The first Swift has arrived

Although it is only two weeks since the last blog, several things have been noticeable, not least the sight of my first Swift of 2015 earlier this afternoon, flying over the garden.

We have not done a lot of ringing, mainly because I had to take to my bed with a temperature but also because Steve came to put the management's new, hand-built potting shed up. So, most of these records refer to the week before last. The last few days have been cold and temperatures below average for the time of year. The signs corroborated this with birds of all species ransacking the food I put out like there was no tomorrow. There was to be one, because I was putting out good quantities of the stuff (SFH, suet, mealworms & sultanas) three times a day!

On the other hand, we did get in a couple of early sessions down the meadows. Day 1 was warm with bright sunshine, Day 2 was dull, damp and cold. We managed to catch the local male Dipper (unringed) and both adults of a pair of Kingfishers nesting nearby. The treat was handling the 2CY female Blackcap bearing 'Paris7851989' on both occasions, even though we were using a different net set-up. With a 79.5 mm wing and weighing in at 21.5 grams the second time (up 1.5 g), she was a big girl with no signs of carrying much fat or of a brood patch.

Paris Blackcap

Female Kingfisher

1st Sedge Warbler of 2015 (24/04)

Other birds of note down there were a pair of Bullfinch, the first Sedge of the year, my first Swallows, just one of the Willow Warblers, a female, and a couple of territorial male Blackcaps that were 'lean and mean'. Most of the other birds were trapped in the garden orchard, before I went down with the lurgi. There was little point after the shed was up as the weather had changed for the worse.

Ninety birds of which 59 are new ringings. This includes the next lot of infant Robins, the first 3JJ Dunnocks and the first of the newly fledged Greenfinches (this Thursday 30th). Still no signs of any young Blackbirds coming to our lawns.  

Woodpigeon - 1; a small, underweight but feisty bird in active wing moult (3 centres), the first one to "stick" this year.

Kingfisher - 2; a pair

Blue Tit - (1)

Great Tit - 1 (4);

Swallow - 2; now back at the stables in good numbers

Chiffchaff - 1

Willow Warbler - 4; passage seems to have stopped about a week ago

Blackcap - 6 (2); even split on sex

Sedge Warbler - 1

Wren - 2 (2); one 'eggy' female

Starling - (1)

Dipper - 1; territorial male

Blackbird - 3 (2)

Robin - 6 (2)

Dunnock - 2; young bird on 25th

House Sparrow - (3)

Chaffinch - 2 (2); mixed ages/sexes, male from 2013,

Bullfinch - 2; an unexpected 2CY pair

Greenfinch - 6 (4); 50% adult males, 2 birds from 2012

Goldfinch - 16 (8); two-thirds males, still some passage going on, weights >18 g

Siskin - 1; breeding female on 18th (BP4)

One bird missing off this list is Redstart - a calling individual was heard for about 30 minutes in the tops of the Ash trees while we were putting the roof on the shed.

[406:31]

No fools in sight

The gales are subsiding now; fortunately we escaped without damage this year. Last spring, we lost part of the roof and a very old Rowan that took the fence with it.

The garden is full of bird activity. There are also quite a few Wood Mice around, munching into the bird food on the bird table. We have to translocate these to a neighbouring small-holding some 4-500 metres away. The butterflies are starting to wake up, too. When we took the old potting shed down, we discovered a fat, female Slow-worm under a discarded piece of corrugated iron sheeting amongst the Bluebells.

The Robins are busy collecting either nest material, lining or worms almost non-stop. They also nip onto the bird tables for the old sultana or suet pellet. At least one has a wrinkled brood patch, indicative of sitting on eggs in one of the hedges. We have at least three pairs of Blackbirds, also foraging in the garden. The females are less frequent now and are more likely to visit alone, a sign that they are probably sitting, too. The Pied Wagtails can all be distinguised by the direction that they head for when they are either fed or disturbed by a bigger bird. Obviously nesting on/in different buildings. "Peg Leg", who has a 'club foot', is still with us; I first ringed him in July 2012 as a 6M. 

