A Hudsonian Whimbrel and Kestrel Pulli

For the second time this year the British Isles has been graced by the presence of a Hudsonian wader. In May I twitched the Hudsonian Godwit in Somerset, which was a cracking bird and not a species I thought that I would ever see in the UK. This week news broke of a possible Hudsonian Whimbrel at Pagham Harbour in West Sussex. It was not long before it was confirmed and so being only 25 minutes down the road I had to go. 

Hudsonian Whimbrel is a species I have seen many times in the USA and Canada, but this was only the 9th record in the UK, so not a species I had expected to see, and so close to home. It is a cryptic species, that is very similar to Eurasian Whimbrel, but with good views is actually quite straightforward to identify.  In flight the back, rump and upper-tail coverts are concolourous with the mantle and therefore very different from Eurasian Whimbrel that has a white rump and the distinctive 'V' up its back. The underwing, auxiliaries and flanks are also densely barred with a ground colour that is warmer than that of Eurasian Whimbrel. When not in flight the striking head pattern should be the first clue to a bird being a Hudsonian Whimbrel, since it is much stronger, with the pale/white supercilium and crown stripe contrasting strongly with the darker feathers. 

I nipped down to see this bird on Wednesday morning, and it was interesting to see how obvious the head markings were. I was unable to get any photos of it unfortunately but as it is still there I hope to pop down again for a second look and may get some.

Today (12th June) I popped into Manor Farm Country Park to check the Kestrel boxes and see how they were getting on. If you remember, two weeks ago the chicks were too small in one box so I didn't check the other. Today, the chicks in the first box were doing very well, and we were able to ring four very healthy chicks. There were five much younger chicks in the second box, one of which was half the weight of the others, and may not survive, but they were all big enough to ring, so fingers crossed they will all fledge.

A brood of four Kestrels - Manor Farm Country Park

A brood of five (smaller) Kestrels - Manor Farm Country Park

After ringing and a quick stroll around the woods I headed home and opened a net in the back garden. It had been a dull and humid morning and by mid afternoon, when I got home, there was a little bit of moisture in the air but no wind, so almost ideal. I only ended up catching about ten birds, which included juvenile Blue and Great Tits and Great Spotted Woodpecker, also adult Greenfinch, Robin and Nuthatch. In recent weeks I have had four Stock Doves feeding in the garden, today one strayed into my net, as did a Wood Pigeon for comparison. The iridescent green on the side of a Stock Dove's neck really is quite striking and it lacks the white that is present on Wood Pigeon. Note also the iris and bill colour.

Stock Dove - Funtley

Wood Pigeon - Funtley

Whilst waiting for birds to fly into the net I worked my way through the moth trap, that I had left out overnight. I had caught over 100 moths with nothing particularly of note. The highlights for me were Marbled Brown, which is not that regular in my garden and a few migrant species, Diamond Back Moth and Rush Veneer. The main highlight though was a Dusky Cockroach, a species that I have occasionally caught in the past, but never that frequently. This is one of three native cockroach species in the UK, the others being Tawny and Lesser Cockroach. There are of course pest species that have colonised so it is always worth checking if you find one in your house, to make sure it's not a native species.

Dusky Cockroach - Funtley

Aerial Combats

This morning I visited Manor Farm Museum to check on the House Sparrows, and get some colour-ring combinations as part of my BTO RAS project. I had intended to get up early and set a couple of nets, but an alarm clock malfunction, meant that I arrived later than hoped and therefore did not have the time to open nets before the farm museum opened. It was still a worthwhile visit, as I managed to get 11 different colour-ring combinations, and counted at least 20 breeding pairs.

Un-ringed male House Sparrow

Colour-ringed male House Sparrow

After the farm I stopped off in the woods and checked on a few next boxes. There are only seven boxes and within those there were three broods of Great Tit and one Blue Tit. My next stop was Botley Wood; I was hoping to catch up on a few butterfly species and also any new migrants for the patch. 

The Common Buzzards were very active and one bird had a finely barred tail and therefore I presume it to be a 2nd CY bird. It was showing evidence of primary moult and as I understand it, spring moult is typical of a 2nd CY bird.

Common Buzzard

The warm and slightly breezy conditions were good for raptors, and as other species appeared the local buzzards engaged them in aerial combat. Two Hobby's were the first to drift over Botley Wood; they appeared not to be hunting but the buzzards were keeping a close eye on them.

