptly disappeared, must be nesting again 

House Sparrow 9 (3) - juvs but retraps were 2 males & 1 female
Pied Wagtail 6 (1) - ALL JUVS except r/t 2CY male
Chaffinch 7 (1) - 6 of 7 juvs were male(?) on size

Greenfinch 10 - juv sexes in equal numbers plus a fresh breeding pair
Goldfinch 11 (2) - 9 juvs, plus 2 new males, a "2014" female (aged 4), and a male that was one of the first birds I ever ringed here as an adult in January 2011. 
Bullfinch (1) - 2CY female in breeding condition

17 species, 117 new birds, 24 recaptures from previous dates/blogs

Juvenile Greenfinch, post-fledging

NB. All the photos (I mean snaps!) are my own, taken with a Fujifilm compact.

Middle March

It's been longer than a week, but the current weather is holding things back right now after what promised to be a mild and gentle beginning to spring. Progress has been slow,in part due to the extremes of bright sunshine or blustery winds first thing in the morning. The weathermen must have realised that I was due a dose of shingles. Got to have something to occupy ones mind when the catching is slow!

Male Lesser Redpoll

This is what ten days from 15th to 24th have accomplished:

Collared Dove 1 - a second escaped (as they do)

Blue Tit  (3) - no brood patches apparent

Great Tit 1 - a female with the beginnings of a brood patch
[Note: Great Tits generally nest 7-10 days earlier than Blue Tits]

Chiffchaff 2 - first on 19th, next on 21st; low fat scores indicate "local" birds

Wren 1 - 2CY female

Blackbird 1 (2) - another new full adult female

Robin 2 (2) - nesting in progress. 4th & 5th new birds of the year also

Dunnock 1 (3)

House Sparrow 1 (2)

Chaffinch 3 - plus one released unringed ("scaly leg")

Greenfinch 1 - cracking male

Goldfinch 13 (10)

Siskin 1 (2) - all males

Lesser Redpoll 1 - only the second of the year

29 new birds + 23 recaptures of 14 species  

There was not much sign of passing Goldfinches. One female was carrying a large amount of fat deposits (ESF 40) sufficient for a migration of perhaps 200+ miles, with another two birds with less (ESF 25), enough for 100 miles or so. Half of the birds showed no or little traces of fat so they must be intending to remain locally for the time being. We know that they cross the south-west peninsula, seeking the warmer English Channel coast during winter, before returning north to areas around the Bristol Channel.

Goldcrest
(heard but not caught - yet)

 My apologies for a late posting - due to my current, painful affliction. Should be able to catch up later this week, I hope.

Sixteen days of dark

Hi again. We are nearly at the point when the evenings (theoretically) start to get lighter! I'm a SAD old git! and won't be waking up properly until mid Feb. Such is life.

A bit low on pics but I either forget to take one that will illustrate a point I want to pass on, or forget to get the camera out. [It's only a Fuji compact]. Ringing, or, more correctly, id in the hand is not always as straight forward as some will have us believe - nor as difficult as a few sceptics would either. The exchange of photos of "good" and "bad" birds can but help the less experienced to learn a bit more and avoid pitfalls.

Male Goldcrest - orange crown just visible

Ringing at home was a bit hit and miss, partly because of the weather and also because I was away 'up country', delivering Xmas presents, seeing old pals elsewhere and attending the 80th BTO Conference in north Derbyshire (mainly ringing, of course!) BUT, it's been good when I tried with just the two (semi-permanent) nets. I cleared the leaves twice and talked to the trees - but they didn't listen.

Immature female Goldfinch
with retained median/greater coverts

The biggest hit were the King Harrys (Goldfinches) which have only just started coming to the feeders in any number. 

Immature female Goldfinch
that has moulted all its coverts

They brought a few Siskins with them, too. The Redwings and Fieldfares are still taking berries but the occasional one sits in an apple tree, picking at the apples that are still left hanging on, up there where I can't get them. 

Redwing

My efforts up to the 11th succeeded in catching:

Collared Dove 1 - f.g. female

Goldcrest 1 (3) - 3 males

Blue Tit 5 (6) - birds of the year, except for 2 first-time breeders

Great Tit 1

Coal Tit 1 (2) - 1CY's

Long-tailed Tit 19 (5) - 16 together in one net!

Blackcap 7 (1) - the re-trap was feeding up for 'the off' (F1>F4)

Wren (2)

Blackbird 10 (1) - 4 adult females, 5 imm. females, 2 imm. males.