The Starlings roll in every morning in their twos. I've ringed ten so far this year but not re-trapped any from previous years (which amounts to a mere seven in three years). When we came here we hardly ever saw a Starling in the village, except during winter. I noticed two more unringed ones this morning - trap set!

Adult male Greenfinch (spring)

Chiffchaff with pollen horn

Over the last two or three weeks, the main movement into the feeders and the tall Ash trees beyond the bottom hedge has been of Chaffinch and Greenfinch. Some of this is of returning birds as there seems to be much displaying and singing around the tree tops. They do drop down sometimes, low enough to connect with the orchard net. (see below).

The Goldfinches have been inspecting the herbaceous border and the vegetable garden for nesting material including my Belgian's fine hair, which I put out for them after she's had a brushing. Again, there seem to be three pairs attempting to nest close by, with several more that shoot off from the feeders in the direction of the hedges by the railway or at the rear of the 'industrial estate'/ local tip - sorry, I mean the recycling centre.

The veteran male over-wintering Blackcap was seen singing this morning and also when he came to the bird table. I wonder when he will push off for his 'unknown-to-us' homeland and traditional nesting territory. The incoming migrants should be with us within the week, fingers crossed.

The meadows are ready for some attention but the poor weather prevents us from attending. I did hear the Dipper this morning and a lone Chiffchaff but the bushes/trees are barely breaking bud at present, providing no cover. A Wheatear passed through on the 13th, the day after a small Redwing passage. As long as it doesn't rain hard for any length of time, we will make our first visit of the year after Easter.

This period, I managed to find 20 species, covering 38 new birds and 45 re-captured individuals, in the net(s). The weather has been a problem from a safety point of view and there's not much on the migration front yet either, except some Chiffs.

Woodpigeon - (1); heavyweight at 619 gm

Collared Dove - 1; a fledging that got taken by a Sparr. 2 days later

Jackdaw - 1; adult female with brood patch (B2) on 23rd

Goldcrest - 1 (1); a pair, caught on subsequent days (together)

Blue Tit - 1 (4); they are an "unknown quantity" and not common hereabouts

Great Tit - 1 (2); 2 known pairs

Chiffchaff - 4; all males, the first 2 on 16th/18th were full adults, the other two on 18th & 30th of uncertain age - but the latter most likely 2CY 

Blackcap - (1); the over-wintering 5 female, showing fat3

Wren - 1 (1); both adult males

Starling - 5; two adult pairs & a 2CY male

Blackbird - 4 (3); 4 new adults; on the move?

Redwing - 1; another adult; definite shortage of 1st year birds here

Robin - 1 (7); omni-present!

Dunnock - 1 (2); there are more than this here at the moment!

House Sparrow - 3 (7); all males bar a lone female

Pied Wagtail - (2); and regular, old pair

Chaffinch - 4; all 'age5' females

Greenfinch - 3 (3); males with a single female

Goldfinch - 5 (10); 

Siskin - 1 (1); both males, possibly nesting locally (no fat)

One recovery received -  a 5M Siskin to Callandar (Stirlingshire), a distance of 567 km in 87 days (spring 2014), controlled by a ringer (= probably nesting)

That's it. More news in a couple of weeks or so, Deo volente.

PS. For Poldark fans, or their spouses, here is "Wheal Leasure" in action!

Somewhere in Penwith, 2014

Lovebirds and Fisticuffs

Here we are again and things have moved on somewhat from my last post. 

Our Robins are now paired up, with the males watching their mates as they feed up or collect nesting material around the garden. The males are looking very cocky. I think we have three pairs but I have only been able to re-trap the ones around the back during the last three weeks; the pair at the front have a different routine.

Our Blackbirds, too are well advanced with the females showing a well defined brood patch. They come separately in their pairs to the meal-worms and suet pellets on the lawn but occasionally they arrive at the same time. This is when the males have a 'set to' and fight like Moorhens, with their feet in the air, clawing at each other. There are four pairings that we can identify by ages and plumage, plus some "stray" virgin (2CY) females that may be 'on passage'.