Common Buzzard (top) and Hobby

Hobby

A Eurasian Sparrowhawk also put in a brief appearance and this was immediately shadowed by a buzzard. With this level of activity I presume the buzzards are nesting nearby and are keen to keep an eye on any potential predators.

Common Buzzard (top) and Sparrowhawk

A surprise species for the day was a Turtle Dove; once a regular breeder at Botley Wood, I have not recorded this species for at least two years.

Manor Farm Bird Ringing - February 2015

Saturday 14th February
This weekend has been fairly hectic for me. It started with a low tide wader count on a part of Portsmouth Harbour Saturday morning, which was fairly uninspiring. There were small numbers of Redshank, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew and a few duck and geese species, the most numerous being Dark-bellied Brent Goose. It was nice to see a few Goldeneye and Red-brested Mergansers, as I don't often see them around Hill Head or on my patch. Three adult Mediterranean Gulls, two in winter plumage one in full summer, were the highlight for me though.

After the wader count I headed to Manor Farm Country Park to set nets for the planned mornings ringing session. I was joined by Rob and Megan and we put up six nets and then furled them in readiness for the morning session. We did catch four birds in the process, one new House Sparrow, two Dunnocks, one of which was a retrap and one Robin. Whilst putting up the nets a large flock of mainly Black-headed Gulls flew over, I picked out one adult winter Mediterranean Gull, but nothing else. We had hoped to catch some Fieldfares or Redwings as they went in to roost, but there were very few birds around. A flock of 40 Fieldfare was the most I had seen in a while, but there was less than 10 Redwing around.

As the sun began to set the resident Little Owls started to get active, and were putting on a very vocal display. We eventually tracked down two birds; they were sat together preening each other whilst making and variety of squeaks and squeals to acknowledge their appreciation. Other birds were flying around the main car park and we estimated at least four birds being present.

Sunday 15th February
Sunday morning began with a pre-dawn start for me Chris, Rob and Megan and as we arrived we were serenaded by the resident Tawny Owls. The Tawny activity seemed to inspire the Little Owls again as they started calling again, but only for a while. The ringing session was fairly mundane as there were very few birds but the total did include six new House Sparrows so some new additions to my RAS project. We also caught 11 retraps which included one bird that was ringed over five years ago and one that was ringed 4 years ago.

A total of 34 birds were caught which included one Wood Pigeon, six Dunnocks, three of which were retraps, four Robins, two Blackbirds, one retrap, a Song Thrush, Chaffinch and a few Blue Tits.

In the afternoon I opened a net at home and added another 21 birds. The highlights were another male Chaffinch and a Greenfinch, but the total included two Long-tailed Tits, a Dunnock and a selection of new and retrap Blue and Great Tits. Of the Blue Tits one was originally ringed 3 years 256 days previously and another 5 years 189 days previously. One of the retrap Great Tits had been ringed 3 years 115 days previously.

Over the course of the weekend we caught 63 birds of 12 species, with 38 new birds and 26 retraps. It was disappointing not to catch any Redwing or Fieldfares, but they should be around for a few weeks yet.

The First Ringing Session of the New Year

It was very much a weekend of two halves last weekend, on Saturday the weather was wet and windy, whereas as Sunday was mainly overcast and dry without a breath of wind. I had anticipated that Sunday would be good and arranged to meet Rob and Chris at Manor Farm Country Park. The Little Owls were very vocal when we arrived, and continued to call up to mid morning. I estimated at least three were present based on the calls, one individual was roosting in a small copse near one of our nets, but unfortunately we did not catch it, but it gave great views.

It was a steady session with 38 birds of 14 species caught, although 12 of the birds were retraps. The most numerous species were House Sparrow and Blue Tit with eight birds of each species trapped. Of the House Sparrows six were retraps, one of which was approaching five years since its original capture date, the others were all from within the last year. 

Redwing - Manor Farm Country Park. This bird is actually from last year, when the light was better

As is usual this time of year I had expected to catch loads of Redwings, but there were very few around, we did however manage to catch one. A female Bullfinch was a nice surprise and a species that we have not caught at Manor Farm for a few months. The Bullfinch was a first year female that was aged due to the presence of two retained greater coverts. The other species caught included four Great Tits, five Blackbirds, three Wrens, and single Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Robin and Song Thrush. The Song Thrush was also a first year bird and had six retained juvenile greater coverts.