Fieldfare 2 - ad. male & 1CY female

Song Thrush 1 - adult

Redwing 1 - immature bird (123 wing)

Robin (3)

Dunnock 1 (1)

House Sparrow 2 (2) - caught during a chase (3 males!)

Chaffinch 3 - females, 2 adult

Goldfinch 59 (16) - 75 different birds, oldest from March 2011 and its first recapture; of the rest - 21 adults, (10 males, 8 females, 2 unsexed), 54 immatures, (25 males, 25 females, 4 unsexed); the females were prevalent in the earlier catches.

Siskin 3 - all adults

NB. I've taken out all the same period re-traps from the figures to give some idea of the number of birds present/ passing through. I always do this and put the recapture totals in brackets after the newly ringed birds.

Adult male Fieldfare 

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.

Wha' d'ya know!

It's Friday and it's piddling down and blowing stiffley and there's no ringing today. Answer - do the weekly blog update. It has been frosty most nights (down to -6C), sunny one day, cloudy the next; not the best ringing/migration weather.

The Coal Tits seem to have passed on, the Goldcrests, too, and there were far less Blackbirds evident around the house. Lots of Blue Tits at the moment - but they're canny wee birds and skip over the tops of the nets. The Redwings continue to visit our neighbours tall Cotoneaster (hence the numbers ringed), having abandoned our Holly, which is now 99.9% devoid of berries.

Redwing (adult, December)

There have been six or more Blackcaps in the garden, five of whom now have bling on their right leg. That's 12 trapped so far this month, all of which have to be immigrants from the continent. This follows the three week gap between emigrants and immigrants that was also evident at my old ringing site that I ran for twenty years in north Bedfordshire where Blackcap was the top (most numerous) species ringed. To assist them through the winter, I put out soaked sultanas on the (three) bird tables as well as the usual seed varieties. 

Need to take these wee things on AE with smaller f-stop

Dunnocks have been 'showing off' lately, with 'beta' males trying to muscle in on the flirting. The Herring Gulls are back and their friends joined them this week on the factory roofs visible from our kitchen and landing windows. At least we haven't got the LBBGs back yet; they have a habit of sitting on our chimney pots and yelling down the flues whilst we're having breakfast! Perhaps they're at Anza, Morocco. See here

A surprise bird was the juvenile Piedy Wag that was low in the net in the orchard. They are usually caught across the lawn during or soon after nesting.

8th-14th Dec. A total of 48 different birds, 28 newbies given bling, plus 20 re-visiting from previous weeks, some more than once (not counted). 

Goldcrest (1)

Blue Tit 4 (5)

Great Tit 1 (1)

Coal Tit (1)

Long-tailed Tit (3)

Blackcap 4 (1)

Blackbird 1

Redwing 4

Robin 1 (2)

Dunnock 1 (4)

House Sparrow 1 (2)

Pied Wagtail 1

Greenfinch 2

Goldfinch 6

Siskin 1

Bullfinch 1

Nowhere to go

Appointments, appointments, appointments; one of those weeks. So when it wasn't raining, and I wasn't busy attending to this, that and the other, it was another week of garden ringing. Fortunately we get some protection from the northerly winds or I'd be scuppered.

Blackcaps are making a show at the moment. I had five new birds through in late October (ringed), two more last week and four this week. Fellow ringer, John, had a whopping twelve during the back half of November. It's no good, I shall have to plant some Fig trees!

First male Blackcap of this autumn

I don't think that I've caught two Collared Doves in a week before; both were hatched earlier in the year - and that may explain it, 'cos the regular adults know how to avoid getting caught (or how to get out!). There has been an influx of Blackbirds locally but the Redwings and Fieldfare groups seem to have passed on, leaving the odd bird or two to the residual food. A pleasant surprise was a small party of Siskins that came to the feeders. Four were caught as they tried to escape our terrier, with a lone bird calling from the top of the apple tree.

Siskin under-tail coverts (adult)

This week saw 16 species, with 36 new birds plus 18 re-captures.
Collared Dove 2 - both young birds (from the spring?)
Goldcrest (1)
Blue Tit 8 (3)
Great Tit (2)
Coal Tit (2)
Long-tailed Tit (2)
Chiffchaff 1 - almost certainly an abietinus
Blackcap 4 - 2x 1CY plus 1 adult female and a 1CY male, 
Blackbird 4 (2)
Robin 1 (3)
Dunnock 2 (1)
Chaffinch 1
Greenfinch 2 (1)
Goldfinch 5 (1)
Siskin 4 - all caught at once
Bullfinch 2 - both young females

Wintering Chiffchaff

          Young Robin 'with the hump' on a cold day

Must go and make 'best use' of this sunshine, today!