The main tally of new birds consisted almost entirely of finches. I did spook an adult Redwing from the ivy berries in the side hedge yesterday which ended up in the net.  It will be a couple of weeks yet before the main exodus of our winter visitors will take place. It normally occurs about the same time as the influx of Chiffchaffs and the first Willow Warblers arrive.

How the Redwing gets its name

The Blackcaps are winding themselves up for the up-coming breeding season - the males are getting quite tuneful. I also caught a new male with "fat 4", which is where the fat deposits bulge and reach the end of the clavicles (the bird's collar-bone) and there is a clearly bulging pad of fat on the abdomen. This build up will enable a night flight to the near continent, assuming that it will make towards the direction of Hungary or some other spot in central Europe. I expect our wintering population to leave us in the next week.

First winter (continental) female Blackcap

There are still plenty of Goldfinches attending the SFH feeders. One male, that was hatched locally and who has been through one breeding season, showed a well defined cloacal protuberance, a sign that he is already thinking of another family. It will be a further three weeks before his mate will begin to lay eggs, but a nest site and constructing a nest will be his current priority - and keeping his mate well fed! 

 
 Some Goldfinch tails to ponder over

Although we get Rooks in the garden throughout the year, it is only now, when they are nesting, that they (a few regulars) actively seek out the bird food, especially any suet/fat based products and the meal-worms tossed onto the kitchen lawn. Late May into June sees the best time to catch and ring any in the garden; I don't have any traps large enough for one so rely on netting them then. We also get Jackdaws, one of which is "pied"

Jackdaws thieving the suet pellets

I've started to open up the net rides down the meadows in anticipation of being able to ring some north-bound migrants. Right now it's out of the question, since it's cold and wet outside and the stream is 'brown' and in full spate. I'll have to hurry up if I want to catch some Meadow Pipits should the weather change to "favourable"! 

Here are the 59 new birds that have been trapped over the last three weeks, together with the number of different individuals re-trapped.
Collared Dove - 1
Blue Tit - 1; just seen 2 pass the window unringed!
Coal Tit - 1
Long-tailed Tit - (1)
Blackcap - 2 (1)
Blackbird - 2 (4)
Redwing - 1
Robin - (4)
Dunnock - 2 (1)
House Sparrow - (1)
Chaffinch - 16; 13 females, only 4 adults
Greenfinch - 12 (1); 9 females, just 2 adult females
Goldfinch - 19 (18); 24 of these were males (14=2CY), 2 unsexed
Siskin - 2 (1)

Well, that's filled up a cold and rainy day. 'til next time, "take care".

A wintery month

Well, we thought it was cold for us! The temperatures yo-yoed up and down from day to day, hitting minus 7 and plus 12 at night and daytime maximums between plus 4 and plus 15. Compared to some, we got off lightly. Something tells me it's going to get worse later this week with strong winds adding to the dismay.

Since Boxing Day, exactly one month ago, I have managed to ring 115 new birds of 21 species. A couple of birds stand out: another young Black Redstart was somewhat of a surprise and a male Blackcap in its 5th calendar year made a return visit to the bird table. 

Juvenile Black Redstart number 2

During this period, there have been seven other species in the garden which haven't found their way onto the 2015 capture list (yet); Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Magpie, Redwing, Rook and Sparrowhawk.

Immature female Blackcap (winter)

I have a new trainee who is taking a year out from his studies at Bangor Uni. to earn some money and get some hands-on, too. He's certainly got the hang of wing measurements and 9 times out 10 gets the same as me - and I'm known as a 'long-winger' [cut the jokes out there, you lot]. Charles shows promise.