Song Thrush - Manor Farm Country Park

Song Thrush - Close up of greater coverts showing retained outer coverts
visible due to large thorns and chestnut colouration. The break between adult
feathers and retained juvenile feathers is indicated by red arrow

We did also continue my recent quest for crests, catching four Goldcrests, one of which was a retrap from a couple of months ago. Other bird species seen during the session included Fieldfare (5), Greenfinch (20+), Green Woodpecker (1), Linnet (5), Little Egret (1), Common Gull (7), Goldfinch (5) and Moorhen (3).

A retrap Little Owl, Redwings and Firecrests at Manor Farm Country Park

After the success of last weekend, this morning Rob and I headed back to Manor Farm Country Park for some more ringing. Our plan was to try and catch more House Sparrows and Redwings, so it was a pre-dawn start to set the nets. As it turned out it was a bit breezy and so we were unable to set some of our usual nets, and instead had to settle for setting some in more sheltered locations. We had instant success on the first round, with two new Redwings and a Little Owl. The Little Owl was one of the birds that we had caught back in early November; it had put on some weight since when it was last caught, but the best thing was being able to get a good look at it in daylight.

Little Owl - Manor Farm Country Park

Little Owl - Manor Farm Country Park

The second net round produced another two Redwings and eleven Long-tailed Tits, but as the wind was really starting to pick up now we decided to call it a day at the farm and move into the woods.

Redwing - Manor Farm Country Park

Last winter I had regularly seen Firecrests in the woods at Manor Farm, particularly where evergreen shrubbery, such as Holly and Yew, was present, so we decided to go and see if any were there this winter. We only had about an hour so stopped off at a couple of likely places; the first location produced a male Firecrest, in the same bush as last year, although it was not the same bird as this one was a first year bird. 

Male Firecrest - Manor Farm Country Park

The second location also proved to have a Firecrest present, another male and also three Goldcrests. These are the fifth and sixth Firecrests I have caught since the beginning of November, and may not be the last of the year. I have now finished work until the new year and hope to get out and search for more.

Male Firecrest - Manor Farm Country Park

Female Goldcrest (left) and Male Firecrest (right) - Manor Farm Country Park

Three of a Kind and a Little Fire Cracker - November 2014

Wednesday 5th November began with a pre-work ringing session in the grounds of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust's, Curdridge office. I am very fortunate to work in this semi-rural location, and to have one of my trainees working out of the same office as we are able to grab an hours ringing before work. This was our first session of the winter, and what a way to start, a cracking male Firecrest, on a date reserved for celebrating Guy Fawkes. This bird is surely better than any fireworks display. The remainder of the session was quiet by comparison with a total of four birds caught, the other notable being a female Nuthatch.

Male Firecrest - Curdridge, Hampshire

Fuelled by the success of the morning, I went to Manor Farm Country Park straight after work. I had planned to meet Izzy Phillips there and we were aiming to check to see whether the Little Owls were around, and if so where they were. However, as the weather was so still, and I had my ringing kit with me, we put up a couple of nets. Both Tawny and Little Owls were active, but it was a single Little Owl that appeared first in the net.

Little Owl - Manor Farm Country Park

We were pretty chuffed with our immediate success, but were stunned to return to the net and find another two birds in it. I have previously caught two birds on an evening session, but never three.

Little Owl - Manor Farm Country Park

I have spent many hours wandering around Manor Farm Country Park at night and often encounter Little Owls running around on the fields. All three birds had wet and muddy talons suggesting that they too had been out on the fields in search of food.

Little Owl Talons

On the whole I have found ageing Little Owls to be quite straight forward, particularly with those birds caught in the autumn, since they often retain downy feathers around the nape. According to Baker (1993), the moult strategy of Little Owls is a follows;

Age code 3 - "Partial post-juvenile moult, starting soon after fledging, confined to the head, body, lesser and median-coverts; July, completed by September, October (November)."

Adult - "Complete post breeding moult starting as early as (May) June - July and completed by September or early or early November. Secondaries moult from three centres, usually around s12, s5 and s1. Tail is shed almost simultaneously."