TW3

Migration has certainly slowed down now. There are two reasons for thinking this. One, is the daily passage westwards of a flock of up to 100 Starlings shortly after dawn from their roost on The Levels to their daytime feeding areas, somewhere Minehead way. Two, there was a flurry of Redwings and Fieldfares on Monday, that built up to more impressive flocks on Tuesday and then waned on Wednesday. These latter birds were all moving north-east over the Quantocks in groups varying around the twenty mark, sometimes coalescing into flocks of c. 100. Up the lane, the owner has planted many berried trees and shrubs that attract them; it was quite impressive in the mornings, but tailing off before noon. Several thousand must have passed through.

John, who lives "the other side of the pylons", managed to catch a few of these thrushes recently, namely 12 Redwing and a single Fieldfare - plus loads of Blackbirds. I should add that the pylons skirt the north of the village and John lives in an area detached from the main village by an area known as 'Danesfield' where there was a battle with the Viking invaders, many, many, many moons ago. That also makes us twice as far from the coast as he is.

This week, I have again managed to catch 48 birds, as last week, but only 36 of them were new, all requiring BTO bling. As last week, the species tally was also 14. At long last, the painters have left and the scaffold has been taken away. Just leaves another week for the jobbing builders to come and do the 'snagging' and the unfinished jobs. Peace and quiet will then reign and perhaps the birds will deem to grace the feeders, etc. in the usual manner.

Top dog, sorry - bird, was the Tom Tit, followed by King Harrys, much the same as last week, with Blackie replacing the Golden-crested Wren. [These are the country-side names]. New Coal Tits are still coming through as are Blackcaps. Just the other day, I noticed a singing Chiffchaff that had taken up residence where there were two breeding territories in the summer.

The all important list:
Gt. Spot. Woodpecker (1) - ad. male first caught this Sept.
Goldcrest 1 (1)
Blue Tit 9 (3) - 5 of the new ones were 'adult'
Gt. Tit 1 (1)
Coal Tit 2 (1) - 
Long-tailed Tit (1) - from early Jan this year
Blackcap 1 - a female this time
Blackbird 6 (1) - more females than males
Robin 1 (1) - the new bird was still in PJ moult
Dunnock (1)
House Sparrow 2 (1) - all males
Chaffinch 3 - all females, 2 adult
Greenfinch 1 - a 3F
Goldfinch 8 (1) - no adult females

Male House Sparrow (1CY) November

Male Gt. Spotted Woodpecker (2CY) November

Female Blue Tit (adult) November

Female Blackbird (1CY - 4ogc) November; immigrant?

Male Blackbird (1CY - 4ogc) November; immigrant?

Female Goldcrest

  

For those of you young ones, TW3 (TWTWTW) was a satirical TV programme called "That was the week that was" with David Frost, John Cleese and many others of that genre .

Allez oop

Despite the weather it has been a good week in most respects. I have been able to do some ringing every day, though Tuesday only saw 1 new Blue Tit in the bag before the wind got up.           

The garden produced 96 new birds (10, 1, 16, 11, 12, 26, 20) and 13 recaptures of 10 species using one 60' in our small orchard. Thursday morning at  Highbridge meadows yielded 21 new plus 3 re-traps including a new species, Grewo, originally from Five Bells, a couple of km to the north-west. There was a passage of Chaffinches but no Mipits or Swallows. Saturday at the meadows saw the temperature down to 0C with clear skies and just 4 new AA rings plus 2 re-traps. 12 Jays moved overhead from the direction of the Crown Estate (mainly coniferous) towards the Quantocks (large tracts of deciduous) at 08:30 and 4 Meadow Pipits took an interest in the "tape" but decided to avoid the net and moved on. Just 2 lone Swallows were seen hastening south. There was a noticeable increase in the number of Siskin feeding high in the Alders, which coincided with their attraction to the garden feeders.

Siskin - male 2CY (October)

*** Birds trapped at the meadows = 25 (4):
Green Woodpecker - control
Blue Tit 1 (1)
Great Tit 4
Long-tailed Tit 7 (3)
Chiffchaff 5
Wren 1
Blackbird 1
Robin 1
Dunnock1
Chaffinch 4

The main event at the house was the number of Goldfinches that appeared from Tuesday onwards. Until now, it has just been the local birds - that know their way around the feeders without getting caught too often.