The complete list is as follows, subsequent captures omitted:
Woodpigeon 1
Collared Dove 2
Goldcrest (1)
Blue Tit 5 (5) - X105976 is a 2010 (male) bird
Great Tit 1 (3)
Coal Tit 1
Long-tailed Tit 8 (6) - mostly paired up, incl. a pair of birds ringed by JW in November 
Blackcap 3 (2) - X105790 had evaded capture in previous 2 winters
Wren 1 (2)
Starling 3 - the females this time
Blackbird 2 (5) - 7 local birds but only ever see 4!
Robin 2 (8) - 10 birds! Mostly paired up with minor sparring at times. 5 were retrapped 2x. Female L890601 was a 3J back in early summer 2011.
Black Redstart 1 - 
Dunnock 2 (8) - also paired up and singing. Y482086 is a 2011 female or earlier
House Sparrow 9 (9) - 15 of these were males!
Pied Wagtail 1 (2) - Y482785, a male from the 2012 broods
Chaffinch 2 - starting to appear, so more to come?
Bullfinch 2 (2) - retraps were both 2012 hatch year males
Greenfinch 6 (2) - after an autumnal dearth, a sudden influx; 2 adults sent over by JW
Goldfinch 60 (36) - 58 males, 36 females, (2 un-sexed); 81 immature birds & 12 full adults (3 un-aged); 3 males from 2012 broods.
Siskin 2 (1) - the retrap was ringed as a 2CY female in March 2013
Note: JW's garden is just 2km NE of mine; it's also 4x the size! 

Another fat pig

Now, a different sort of red bird spotted from the bedroom window. Unfortunately, unable to lift off with live prey this time.

Devon Air Ambulance - 24 Jan 2015

First come, first served

Well, at least ringed!

Between chores, in the middle of the day on Friday, the first juveniles of the year were caught and ringed.

Number 1 was a male Blackbird with black tail feathers. [Females have a dark brown tail]. He was "a bonny lad" but has a little more growing to do. 

Next up was Number 2, a short-winged Robin (66 mm) with its primaries still showing the remains of their sheaths. I hesitate to suggest this may turn out to be a female

Then we did it all over again - another male Blackbird and a longer winged (male?) Robin from the same broods (taken from the same net).

The Robins parents were a female ringed as a juvenile last year, while the father was ringed as a juvenile in 2012. I suspect the Blackbirds parents are the 2CY birds breeding in my neighbours hedge as the older pair, both having bred before, are somewhere at the bottom of the garden, most likely in the tall leylandii hedge belonging to another neighbour. Laying took place in the last few days of March.

Next up? Will it be Siskin, Dunnock or Goldfinch? The race is on. Outsiders are the Greenfinches that are probably two weeks away, going by the development of their brood patches.

Experienced ringers tend to age juveniles by their very soft plumage, much of which they shed during the post-juvenile moult, which they reach when (about) three months old.

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.

A sign of spring

What a difference a week makes. The warmth of last week has brought on the flowering shrubs and the primroses and a few bluebells. Consequently, the bumblebees made an appearance; Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell butties were also on the wing. And then ... FOG. After a glorious weekend (too glorious for catching), on Monday and Tuesday we had heavy overcast and the following three days have seen dense FOG which has not cleared because of our proximity to the Bristol Channel. We are feeling cold and damp right now, whilst much of the country has had lovely sunshine. We're promised better things tomorrow, though - that'll mean wind!

Primroses (early March)

On Sunday morning (9th), I was walking my dog along the coast at Watchet and had stopped to chat to a local woman. I was facing the sea, or I might have missed it, when I noticed a  male SWALLOW coming in-off; it turns out that it was the first for the county this year. There were 30+ Turnstones and some Oystercatchers but no Dunlin or Purple Sands that I could find (1 reported) on the rocks at high tide.

The 1st Chiffchaff of 2014
(note the short primary projection)

On Thursday, I found the first Chiffchaff in the net late morning. Another one came today. Neither had prominent "pollen horns" or were carrying anything other than the barest amount of fat reserves. I wonder where they had come from; the far south-west or France perhaps, or even really local, surviving in a garden or marsh or on a cliff face that hadn't given way with all that record-breaking rain?