There is slight sexual size dimorphism, with females being on average slightly larger than males, but there is a fair amount of overlap and therefore it is not really reliable.

The first bird we aged as an age code 3 (juvenile, bird of this year). See the image below; 

Adults and first winters are described in Baker as being similar in appearance, but in juveniles mesoptile down is often present on the inner-most tertials. The white spots on the head are bolder and more rounded and the white tip on p10, the outermost primary extends onto the inner web.

I have to admit I found the white spots on the head of all three birds very variable, and there was some evidence of a white tip on the primaries of two of the birds. However, looking at the overall plumage of the three birds, I was confident that that they were all first winters based on the following features.

Wing of Little Owl, showing presumed moult limit

With the first bird it was evident that it had undergone its post juvenile moult. The primaries, secondaries, tertials and primary coverts are gingery brown in colour, whereas the body, head and wing coverts, greater, median and lesser are dark brown in colour. This indicates to me that the main wing feathers (primary, secondary and tertials) have not been moulted as would be expected for a juvenile bird.

Little Owl tail, with one replacement tail feather

To further confirm this assessment, this bird has replaced a single tail feather, which it has probably lost accidentally, rather than through typical moult. The colour difference in the replaced feather and retained juvenile feathers is evident, as is the difference in the broadness, shape of the tip and extent of abrasion on the tips.

Wing of Little Owl, showing presumed moult limit

The second and third birds seem to show the same moult limit, albeit not as obviously as the first bird. In the image below it is again possible to see a contrast in the replaced adult type covert feathers and the gingery coloured primaries, primary coverts, secondaries and tertials.

Wing of Little Owl, showing presumed moult limit

For comparison below are a couple of images of an adult bird that I caught a couple of years ago, at a similar time of year. The lack of contrast between the main wing feathers and coverts is evident, as is the shape, pattern and broadness of p10. Another obvious feature is the size of the white spot, and general shape and pattern on the primary coverts in this adult bird, compared with the lack of it, or smaller size on all three of the juvenile birds.

Adult Little Owl - Note colour of wing feathers and lack of contrast and moult limit

Adult Little Owl - Note shape and pattern of p10 (outermost primary feather

Colour-ringed Godwits at Manor Farm (Part 2) - April 2014

Following on from my last post about the three black-tailed godwits I saw at Manor Farm Country Park, this week I received the information on each bird. Thanks to Pete Potts and Bodvar for sending the information through so quickly. Two of the three birds were ringed on the south coast of England, one on Thorney Island, West Sussex and the other at The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts Farlington Marshes reserve in Hampshire; the third was ringed in Iceland as a chick. In order to differentiate the birds I thought it best to re-publish the same photos, with a summary of their respective life histories below.

G//L+R

G//L+R was first ringed as a nestling, one of a brood of two, in north west Iceland in June 2003. Since then it has been re-sighted on 55 occasions in both Iceland and the UK. A summary of the sightings is provided below;

2003 - After ringing it was re-sighted seven times in north west Iceland.

2004 - There were only three sighting in 2004, all from Southampton Water, Hampshire, UK with one in February, March and April.

2005 - There were two sightings from north west Iceland, one in July and one in August.

2006 - There were 14 sightings in this year from both England and Iceland. In February there were two sightings from Titchfield Haven, Hampshire, UK but between May and August there were nine sightings in north west Iceland. Three further sightings, one in September and two in October, were made from Warsash, Hampshire UK.

2007 - There were five sightings this year, three in March from Titchfield Haven and the River Hamble in Hampshire, UK one from north west Iceland in May and a further sighting from the River Hamble, Hampshire in September.

2008 - This year was another good year with 11 sightings made, all from the UK. The majority of the sightings were from the River Hamble and Warsash, with three in the early part of the year, January, March and April and seven in September and October. There was one sighting from Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, UK in November.

2009 - There were only three sightings in this year, one in January on the River Hamble, Hampshire UK, one from north west Iceland in April and one Warsash in the latter part of the year (November).

2010 - There were only three sightings this year, all from Warsash on the River Hamble, one in April and two in September.

2011 - There were three sightings, all in April and from Iceland. One from west Iceland and two from north west Iceland.

2012 - In early April this bird was seen at Warsash, Hampshire, in May it was back in north west Iceland and in December it was again seen at Warsash on the River Hamble.

