Due a break in the good weather

The good weather of the last four weeks has benefited all the young birds that have recently fledged. We have not had more than 3mm of rain in a day since I last blogged , which has facilitated opening the net on five days out of seven. The breeze has been strong at times especially in the afternoons when it has had a welcome cooling effect. Today the weather is on the turn and the barometer is on the way down for the first time in ages. The warm and sunny days have been good for the soft fruit and a period of rain should benefit the apples and pears.

Having said that, the young birds have done well, going by the amount of bird food that has "disappeared", and I have caught juveniles almost exclusively in the last four weeks or so. Six more young Jackdaws 'found the net'.

Young Jackdaw, lacking the adult grey nape

 We are seeing second and third broods of Robins, a species that seems to do well around here. Just had to take a couple of pics!

Young Robin starting its post-juvenile moult

Young Robin well into its post-juvenile moult

One of the Pied Wagtails had obviously been naughty and sent to bed without its tea, going by the severe growth bar on its tail ( or rather, lack of growth). At some time in the near future the tail will snap off at this point. Incidentally, one of the other young wagtails has already lost its tail completely.

Juvenile Pied Wagtail (M.a.yarrellii)

 It has been good to catch a few Coal Tits. They used to breed in our large conifers but we had to take down the three nearest the house (very near!) for insurance purposes and they now breed over the road. The numbers of Blue Tits on the feeders has also jumped up; although they fledge later than their big cousins, the Great Tits, they start their post-juvenile moult earlier, something that only ringers really appreciate.

Juvenile (3JJ) Coal Tit

Juvenile (3JJ) Blue Tit

Now for the ringing list covering the last month:

Collared Dove - 2; an adult and a f.g. bird of the year
Kingfisher - 3; all juvs
Gt. Spotted Woodpecker - 2 (1); retrap female and (presumably) her offspring
Jackdaw - 6; all juvs
Goldcrest - 2; both juvs
Blue Tit - 22 (3); all 25 were juvs
Great Tit - 17 (1); all 18 were juvs,, 7 of which were frequent "visitors" 
Coal Tit - 3; all juvs
Swallow - 2; both juvs
Long-tailed Tit - 4 (8); all juvs
Chiffchaff - 3; juvs
Blackcap - 13; 3x 2CY males, 2x 2CY females plus 8 juvs
C. Whitethroat - 1; a juv
Wren - 5; a female & 4 juvs
Blackbird - 11 (6); 2x adult females, 5 adult males (y new) & 10 juvs
Robin - 11 (4); a male, a 4 year old female, 13 juvs with multiple captures
Dunnock - 16 (5); a male, a female retrapped plus 19 juvs
House Sparrow - 16 (12); 3 r/t males & 2 new, with 23 young. 
Grey Wagtail - 1; 2CY breeding female
Pied Wagtail - 2; both juveniles; 2 unringed juvs also visiting daily
Chaffinch - 28; all juvs, none retrapped
Bullfinch - 1; breeding 2CY female
Greenfinch - 27 (3); a male & a female retrapped, 4 new males & 24 youngsters (10 male, 13 female, with 1 left unsexed due to confusing 'signals')
Linnet - 1; a cracking 2CY male (sorry, no photo)
Goldfinch - 53 (11); 9 were adult males, 6 adult females and the 49 others all young birds
Siskin - 5; 1x 3M, 2x 3F, 1x 5F, 1x 4M

That's 259 new rings attached and 54 other birds recaptured, quite a few more than once.

261 were this years hatchlings and comprised 83.4% of the total catch. Of these, I surmise that only some 80 will survive the coming winter and that I will re-capture just 30-35 of those in the next calendar year, allowing for abmigration and the vagaries of catching.

We have been playing host to a stray racing pigeon for the last couple of months. It has even wandered into the garage to find the source of all that lovely bird seed that gets put out on the lawn. Although only 25 miles from home, the owner would have to travel 86 miles each way and pay the Severn crossing toll! Not worth it for a 10 year old bird.

WHU2005/C00471 from Whitchurch, Cardiff

At last the buddleia is in full flower and the Peacock butties have reappeared. So have several other species including the much loved Gatekeeper, one of my favourites. Also we were able to supplement our stock of "worms", courtesy of a neighbour.

Family of Slowworms

During a break from writing this, a family party of Ravens, 2 parents and 2 offspring, flew  westwards over the garden. 

Post-script: we had 37 mm of much anticipated rain in 24 hours and strong winds.

Two weeks on ...

... and we had 46 mm of rain in 5 hours. That's the same as the ten year average, all on the first day of the month! More thunderstorms have ensued since. Anyway, back to birds and the last 18 days.

Garden-wise, it's the House Sparrows that have been most in evidence, as they always are at this time of year with this year's youngsters looking for their next meal. They don't go near the feeders, as a rule, but prefer the bird table, either ours or our neighbours. That means I catch them as they cross the open part of the garden, where I don't usually net. There is still an active Blackbird's nest somewhere; both mum and dad collect mouthfuls of suet pellets early doors and scoot off with them.

Cinnabar caterpillars on Ragwort
(click to enlarge)

It's been a very good year for butterflies and moths. We have had many more Cinnabar moths this year and, with a small patch of Ragwort at their disposal, hundreds of caterpillars have emerged. Right now, they are looking for somewhere to pupate.

There has been a lot of Herring Gull activity post fledging, all ages readily coming to the broken up Hovis crusts I deliver. One pair are still attending their nest site, which they haven't used, just played about with a few bits and bobs of rubbish to form a base. The building's owners usually take the old nest away each autumn, as do many owners/occupiers. Still doesn't stop the birds from returning to their allotted spot each spring, though. 

There was a flurry of Swallow activity last week with 26 birds hunting over the garden one evening. Down on the meadows the number of individuals hawking for insects has decreased noticeably. The meadows are fully cut and part has been "mown" ready for the inevitable gymkhana that the owner's sister puts on for her young female riders. The better news is that the owners are going to fence off and gate the southern two meadows (that includes the ford) and resolve to contain the various horses in the larger northern section (that also has a crossing). Most of the site that I use could be available for ringing all year round next year.

Despite various restrictions, mainly on the domestic front, I have still managed to ring 98 new birds this period and re-capture another 26 individuals, (I discard any same period re-traps), of 19 species as under. The list is dominated by juveniles, before, during or after their post-juvenile moult.

Collared Dove (1) - long-winged, adult female of indeterminate age (>4 yrs), with BP
Kingfisher 1
Gt. Spotted Woodpecker (1)
Goldcrest 1
Blue Tit 6
Great Tit 3 (2) - 2 post-breeding females re-trapped
Long-tailed Tit (3)
Chiffchaff 7 - incl. adult male & female
Blackcap 10
Whitethroat 2 (1) - re-trap breeding female & a new 2CY male
Wren 8 (2)
Blackbird 8 (3) - includes the late breeding female (2x) although I try to avoid her.
Robin 5 (1)
Dunnock 1 (3)
House Sparrow 27 (8) - a new adult male & female
Grey Wagtail 1
Greenfinch 5
Goldfinch 11 (1) - adult male from beforehand

Grey Wagtail - juvenile

Goldcrest - juvenile

Blackcap -juvenile male
Note single, new, black feather emerging above eye

 Today I spotted (pun) my first local flycatchers. They, a pair, were carrying food for some youngsters tucked away somewhere around the old water-wheel site that served Egrove Farm mill. Couldn't stop - other half about to leave for Norfolk.

Off-site I did manage to meet up with two old Beds birding mates (DJO & DK) for a pint and a curry like the old days. Hilarious.

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.