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.

A fortnight later ...

 Time flies when you're having fun. My fun has had to be split between getting the garden back into shape, now that we've had some significant rain, and getting out ringing. Actually, much of my time has been spent in the garden, either strimming and raking, treating the Horse-tail, mowing, light pruning, hedge trimming or ringing some birds.  

The highlights from the latter have been the catching of two parties of Long-tailed Tits. The first contained five new birds, all youngsters under-going a full moult (one of those odd UK species that does this), plus two adults with consecutive ring numbers that were not of my doing. Two days later, I caught four more youngsters, and then, a week after the initial encounter, two more ringed adults, and two juveniles from the original session. It turns out that all four of these adult birds were ringed at the same time, back in late October last year, in friend John's garden the far side of the village (approx. 2 km away)  

So here are the results from an hour or two most days, once the kittens have come in for their breakfasts. There is still not a lot of movement.
Blue Tit 1 (2)

Great Tit 2

Long-tailed Tit 9 + 4 "controls" (see above)

Chiffchaff 2 - local birds?

Wren 2 (1) - the retrap was a "first brood", the others more recent

Dunnock 4 (2) - all juvs

House Sparrow 7 (2) - mainly incidental to trying for the next species 

Pied Wagtail 7 (3) - the main target species, as they are still nesting nearby

Chaffinch 1 - juv

Greenfinch 3 - moulting male & female plus a 'youth'

Goldfinch 3 - freshly fledged juveniles

Young Pied Wagtail (M.a.yarelli)

House totals = 11 species, 41 new birds, 10 re-traps & 4 'controls'.
Oh! And the Sparrowhawk has been in twice. That's according to the heaps of feathers from two unlucky Collared Doves.

I have also been able to get down to the meadows, twice on my own and once with company. Quantity low, quality high. Birds not caught include two Green Sands, a couple of Dippers, more Kingfishers, several Whitethroats, Swallows and martins and the (three) Little Egrets currently there on a daily basis. Would love to catch and ring a full adult Egret. It has been done!

The Himalayan Balsam is flowering well down by the river and the bees are busy pollinating it, making sure there will be a plentiful supply of seed for next year. The Rose-bay Willow-herb is also coming into flower, a plant I much prefer.

Rose-bay

Today's photos are all from this sub-site.

Young female Kingfisher

Young female Chiffchaff (starting PJ moult)

young Sedge Warbler (fat score 30)

Kingfisher 3 (1) - all juveniles; "and still they come!" (10 so far)

Chiffchaff 7 - all juveniles, mostly males

Blackcap 1 - a 2CY male bird that hasn't started moulting; still breeding?

Sedge Warbler 1 - second bird here this year; fat score of 3 (tracheal pit almost full) and 12.6 grams in weight/mass; "on it's way south to Senegal (?)" This bird could easily put on another 10 grams before it is ready to fly out over the Atlantic in a non-stop flight to West Africa.

Wren 1 (1) - young males

Dunnock 1 - a juv-juv

Grey Wagtail 3 - new species for the year; these were all juveniles

one of the 3 young Grey Wagtails

Farm totals = 7 species, 17 new & 2 re-captures.

There are still plenty of birds to come but I won't wish my life away just yet!
Back soon.

Finch fest

The weather has been awful. 44.5 mm of rain so far this month after 139 mm in January. Everywhere locally is sodden. A couple of days without rain saw the river go down and almost lose its colour. So it was a pleasant surprise to find a Dipper sitting on the bank by the old weir, singing. This is my first sighting hereabouts since the end of April last, when four chicks sat on my neighbour's wall, waiting to be fed by the parents. Next day we had THAT RAIN. And that was that!

Six (6) Little Egrets have been working the meadows and the horse paddocks for a while now. Occasionally, they are all together but they are more likely to be scattered over the site, which is extensive, and are often "invisible" to me from the lane/footpath. The problem is that when the meadows dry up, they will all be accessible again on foot but less inviting for the Egrets. Three of them have hung around in previous summers, so there is always the chance that they may decide to breed here. Four of the six now have nice plumes, so here's hoping!

6 Little Egrets @ Highbridge

Here's what I been up to, ringing-wise, since this time last week:
Collared Dove 1
Goldcrest (1)
Blackcap 1 (2) - all ladies
Wren (1)
Robin (2)
Dunnock (2)
Pied Wagtail (1) - the club-footed male
Chaffinch 2 (1)
Brambling 1
Greenfinch 10
Goldfinch 16 (1)
Siskin 20
Total 51 ringed (12 recaptures)

Adult male Brambling 

Today has been a pleasant day, if with a cold wind. The forecasters predict another three or four more of bright conditions which may not be all that helpful as there is yet no background of green foliage from the apple trees to hide the net! We shall see.