2013 - There were no sightings in 2013.

2014 - My sighting on the River Hamble last week has been the only one so far this year.

O+ON

This bird was originally ringed in June 2005 on Thorney Island, West Sussex and has been re-sighted 65 times since ringing. All of the sightings have come from the south coast of England. A summary of sightings is provided below;

2005 - After ringing this bird was re-sighted seven times; the first four sighting were near the ringing site in Emsworth Harbour and on Thorney Island in July and August. In October this bird had moved to the River Hamble, and in December it was recorded at Titchfield Haven.

2006 - It remained at Titchfield Haven where it was again sighted twice in February. There were two further sightings, one in August on the River Hamble and one at Fareham Creek, Portsmouth Harbour in September.

2007 - There were 10 sightings this year, three in January, four in March and one in April all from the River Hamble and Titchfield Haven. In November and December the bird was seen once in each month on the River Hamble.

2008 - The was one sighting in February from the River Hamble. In November and December the bird moved to Portsmouth Harbour, where it was reported four times.

2009 - In April the bird was reported three times from the capture site on Thorney Island, West Sussex. In November it was again reported in Portsmouth Harbour.

2010 - In April 2010 the bird moved to Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth where I was sighted three times. In August it was back on the River Hamble.

2011 - There were nine sightings this year, five between January and April and four between October and December. In the early part of the year the favoured sites were the River Hamble and Southampton Water. In the latter part of the year the bird frequented the River Hamble before moving to Portsmouth Harbour.

2012 - There were only four records this year, all from Portsmouth Harbour, one in January, one in March and two in December.

2013 - There were 14 sighting during March and early April all from Southampton Water.

2014 - There have only been two sightings, including mine, this year, both from the River Hamble.

WA9+OW

This is the oldest of the three birds having originally been ringed at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts Farlington Marshes reserve in October 2002. Since then it has been re-sighted 59 times from three countries, the UK, France and Iceland. A summary of sightings in provided below;

2002 - After ringing it was re-sighted at Farlington Marshes 10 days later.

2003 - There were four sightings this year, one from the Avon Valley, Hampshire UK in January, two from the Loire Valley, France in August and then back in the UK at Lymington in the north west Solent in December.

2004 - The were two sightings in the north west Solent in April, and one back at Farlington Marshes in September.

2005 - There were only three sightings this year, all from March. Two were on Thorney Island and one from the north west Solent.

2006 - There were seven sightings this year, one from France in February, one from south west Iceland in July and five from the River Hamble, Hampshire, UK during September and October.  

2007 - In January the bird was reported twice on the Brittany Coast in France, in April it was back on the River Hamble, but in September it was recorded in Kent, UK.

2008 - This year it was recorded initially in April on the River Hamble, then in July it was recorded in Kent, UK, before returning to the River Hamble in September where it was recorded twice in September and once in October.

2009 - There were two sightings in January, both from Western France, there were no further sightings this year.

2010 - There were nine sightings this year, the first was in France in February. There were then five sightings in April on the River Hamble, UK and two and one in August and September, respectively from Kent, UK.

2011 - There were seven sightings this year, two in March and one in April on Southampton Water, then two further sightings in April on the River Hamble. In August this bird was reported in Essex, UK before moving to France where it was reported in October.

2012 - There was only one sighting this year and that was from the Wash in Lincolnshire, UK.

2013 - This bird spent the early part of this year in Hampshire where it was reported on the River Itchen, Southampton and on the River Hamble 11 time between late March and early May.

2014 - The only record this year is mine from the River Hamble in April.

The sightings for these three birds highlight the importance of a providing network of feeding sites throughout their wintering range. According to the BTO website the maximum recorded age for black-tailed godwit is 23 years, 3 months and 21 days, set in 2001. 

Colour-ringed Godwits at Manor Farm Country Park - April 2014

This morning I nipped down to Manor Farm Country Park to check out the route in preparation for my dawn chorus walk there next Sunday, 27th April. It was a fine day and the park was busy, with out of control dogs everywhere. Fortunately my walk starts at 5am so there shouldn't be too many people around then. After sussing the route I headed down to the River Hamble to check out the intertidal on the rising tide, there had been a recent report of an Iceland gull further up river so I was also hoping for that. A couple of whimbrel were the first I had seen on the patch this year, as were a small flock of black-tailed godwits. Initially there were five birds, with one colour-ringed individual; I didn't have my scope and unfortunately couldn't work out the combinations so I quickly headed back to the car. When I returned there were seven birds, three of which were colour-ringed.

