Right on cue

What a difference a couple of days make.

Willow Warbler, adult male (dark legs)

Chiffchaff, adult male (pale legs)

Over the weekend, things started to "warm up", both on the ringing front and with the weather. At first it was finches and 'semi-resident' Blackcaps, then a little rush of Chiffchaffs together with the first Willow Warbler of the year. The latter was right on cue based on previous years. The next day, there were several of these Willies in the garden, going over the, as yet to be planted, vegetable garden, picking at vegetation between the plots. And the day after, there were even more around, on the lawns, in the apple trees, in the fruit cage. Unfortunately, you can't catch them all unless you turn the garden into a Brescia style trapping station with sound system. The last bunch that I caught all had those pollen horns, caused by sticking their beaks into freshly opened flowers, possibly on the Scillies or near continent the day before.

2CY Lesser Redpoll, male

3CY+ Lesser Redpoll, male

2CY Magpie

Other species that are seldom ringed here did me the honour of getting caught. First up was a fat Woodpigeon, then a 5M Lesser Redpoll followed by a cracking 6M, next a 2CY Magpie and, finally, a fine adult Herring Gull fell into a 20 foot superfine. The damage sustained was minimal, a mere 20 meshes annihilated. Just one more after that, a last year's male Pied Wagtail. Well, not quite. 

Female Brambling

A fellow birder in the village informed me that he still had Bramblings in his garden and one was ringed. He invited me to put a net up sometime soon, before they go. I thought today (Wednesday) would be good, but he had to attend hospital in Bristol. Never mind, a 6F decided to pay me a visit in recompense. With poor weather forecast, a visit to this chap's garden could be delayed somewhat. Watch this space, as they say.

Siskin, adult male

Before we get to the list, I must just mention that, during my walk with the dog yesterday late morning, a large flock of 50+ migrating Meadow Pipits dropped into the empty sheep field. What a missed opportunity (can't be everywhere, worse luck). Just need the grass to start growing vigorously so that the horses (7 yesterday) can be removed to the riding school paddocks, away from my nets.

My efforts in the garden resulted in:

Herring Gull 1

Woodpigeon 1

Magpie 1

Coal Tit (1)

Chiffchaff 12 (1)

Willow Warbler 11 (1) - the retrap was taken by a cat some 300m west & released

Blackcap 6 (3) - new birds mostly males (1 female on Monday)

Wren (1)

Blackbird (3)

Robin 1 (3)

Dunnock (1)

House Sparrow 1

Pied Wagtail 1

Chaffinch 1 (2)

Brambling 1

Greenfinch 2 (3)

Goldfinch 5 (2)

Siskin 6 (1) - just one heavy one, male @ 16g fat4 musc3

Lesser Redpoll 2

That's 19 species, 52 new birds with 22 retraps.

The last bird that I caught turned out to be the first female Chiffchaff of the year - just three weeks and one day after trapping the first incoming male Chiff.

As an interesting aside, the percentage of all birds that are retrapped in Somerset is 29%; this is reflected in my own figures here in the village. Fellow local ringers are already approaching last year's final figures thanks to this spring's "Siskin Fest"; not so here. We go for quality instead!

Still they come

Tuesday

I managed to get in a couple of hours 'early doors' before the April weather re-asserted itself. It wasn't too bad considering; 6 new birds with 4 re-traps, including the pair of Robins that were re-caught last Saturday. A female Blackcap, with a fat score ESF20, could only be aged as 3CY+ by its broad primary coverts as the retrices had become wet in the bag and there were no other 'anomalies'. No Willow Warblers, though.


Blackcap 1, Wren (1), Blackbird 1, Robin (2), House Sparrow 1, Greenfinch (1), Goldfinch 2, Siskin 1. 

Friday

The rains had eased off, if only until mid-afternoon. The day before, the showers were accompanied by blustery winds, reflecting the non performance of the nets. The 'local birds' were busy feeding in the fruit trees and raiding the bird table, but I didn't connect with many un-ringed 'strangers'. Now it was a different picture. The female Blackbirds appeared (including the controlled bird), looking for morsels for their offspring, which I will be extracting from the nets in about 4 weeks time. The tits took to the top of the trees, looking for "micro-beasts" amongst the opening leaf buds, despite not having young at all. And, best of all, the Phylloscs were on the move!

The full morning's tally, I was able to keep the nets open until "the drought set in" mid-afternoon, was 18:

Collared Dove 1, Blue Tit (1), Great Tit (1), Willow Warbler 9, Blackcap 1, Blackbird 1 (1), Robin (1), House Sparrow 1, Siskin 1.