1CY Goldfinch - After PJ moult

1CY Goldfinch - During PJ moult

 *** Birds caught at the house = 96 (12) [excludes any same week re-traps]
Blue Tit 10 (6)
Great tit 3 (1)
Coal Tit 8 (1) - 2 adults
Chiffchaff 2 - both 'long-winged' @ 64mm
Robin (3)
Dunnock 1
House Sparrow 1
Chaffinch 1
Greenfinch 1
Goldfinch 59 (1) - a dozen adults, F=M
Siskin 10 - influx Fri/Sat (6/7th Oct); 8 adults, 2 juvs

Coal Tit - 1CY

Just thought that I'd show some "rear views" for a change. I will be going to be away from the village for much of the next two weeks and therefore ringing at the house will have to be snatched "as and when". However, my pliers will be in use elsewhere!

Just like 'buses

None. Then three come at once. New species ringed for the 1km square.      

1CY female

 On Saturday, the the meadow on the west side of the stream was mown. On Monday it was teddered. On Wednesday (yesterday) it was baled. I was able to get into the site before it was baled, this being the first time this year that I have been able to do so. [Firstly, the area was heavily flooded in April, it then remained very wet and, finally, the hay was so tall and thick I couldn't get my car on there].

Ringing site in middle ground, Rydon Hill in the background

I did get to do some ringing on Wednesday with a little success. This was pleasing as it was quite windy and I finished with 11 new birds and three re-traps, covering 10 species. When I went to bed, the sky was starlit, but when I got up, it was 8/8 cloud and the promised decrease in wind strength had not materialised. Nevertheless, I trogged off down the meadows and opened the nets, all 180' of them, in the small orchard and round the bend in the stream. After one hour, I had caught nothing and was thinking 'what a waste of effort'. But it turned out better than I had hoped; best catch all year down there with 21 new and 2 re-traps, covering 10 species. I also found a "crossing", where it is just possible to get from one side of the stream to the other, right where we put the nets. That will save a long (10+ minute) walk round! What a good dog 'Cerise' is to point me in the right direction!

Cerise - or Belsharose Cote D'Or (a BSD)

By the end of the two days, I had ringed 34 new birds and re-captured 5 of some 15 species. After far too long being unable to get in a really good session (considering the constraints of the site), I was really pleased with the result. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next two days will bring forth.  Visible migration is a bit stop-start at the moment. This depends to some extent here on the tides in the Bristol Channel as many birds feed up again as soon as they hit the shore-line and cliffs, if they have come over the water from Wales - as many do.

Today It started with a couple of Blackcap and a couple of Chiffs calling from the brambles; they had probably dropped with the front but they didn't hang about once it had warmed up a little. A few Chaffinches then appeared, followed by the first wave of Greenfinches. Some Swallows were on the wing by half-seven but a second wave moved through swiftly an hour later, followed by a very large insurgence around 10 o'clock (GMT +1) that hugged the newly cut floor of the field. Some moved on after 15 minutes feeding while others went and rested on the overhead electricity cables as the sun came out. Around 8 o'clock, a few Linnets and Pied Wagtails appeared. "Putting a tape on", I managed to seduce three Linnets into the nets. These became my "new" birds, bringing the total species ringed so far in the 1km square to 49. As usual, the Goldfinches moved from place to place, exploiting the thistles on a daily basis as they ripen. The Meadow Pipits were late this morning and in very poor numbers; none came to 'tape' although I thought one might have been interested at one point.

Pointed tail feathers of a 1CY (female) Linnet

1CY male Linnet

 The final bird turned out to be a "new for year" one, a juvenile Sedge Warbler. This particular bird, with a wing of 64mm, weighed 11.7 gms and was carrying some reasonable fat (ESF 30). We would have had more if only we had been able to access the site in July and August. One other bird of note was a fully grown adult male Blackbird that had lost half its tarsus and foot on the left side. No photo, I'm afraid, as I don't have three hands!

Juvenile Sedge Warbler

 The final tally over 2 days was:
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 - adult male in moult
Blue Tit 3 (1) - mix of ages
Great Tit (1) - adult female
Long-tailed Tit 4 (1)
Blackcap 4 - 50/50 sexes
Chiffchaff 1 (1)
Sedge Warbler 1 - NFY
Wren 1 - a very juvenile one
Blackbird 1
Song Thrush 1 - juv (6 ogc)
Robin 1 (1)
Chaffinch 4 - all PJ-ing with some fat; 50/50 M/F
Greenfinch 5 - from a spotty young female to a smart adult male
Goldfinch 3 - ??local birds, PJ-ing
Linnet 3 - today's jackpot

"Bring me sunshine..." but not too bright and with some broken cloud!