A good mate of mine, Pete Potts has been studying godwits for many years, and birds are colour-ringed in Iceland, the UK and I believe Portugal. These birds seemed to have different types of colour combinations which could suggest that they have been ringed in different locations, or are part of different schemes. In addition I could not see a metal ring on any of the birds, which could also suggest that they have not been ringed in the UK.

This bird had four colour rings - orange over black or right tibia, orange on
left tibia and red on left tarsus

This bird had white over white, with the letters A9 on the right tibia, orange
over white on the white tibia and red on the left tarsus

This bird had red on the right tibia, green on the left tibia and another
ring on the left tibia. It was difficult to decipher this ring but I think it is a
discoloured white ring but it may be yellow

I tried to contact Pete but he was away for the weekend. Hopefully he will be able to give me their history, but I will submit the details to the BTO too, and let you know once I have found out.

More Manor Farm Bird Ringing - 25th January 2014

This morning I headed back to Manor Farm Country Park for a spot of bird ringing, and for a change I was accompanied by a nearly full complement of trainees. We started early, with the aim of getting the nets up before first light, in the hope of catching some winter thrushes. The session didn't start as well as hoped due to equipment failure,  but the first net round still produced two Redwing, a Blackbird, a Song Thrush, a Wren and two Dunnocks. The second net round wasn't much better; the highlight this time being a new female Goldcrest. Another Redwing made the effort almost worthwhile, but there was really not much more to report.

All of the Redwing were aged as first year birds, or age code 5, so I took a couple of photos of one.

Head Shot of Redwing at Manor Farm Country Park

Close up of Greater Coverts showing Large Thorns on Juvenile Coverts

Pointed Tail Feathers of Juvenile Redwing

During the session we caught four recoveries, three Dunnocks and a Blackbird. The two longest recoveries were both Dunnocks, one was originally ringed on the 9th April 2011 and the other on 12th February 2012, so 2 years 291 days and 1 year 337days since ringing. By the end of the session we had ringed nine species, but unfortunately had added no House Sparrows for my RAS project.

I did also hear back from BTO HQ this week about one of the nestling Barn Swallows that I had ringed in the summer. This bird had been ringed in the nest on 2nd June 2013 and was retrapped on the 25th August seven kilometres to the south-west, 84 days later. Not the longest distance recovery, but it is nice to know that one of my birds successfully fledged.

Four Thrush Species in a Morning - Back at Manor Farm

For the second weekend running it was back to Manor Farm in the hope of catching some of the redwings and fieldfares that were there last week. We arrived early to set the nets, putting up two rows of three 18 metre nets and a single 9 metre net. Pre dawn there were redwing and fieldfare calling and moving around, and it wasn't long before we had our first birds. Our first bird was a species that I have only caught a handful of times before........a fieldfare.

Fieldfare Turdus pilaris

As I previously mentioned, fieldfare is a species that I catch extremely infrequently despite it being an annual winter visitor to the site in good numbers. For ageing and sexing I referred to my trusty Swennson and Jenni and Winkler, so here goes. Adult fieldfares undergo a complete post breeding moult, whereas juveniles only undergo a partial moult. However, Svensson states that many birds (though not all) do not complete the moult of their juvenile greater coverts. There was no obvious break in the greater coverts on this bird which was an indication that it was an adult.

Fieldfare

As with many species the shape of the tail feathers is a useful indication, with adult feathers being broad and rounded, whereas first year feathers are pointed. This bird had very broad and rounded tail feathers and therefore due to the combination of features it was aged as an adult.

Broad Adult Type Tail Feathers of the Fieldfare

For sexing fieldfares Svensson describes the pattern of the crown feathers as a useful feature; male feathers are generally dark centred, whereas female feathers have the dark area restricted to the central shaft, and the base, where it is slightly broader. Svensson also states that where this is ambiguous the colouration of the tail feathers is useful. In males the tail feathers are black to blackish whereas female tail feathers are dull dark brownish-olive.