The Chiff's broad tail feathers may indicate that
this was a returning adult (male)

It turned out to be quite an eventful week:
Blue Tit - 2 (1) - retrap was a 2010 male

Long-tailed Tit - (2)
CHIFFCHAFF - 2, both males on size (NFY)
Wren - 1
Blackbird - (1)
Robin - 1 (4) - signs that laying was imminent 
Dunnock - (5) - a couple of males with pronounced 'protuberances' but no full brood patches seen so far or nest building (they can be sneaky)
House Sparrow - 1
Pied Wagtail - 1 (NFY)
Chaffinch - 4 - 3 of which were 'big' adults
Greenfinch - 1
Goldfinch - 15 (12) - probably a third or a quarter of what was around; oldest bird was from 2011

Immature Siskin - a few unmoulted median coverts
and a 'full set' of juvenile greater coverts

Siskin - 14 (5) - many passing through, plus a few "stayers" of recent origin
Bullfinch - 2 more males
That makes 44 birds ringed, 30 individuals recaptured; =74 of 14 species this week, 2 of which were new for the year (NFY)

Immature Bullfinch with 4 buff greater coverts

The ubiquitous Dunnock!

Everybody's favourite - the Bumbarrel
(Long-tailed Tit)

This unfortunate male Robin (from next door)
had lost its tail feathers a short while ago.

The Sparrowhawks have become very active around here this week, I notice.

Next week's plant will be Euphorbia - and I'll explain why then. 

End of a difficult summer

Ringing activities have been confined to the garden/orchard these last 8-9 days. It has been somewhat different for the time of year when compared to other years. So far, there has not been an appreciable movement of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps hereabouts. In part this may be attributable to the low numbers of Blackberries that have ripened so far, which, apart from providing sugar rich food for migrating birds, also attract significant numbers of diptera and other insects for these travellers to feed on. Also in the boundary hedge, our Honeysuckle has a profusion of berries but they are not palatable yet.

Honeysuckle berries

Back to the species list for this time period. For the sake of a couple of nets open for a couple of hours most mornings (commencing about half an hour after sunrise), it turned in a reasonable total of 28 new birds and 18 re-captures across 11 "garden" species.

Blue Tit 2 (2) - 3 young birds (2 potential males, 1 potential female) plus a 2CY male

Great Tit (1) - ad. male, ringed in the spring

Blackcap 3 - a handsome young male, & 2 females undergoing PJ moult

Wren 3 - all unmoulted juvenile males (on size & weight)

Blackbird 2 (2) - 3 young birds & a 3CY male

Robin 3 (3) - juveniles & post-nuptial females

Dunnock 1 (1) - 1 juv., 1 2CY in moult

Chaffinch 1 - juv. male at the replacing its ogc's stage (2ogc). This bird had replaced a few tail feathers (retrices) on one side. The photo shows the differing shapes between juvenile feathers (pointed) and replacement/adult ones (more rounded)

Juvenile (male) Chaffinch with rounded replacement
tail feathers (LHS) contrasting with the pointed juvenile ones

Greenfinch 4 (3) - 3 females, 2 males & 2 juv. males

Goldfinch 9 (6) - in the last 2 days - 7 moulting adults & 8 youngsters in PJ moult.  The adults all had 2-4 old outer primaries and 2-3 growing feathers. They had all begun to moult their secondaries, too. Previously, almost all recent birds have been juveniles in entirely juvenile plumage (before the PJ moult starts)

Siskin 1 - a juvvy juvenile (i.e. recently fledged!) and female.

This week's juvenile female Siskin

This small group of eighteen re-traps has provided some interesting data. 

Firstly, a female Robin (L601), ringed as a juvenile here in early July 2011, goes missing whenever she is nesting. In mid-April 2012, she was caught three days apart with a vascularised brood patch, indicating that she was starting to incubate. This was just before our big "downpour" (= major flood). She was not re-caught for a further 162 days (or 23 weeks) when she was coming to the end of her complete, post-nuptial moult. But her brood patch was still visible, although feathering up. Between these two dates it is wholly possible that she reared three broods, which is quite normal for a fit member of the species, providing there are no mishaps.

In 2013, however, she was caught in mid-March and mid-April. Between those dates, going by her brood patch, she had laid, incubated and hatched a brood. This struck me as "odd", since the weather had been cold (but dry) up until the end of the first week in April. Perhaps cold-and-dry is preferable to mild-and-wet for starting a brood of Robins. Anyhow, she wasn't to re-appear for another 106 days (15 weeks), time enough for another two broods. Once more she was completing her annual moult, just some body feathers to finish changing, and some 5-6 weeks earlier than last year. 