Female Willow Warbler P. trochilus "in the pot" being weighed.

As anticipated, all bar one of the Willies were females, carrying fat between levels 10 & 30. One of the birds 'trended' towards the northern Scandinavian form abietinus and, incidentally, had a wing length 2mm longer than the rest but the same 'wing formula'. 
Fellow ringer, John, was at Dunster Hawn this morning and "had a 'mega sighting' with most of the bushes teeming with Phylloscopus warblers and Willow Warblers calling and singing from almost every one of them. Numbers must have been well into treble figures". Seems like it was a "Troch and Roll" day! [thanks, Peter]


The dove was a welcome catch after the many that 'get out' of the net by being too close to the pole. "She" hit the net dead centre, where there's most 'bag', and got some 'bling' for her pains.

Saturday

As it had been forecast as the best (half) day of the weekend by the TV weather persons, I intended to carry on ringing, hoping for more Phylloscs.Not to be!


Friday teatime, we had a heavy shower, dumping 5.5mm of "wet drought" on us. Come 'Horlicks-time', the heavens opened and we were graced with 16mm more "wet drought" over three-quarters of an hour. As our new roof was not yet sealed to the old wall, the strong winds drove the rain hard onto the wide chimney breast and then it ran down into the new loft and then on across the old roof (half of which had been removed) and onto the sitting room ceiling. Panic stations!!!

The offending chimney breast and half-finished tiling

It was midnight before we got to bed. On waking today, a quick 'butchers' round the orchard and it was apparent that 'No ringing' was the order of the day, thanks to a force 6 ENE blow. Fortunately, the weather remained dry enough (just) for the rest of the tiles to go on and the "soakers" to be fitted, sealing the roof to the wall. A dehumidifier quickly sorted the damp problem out. 



Heavy and prolonged rain forecast for tonight/tomorrow. That should take us well over the 150mm mark for the month! By the time we get out doing some proper ringing, all the birds will be gone, miles away!

Moving on

Garden Ringing

The weather precluded going down the water meadows, much as I would have liked. The nets there are set up some distance apart and it would be impractical to supervise them all if a squally shower came through. Meanwhile, my "assistant" is away on CABS duty in Malta.

A little rush of lady Willow Warblers over the weekend, pushing on northwards in a bit of a hurry, going by the fat they were carrying.

Results: 16 new & 6 re-traps

Blue Tit (1), resident, eggy female

Willow Warbler 4, all girls - maybe Scots Lassies, Fat Slags or Norfolk Dumplings? certainly not local.

Blackcap 2, both 2CY boys

Blackbird 1 (1), 

Robin (2), probably a young pair from next door

Greenfinch 4 (1) - [see also below]

Goldfinch 3

Siskin 2, incl. the 1st Juv. of the season
Bullfinch (1), smart 6M 


Escapees - Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook. One of each. What do you expect with a "superfine" set for LBJs? 
The remains of two recently fledged Greenfinches were found on the path by the fruit cage; Sparr suspected as the perpetrator.

The Blackbird I controlled last week was originally ringed back in 2006 as a fledgling. So far, she has survived 2122 days. There is no intermediate history.

Day trip

Took a day off on Friday to go on a coach trip to the Swanage Railway with the volunteers down at the local West Somerset Railway station. I attach a picture on the return journey of some of the reprobates before we boarded .

 

We were taken to the workshops where three 'Battle of Britain' class locos are undergoing "re-ticketing" or restoration. It was a long walk but this was well worth it.  

Willy week

Phylloscopus trochilus

Since last time, I have managed early morning sessions in the garden every day so far. Things promised to be a little different as we were 'inundated' with thundery showers and stronger winds from 4pm Friday. However, it cleared up sufficiently and the NE winds died down before dawn on Saturday, returning with gusto by midday.

Undertail coverts of Dunnock aka "Hedge Sparrow" (above) & House Sparrow

Picking up from where I left off last time, Tuesday was a day of sunshine and showers allowing just 2 Willow Warblers to be caught early on before the need to furl, and Wednesday was clear with lighter winds enabling 4 new birds, including 2 more Willow Warblers, to be ringed. Thursday dawned cloudy but soon became sunny, a pity as the winds were light north-westerly (nets nice and sheltered). I caught 6 new birds in the morning including the first (2) female (on size) Willow Warblers of the season, followed by a retrap Dunnock and 3 new Goldfinches mid-afternoon at the feeders. We awoke to a stiff frost on Friday morning which heralded a beautiful sunny day until ... ... An early Great Spot. and a couple of Blackcaps featured.