Head of Fieldfare

Given the black colouration of the tail feathers on this bird and the extent of black in the crown feathers, we sexed it as a male. The numbers of birds present was nowhere near those recorded last week, nonetheless the next round did produce a retrap blackbird, the first two redwing of the year and a new song thrush. 

Redwing

There was still a mixed flock of finches feeding in the top fields of which single greenfinch and goldfinch were caught, and a small mixed tit flock boosted the numbers a little. Another species that we don't catch very often is collared dove, and today one bird was caught. The eye of this bird was bright ruby red, the legs bright red and there were no pale fringed feathers present in the plumage, we therefore aged it as an adult. I used to catch quite a few collared doves in my garden, but in recent years they seem to have declined, probably as a result of the local sparrowhawk which used to be a regular visitor.

Male Collared Dove

By the end of the session we had caught 18 birds, 15 new and three retraps, of 13 species. The three retraps were an adult male blackbird that was originally ringed on the 15th September 2013, a long-tailed tit that was originally ringed on the 11th April 2010, and a blue tit that was originally ringed on the 3rd January 2011. The complete list of species was blackbird (1), redwing (2), fieldfare (1), blue tit (5), great tit (1), song thrush (1), dunnock (1), long-tailed tit (1), goldfinch (1), greenfinch (1), collared dove (1), carrion crow (1) and robin (1).

Finally Some Bird Ringing - Manor Farm Country Park January 2014

The recent rainfall and gale force winds have been extremely frustrating for me since it has been impossible to do any bird ringing. So when the forecast for Sunday 5th January looked calm and still, I went for it. Unfortunately my trainees were all busy and so I decided to go to Manor Farm Country Park and try for some more house sparrows. I had been advised that the fields were saturated and best avoided so I set my nets around the farm, and in similar locations to those used just before the Christmas break.

The session itself was pretty quiet and in two hours I only caught 10 birds, five of which were retraps. The species caught were dunnock (3), house sparrow (3), blackbird (2), and single wren and robin. The three house sparrows were all retraps with the oldest being a female that was originally ringed on 6th November 2010, 3 years and 60 days previously.

Fieldfare Turdus pilaris - Manor Farm Country Park

I shouldn't have listened to the advise about the fields, as in between net rounds I wandered up into the fields to see hundreds of winter thrushes. The birds were feeding in another of my normal trapping areas and when flushed flew low into the nearby hedges...it was very frustrating. There were at least 500 redwing, about 150 fieldfare and a mixed flock of finches that included 35 greenfinch, seven goldfinch and a couple of bullfinch.

With the wind now picking up and rain beginning once again I decided to call it a day, but rather than heading home I nipped down to Titchfield Haven for a spot of birding. There have been a couple of velvet scoter hanging around off shore since the autumn; they were still there as was a distant great northern diver. Other highlights included 15 sanderling, 20 dunlin, 100 oystercatchers and one bar-tailed godwit.

On Saturday 4th a local birder reported a presumed Siberian Chiffchaff along the boardwalk on the east side of the Haven. The bird was calling well and showed the distinctive pale grey brown upperparts, pale underparts and a good wing bar, so pretty conclusive. On Sunday morning, whilst trying for reed buntings Barry Duffin trapped a bird that showed some features that looked good for a 'tristis' type chiff, but this bird did not show a wing bar and therefore it was considered that it may be a different bird to that reported.

Siberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita tristis (B Duffin)

As can be seen from the pictures the bird does have a greyish tinge to the upperparts, but most of the feathers are fringed green. The supercilium had a yellow hue to it, the carpel joint was strongly tinged yellow and the ear coverts were dark.

Chiffchaff Underparts (B Duffin)

The most striking feature of this bird was the colouration of the underparts, which were extremely pale except for a slight buff tone to the under tail coverts.

Siberian Chiffchaff (B Duffin)

Unfortunately I did not get to see this bird in the hand, and have yet to see the reported Siberian Chiffchaff at the Haven, and initially I did have my reservations about this bird. But having chatted to the local birder who found the bird at the Haven, and following discussions with other birders, it seems that this bird is indeed a 'tristis'.

I have to admit it has been a while since I have seen one and I was originally being slightly cautious in my original post. Interestingly, it is considered that this bird is indeed the same individual that was recorded the day before being caught, yet in the hand it appears the lack the wing bar which was very visible in the field.