Next, male Blackbird (LC36), ringed as a 1CY bird in mid-November 2011, is a regular visitor to the garden and can be recognised by his plumage pattern (which is less obvious since his latest moult). Last year he disappeared for 373 days (29 weeks). He was last spotted the day after the big "downpour" and returned about the time the rains eased off. During his absence, we had 711 mm of rain (28 inches), which is 55% more than normal. I wonder what he was doing and where he went to escape the waterlogged soils?

Then there is a Greenfinch (TL94). First ringed as a 2CY female on my birthday (mid-Feb) 2012 and not seen again until this week, 568 days later. The weight was the same and the wing length a tad longer, and she was starting her annual moult. Has this bird been around all the time or does she just come for the winter and the sunflower hearts?

Lastly, the Goldfinches. Six of those adults have a record. X843 is a 2010 male bird that hasn't been recorded since mid-June 2011, a gap of 820 days. His wing length is 1mm shorter than when he was a juvenile; a normal occurence in this species, whereas in some species it increases with age (e.g. tits). X882 is another male, born in 2009 or earlier, that was ringed in April 2011, re-caught in May 2012 and then again this week. He is currently in the 2nd stage (of 4) of replacing his primaries. Male L713 and female L963 were both immature birds when trapped in 2011. Neither have been seen since, a gap of 765 and 671 days respectively. Now in their third year, they were moulting and are 1 gram heavier than when they were young (approx. 7%), in keeping with the other healthy birds. The other two, males Y819 & Y930, were caught during last winter when their weights were higher than they are now; the current night time temperatures are 7C higher and daytime ones 13C higher, which explains the need for carrying extra fat in winter in order to keep warm overnight.

Young male Goldfinch acquiring its red cap

PJ = post-juvenile;   CY = calendar year;   ogc = old greater coverts;   juv. = juvenile

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.

Stop-start

Torrential rain forecast for the next 48 hours. What will the birds make of that? It's not spring, but it's not winter either. But it is the coldest March for 15 or so years.

It has been a "grab it while you can" sort of week. As it turned out, the species list was one of the longest for some time, meaning summer is on its way, no matter how slowly. We have gone from Brambling to Chiffchaff, coupled with a vis-mig of Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails.

Now some pics of the common birds caught lately -

Male Great Tit

Male Chaffinch (3CY+, March)

Male Dunnock

Male Siskin (March)

What's been going on since last week's blog?

Woodpigeon - 1; quite a heavy bird
Collared Dove - 1; number 19 (in 2 years)
Blue Tit - (1); young female starting to get her first brood patch
Great Tit - 1; a new male muscling in?
Coal Tit - 1; new 2CY female
Chiffchaff - 2; both males on wing length (62 & 66 mm)
Blackcap - (1); one of the males now weighing 23 g (fat 40)
Wren - 2 (2); 3 (noisy) males and a new '3CY+ lady'
Blackbird - (3); inc. 3CY female with a good brood patch
Song Thrush - 1 (1); new young male and an experienced female
Robin - (2); the 3CY female (hatched here) had a well developed BP
Dunnock - 2 (3); lost count of how many are around the garden hedges
House Sparrow - 1; male
Chaffinch - 3; 2 ad. females & ad. male - all UK on wing length
Brambling - 2; both females, both fat 20
Greenfinch - 1; opposite sex attracted by the displaying male?
Goldfinch - 1 (1); probably not locals (they know the routine!)
Siskin - 24 (2) +2C; 'prolific' - following the current, national trend.
Total captures = 61 of 18 spp. = 43 new + 18 re-traps/controls

Season's first Chiff; heavily abraded male

2CY Siskin; old secondaries, 1 old tertial, old outer tail

Female Brambling - mid March

Although we are having heavy rain with little let up, the weather is far worse further north, in Wales and north-west England. Perhaps their snow will drive the birds south briefly towards us. Perhaps it won't. We will have to see. Find out next week.