Saved by the tits

I managed to get in another session down at the water meadows on Sunday, a week after our last effort. This was the only chance of doing any ringing this week, so I took it gladly. I concentrated around net 1 since the rides further down the meadow were susceptible to the weather. As it was, I would have missed/scared off the only Blackcap hanging round there if and when I put the nets up. It was fairly sunny despite the cloud cover racing in from the coast (from the north-west) but the willows and alders create some shade for the net(s) at the top end of the site, where I stayed today.

Last week's moulting adult Chiff

Nine o'clock - and still no birds in the nets. Boredom was averted by a spot of bird watching instead. The local male Sparrowhawk appeared from the direction of home but was quickly picked up, and picked on, by the resident Crow from the hill. For a while, the Sparr let the crow have its fun but eventually turned on its tormentor. After a bit of a telling off, the Crow returned to the offensive until the Sparr was outside the imaginary defensive territorial ring. [Well, I couldn't make out the boundary, only a set distance from the top of the hill]. Later, a female Sparr was brought to my attention by the swarm of 'clinking' Swallows that accompanied her. She soon cleared off towards the riding school. 

The Woodpigeons have finished building their nest in the willows on the other side of the stream/river. The local male(?) Great Spotted Woodpecker flew across to look for its 'dinner' elsewhere. I counted four Blackcaps 'ticking' around the site in various hedges. These hedges would be ideal for ringing if only they didn't consist of a fence/hedge/deep ditch/hedge/another fence; they are kept at just the right height, too, for setting an intercepting net. 

From the lane, looking SE towards the Quantocks

Standing in the lane I could see the net. At nine o'clock, I noticed some activity around the trees. It look liked tits or warblers from this distance. By now the place was warming up and there was more bird activity generally. Eventually I could see that I had a catch.

It wasn't a brilliant morning but I did end up with the following:

Blue Tit 4 - including an adult male '49er'

Great Tit 2 - juvs

Long tailed Tit 1 (1) - an adult pair completing their moult

Chiffchaff 3 - a 3JP and 2x 3JJs

Blackcap 2 - a 3JP male & a 3JJ fem

There should have been another Blackcap, a 3P male, but it was a case of 'butter fingers'.

    

The weather forecast implies that we won't be able to go ringing this week until Friday at the earliest. Perhaps a spell of better (fine) weather then, before the aftermath of hurrican Isaac hits us. Tallyho! 

More to come?

This could be said of several things at the moment. Rain? My cold? Blackcaps? Xmas cards? Blue Tits? More decorating? Redwings? Whatever!

Any road up, I've managed to fit in a bit of "bird catching". 16 birds covering 10 species since my last blog entry on Wednesday. Not bad - and a new species ringed for the garden/1km 'home' square!

We've had so much rain lately that even our wellington boots have grown webbed feet. The stream has risen even further and, down at the net sites, has begun to undercut the banks in the soft mudstone geology. Will all my racks be there in the spring, I wonder?


One of the pleasing happenings is the appearance of "young" Blue Tits; this is against the recent run of 'mainly adults' that have been a feature of this autumn. You can tell it's a 'bird of the year' by the bleached and un-moulted feathers close to the edge of the wing.


The Blackcaps still keep on turning up. Here is a young male with hell of a lot of "juvvy brown" still left among the 'adult type' black feathers of a male crown. He also had 2 easily distinguished, old (i.e. faded) greater coverts.


On to the new species. We have had between 17 & 23 Redwings toing and froing from the Holly tree and the Ashes. Today I managed to ring a couple of these, one a youngster, the other an adult. These are easily told apart by the tail shapes and the striking white tips in the juveniles to (at least one of) the tertials which cover the closed wing.


A few more birds added to the 2011 totals; it won't be long before we all start a new "countdown" in 2012. I hope to have all my "legal paperwork" done and sent off by the end of the first week in January [It actually goes electronically] together with my permit renewal.

A couple of (half)day's effort realised the following:
Blue Tit 1 (2)
Great Tit (1)
Long-tailed Bushtit (1)
Blackcap 2
Blackbird (1)
Song Thrush 1
Redwing 2
House Sparrow 1
Chaffinch 1
Goldfinch 3**

**I am looking forward to catching a few more of those King Harry's.
Oh. I forgot. It's gonna get warmer for a bit - and the winds'll pick up to force 5 gusting 6, and I don't want a net in the apple trees again! I'll try and be patient.