Adult male Great Spotted Woodpecker

Saturday was another good day with 9 new birds including another Blackcap, 3 Willow Warblers, 5 Goldfinches and a 'control' adult female Blackbird from a couple of miles away, the first inter-change of this species between us.

Male "King Harry" awaiting extraction in the net

Gt. Spot. Woodpecker 1
Blue Tit (4)
Great Tit 1
Willow Warbler 10
Blackcap 4
Blackbird (2)
Robin (1)

Dunnock 2 (2)

Male House Sparrow

House Sparrow 1 (1)
Goldfinch 11

Total over 5 days: 30 (10); 10 spp.

Tomorrow we're scheduled to visit the water meadows, but I don't hold out much hope of a favourable outcome, because there is little or no cover down there at present when the sun shines, as witnessed during a recce on Friday. The weather is panning out to be more suitable (light winds plus cloud) on Monday!!

POSTSCRIPT: Bright sun and stiff NE wind on Sunday meant drawing a blank in the morning. Swallows passing through at the rate of 20-25 per hour. First one back at the garage nest site, sitting on the wires outside, singing.

The builder starts on the roof Monday and I have a site visit planned for Tuesday. Rain and strong winds forecast for the following few days and a coach trip to Swanage on Friday. Bah!

Now the good news

After 3 disasters in as many days, now some better news. I put a 6m net up ready for the morning and caught my first Willow Warbler of the year this evening.


It was a male on size with a very broad tail, indicating that it could probably be in its 3rd calendar year or even more. However, it was already bearing a ring - BXL944. Any takers out there?

Non-stick flying plan

As well as the three, usual nets, I put up a full height 30 foot across the stream at the ford today. First up was a small wader. It must have brushed the underside of the netting as it call repeatedly but did not fly off with a big kerfuffle. It wasn't the Green Sand. that has been around for a couple of weeks, so it might have been a Common Sand. (most likely at this time). Sometime later I saw a Kingfisher pass safely under. Then a female Goldcrest, mid-stream and top shelf; gotcha!

In between net rounds, I took out a trickle of Long-tailed Tits that had been hanging around in the big Alders just upstream of the ford. Similarly, I bagged a juvenile Chiff and a juvvy Willow Warbler, both in the second shelf (from the top) and more or less centred.

Elsewhere, the orchard net did not produce much; a "Prune", a young Song Thrush and a control, juvenile Chiffy. This had come from neighbouring ringer, John, two kilometers to the west, the first recapture of the many young birds that he has ringed this summer. We both thought that there would have been more birds coming my way, but, alas, no. I have decided to abandon ringing in among the Apples during post-fledging migration time as it seems that more birds can be caught "out in the open" as they approach the trees, maybe because they are on a lower trajectory as they come in.

Net 1 produced little although there were many birds in that general area. One reason for a poor result was having to shut the net early when the showers started as I couldn't keep a close eye on all four nets. Net 2 produced quite a few Chiffs and a miscellany of other species. I could walk backwards and forwards between this net, the ford and the orchard on the other side, passing "the ringing station" without going out of the way. This avoided any problems.

Apart from the Goldcrest, I had a couple of other 'successes'; I caught the first adult Willow Warbler of the 'autumn'. It had, to all intents and purposes, finished its full post-nuptial moult [see below]. The other was my sixth juvenile Kingfisher in as many weeks, this one just as I was about to take in the ford net, all other nets by now in the boot of the car.


Adult, male Willow Warbler, August

Ahead of this, returning from the orchard, net bag in hand, I noticed that the ford net was 'hanging funny'. I couldn't see anything in it, but as I approached, a flapping started and this "large brown thing" rose up and down and eventually got enough lift to dis-engage its feet and fly off over the net. I later saw this female Sparrowhawk hanging around the site of Net 1, where there was alot of twittering, etc. Bloomin' showers!

Twenty new birds in a few hours, dodging the showers, with 7 re-captures; ten species in all.

Kingfisher 1
Goldcrest 1
Blue Tit 1
Long-tailed Tit 2 (3)
Chiffchaff 8 (1 + 1 control)
Willow Warbler 2
Blackcap 1
Wren (1)
Song Thrush 1
Dunnock 3 (2)


'D' permit holder

Bucks fizz

Up early this morning to ring at Edgcott. This time we had an electronic key that works! [Last time we tried to enter the farm, (at 5am) the key was duff, and we had to abort]. Hopeful as ever, despite the windy and squally conditions. Had to be somewhere that we could avoid the worst of the weather.

The heavy showers kept off and the wind was not too much of a problem. Having said that, we packed up at the right time - before the showers became more frequent and heavier.

