Whoosh!

Well, we've had some more torrential rain - and our third severe gale of the winter. Trees down, tiles off, glass smashed ... but the nets stood firm! February rainfall now 168mm, that's more than twice the monthly recorded average for the time of year, and we're only half way through the month. Any way, it's started raining again. The forecast does look to be improving at long last, though. That should help the pumps down on The Levels (locally re-named "Lake Paterson"). 

I managed to get out and set the net for the best part of a day on three occasions this week, whenever the wind had died down to a safe level. I do have some shelter in the orchard if the wind is in the right vector. Ryan, a trainee, came yesterday and cut his teeth on a new species for him, Siskin.

Male Siskin

The 21 re-captured Goldfinches comprised - 1 from the 2010/11 winter period, 3 from 2011/12, 4 from 2012/13 & 13 from previously this winter. The oldest bird would have been hatched in 2009 (or earlier). One of the Siskins was a control from 8km west, ringed as an adult male last spring; the other re-trap was also from the last winter period, while it was still immature. The suspicion is that the wet weather and the gales have ruined the remaining Alder tree seeds for the Siskins, bringing them back into the gardens at last.

How we got on:-
Great Tit - 2; first of the year
Chaffinch - 1; a large, adult male bird
Greenfinch - 6 (1); an awaited increase in numbers
Goldfinch - 36 (21); still coming through, (see above)
Siskin - 16 (2); a sudden, noticeable increase in numbers coming to the feeders
Bullfinch - (1); a 2011 female
Others - 5 spp. (8)

The sun's come out, albeit briefly!

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.

3 years and 10 days

That's how long I've been ringing this site in West Somerset. And yesterday I ringed my 1,000th Goldfinch here.

During that time, I have had one recovery (outside a 15km radius of here, within which there are 4 local ringers) and that went 435km NNW in 7 weeks to County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

I also have a pending control; a November bird bearing a French ring.

This works out at somewhere around £100 worth of rings for each of these two birds. It's one of the reasons we do this (to get these long-distance movements), on top of the other information that we gather, which helps to understand how populations behave (fluctuate) and what may be driving that.

Happy New Year - from the Wet Country

Two thirds through the month of January and we've aleady had 125 mm of rain on top of the 176 mm that we had in December between the 15th and year-end. That's a FOOT of the wet stuff in 5 weeks! Four dry days, that's all! Rant over.

Dawn. "Sh1t - the rain it cometh ... again!"
(looking SSE at dawn, 08:20)

EOY "paperwork" sorted and submitted; permit renewal, ready for posting, lost in the upheaval of decorating our large, rambling hallway; downloaded another copy; plumbers replaced our corroded water main; didn't win the Lottery; need to, to pay for rings.

Nevertheless, I have managed to open the main net through the old part of the apple orchard on the odd occasions, if only for a couple of hours. Getting on for 80% of the catch of unringed birds  has been finches coming to the feeders. Mine have four feed outlets and this is just as well because the bottom pair clog up pretty quickly when it rains heavily. I am for ever having to take them in, clean them, discard the 'soggy stuff', dry the decent stuff (in the microwave), and refill them. Good job I don't pay top whack for my SFH and have spare feeders to boot.

2CY male Greenfinch with renewed P6
(the wide & bright yellow one)

2CY female Bullfinch with 4 ogc
(they all have 4 this year; last year it was 3)

Last year, in January I caught 29 new Goldfinches, and 32 the year before. In 2011, when there was snow on the ground, I ringed 131. This year, although wet, looks as if it will surpass the two previous years; fingers crossed. This January there are many more females utilising garden feeders than males. So far, it happens to be 72.5% females (to 27.5% males [one un-sexed]) or roughly 3 to 1. This is a reversal of what one would expect, certainly in East Anglia, where the females abmigrate, leaving the males behind. From a study I did in Bedfordshire the males "out-shone" the females by some 4 to 1 in January, and females only surpassed males at feeders in June/July/August, during the period that young were fledging. Perhaps this winter abmigration is not just to France & Iberia, but, whenever conditions are much milder than normal (such as we've been having recently) substantial numbers decide to remain in the South-west. [I'll look at previous years here and report back]

Adult female Goldfinch
(probably 4 years old - note broad, rounded PC)

Back to business - here's what has been achieved so far this month.
Blue Tit 2

Coal Tit (1)

Long-tailed Tit 2 (3)

Blackcap (1) - male, first caught on Xmas Day (17 days)

Wren (1)

Blackbird 2 (2) - new birds were both 2CY males; re-traps = semi-resident, young females

Redwing 1 - adult weighing 68 g, fat 10

Robin 2 (1)

Dunnock 3 

House Sparrow 1 (1) - "a couple" 

Chaffinch 5 - 5F, 5F, 6F, 6F, 6M

Greenfinch 4 - all 2CY, single female

Goldfinch 30 (11)

Siskin 4 - all 2CY, singleton male

Bullfinch 5 - all 2CY female

Totals = 61 new & 21 re-traps of 15 workaday species. No more recoveries to hand just yet.

May 2014 bring a steady flow of happiness to my fellow bloggers - plus a few, gentle surprises. Take good care.

2013 EOY at last.

This is a bit late, but it will have to do. I've retained my 2014 garden ringing efforts, which have started, for another posting, due sometime after the builders have left and the water's back on. Very inconvenient but needs must.

So, back to the task in hand.
Day 1 - just shy of 54mm of rain! All-day rain at that. And gale force winds.

Day 2 - Christmas Eve; got to get the turkey, bloke-shopping, etc.

Day 3 - Christmas; another 26mm of rain once the frost had cleared.

Day 4 - visitors. Open the net; anything to get away!

And so it went on - rain, wind, drudgery, nip out and catch a couple of birds during the quiet spells (there was a target to reach, after all). Let's just say, it was big on re-traps.
As you will have seen on the TV News, the Somerset Levels & Moors are well flooded and several villages cut off - unless you have a boat!

Male (darker/brighter) & female Siskins - December

Blue Tit 2 (4)

Great Tit (2)

Long-tailed Tit (1)

Blackcap 2 (1)

Wren (1)

Blackbird 2 (1)

Robin (2)

Dunnock 1 (2)

House Sparrow 1 (2)

Greenfinch 2 (1)

Goldfinch 5 (3)

Siskin 2 (1)

We regularly get double this number of species in the garden every week; it's just a matter of setting my mind to attempt to catch some of them (but many are too high).

Hatch-year male Blackcap with more than the
usual amount of brown crown feathers

The TOP TEN newly ringed birds for 2013 were:

Goldfinch 377 - makes this No.1 bird 35 short of 1,000 in just under 3 years here.

Siskin 176 - up from 10th= place

Blackcap 124 - non-mover

House Sparrow 90 - up 3 places from 7th

Blackbird 86 - non mover 

Greenfinch 81 - down 2 places from 4th

Chiffchaff 76 - down 2 places from 5th=

Willow Warbler 74 - up 7 places from 14th

Blue Tit 62 - down from 2nd place, falling 7 places

Chaffinch 49 - down one from ninth

These ten birds account for almost 80% of my new birds. Of the 44 species handled, there were seven species where I only caught and ringed a single specimen last year.

The Dippers, Kingfishers and Little Egrets were still utilising the local stream where I ring in spring/summer, even during the current heavy discharge.

The Doniford in full spate (not full flood). Dec 2013

Usually, January provides an influx of new birds. We'll just have to wait and see.