Certain "birds in the net" were obvious for their absence; tits, Blackcap and Bullfinch, for instance.

We only caught three juvenile birds; two juvenile, female Blackbirds, and this wee fella', a Common Whitethroat that must have left the nest a week or so ago.

Two other species were new for us this season, namely Lesser Whitethroat (facing right) and Garden Warbler (facing left).



Going by the eyes and tails, the Lessers were both 2CY males as they had prominent cloacas. The Garden was a female with an immaculate and text book brood patch, that had the edges "stitched".

As we've said before, the wood is normally wet underfoot and is a mere 'stripling' at 15 years of age. As can be seen below, it sits in the flat lands at the head of the River Ray, currently a large area of conservation input stretching down to the outskirts of Oxford.


Todays final tally was 26 new birds in 4 hours and 1 re-trap:
Blue Tit 1 male
Chiffchaff 3 males
Willow Warbler 5 males
Garden Warbler 1
Lesser Whitethroat 2
Whitethroat 5; 3 males + female 'in egg' + juv
Blackbird 5
Robin 1
Dunnock 2 (1)
Chaffinch 1

Dave (him at the wheel of the AVDC vehicle below) ringed the Tawny Owl chicks 3 weeks ago; the other raptors will not be ready for another 3 weeks (approx). Other birds around in the 'drizzle' were - Woodcock, Reed Bunting, Jackdaw (goes with the sheep), Bullfinch, Blackcap, Magpie and Woodpigeon. A small list, but anticipated what with the weather conditions generally (and us not keen on stomping through the whole 30 acres and leaving the nets open). We aiming to go in "mob handed" next time, towards the end of next month. By July, the site will have a new owner but our "rights" are being protected.

Some more ringing

Just the weekend this week. I returned from holiday to bright, warm sunshine and a good breeze. Still, it didn't stop me catching a few birds, most of them early on in the day. I was hoping to catch a few Phylloscs but the weather was too fair. Apparently, last Saturday was the big day hereabouts; neighbour John caught 11 new Chiffs and 34 Willies! I did manage a couple of P.trochilus though



The buds and blossom on the apples are developing fast, so it was no wonder that I trapped a pair of Budfinches.




Early doors on Saturday, I trapped my fattest yet, 2CY, male Blackcap with a weight of 21.6g [ESF 40, M2]; only one female 'browncap' was caught.



So, I ended up with 47 birds as follows:
Blue Tit 1 (3)
Great Tit 2
Willow Warbler 2
Blackcap 7 - mostly 2CY males
Wren (1)
Blackbird 2 (2)
Robin 1 (2)
House Sparrow 2
Chaffinch 2
Greenfinch 4 (3)
Goldfinch 10 (1)
Bullfinch 2

It is very useful being able to ring in our good-sized garden (old part of the orchard). Between coffees, I need just 12 minutes to unfurl all 5 nets (170' or 51m). What's more, I can keep an eye on them from my study.
I notice that the Sycamore is in full leaf, even if a bit limp yet, and the Alder and Elm have a 'green flush', while the Ash is coming into flower. The Speckled Woods are doing their dance in the dappled sunshine beneath the apple trees, which the hoverflies are busy pollinating.

200 up

... in eleven weeks and now is the time for a break from ringing for a few days. That's my girl! The 200th Goldfinch (this year) appeared in the last net as I was taking them in before a short holiday. Just as well you have to open a furled net to gather it up into the bag! A record shot of X105900 below.

A reasonable couple of days this week with 25, now 26, new birds ringed and 10 re-traps.
Blue Tit 2 (1)
Great Tit 1
Chiffchaff 4
Willow Warbler 3
Blackcap 1
Wren (1)
Robin (2)
Dunnock 1 (1)
House Sparrow 2
Chaffinch 1 (1)
Greenfinch 3 (1) + 1 local control
Goldfinch 7 (2)
Siskin 1

Two decent sightings this week - a Peg high-over west from the garden (more usual to see it on the south side of the village) and a Kingfisher carrying a fish away from the Doniford Stream, presumably to "the wife or kids" somewhere upstream.

The first non-wintering Chiff was caught on the 13th, the first non-wintering Blackcap (see below) was caught on the 22nd (our female is still present), and the first Willow Warbler on the 27th.

I positively expect the garden to have changed appearance when I get back - the daffs and primroses are at their best now and the blossom on the fruit trees is only just emerging. Here's to some more beautiful sunrises and equally fortuitous catches in the early morning stillness.

Sunrise over the Quantocks yesterday.