Titchfield Haven - Late October update

Typically at this time of the year the frequency of suitable ringing days declines, as does the number of birds that we catch. This year hasn't quote worked like that, in that the weather has been generally set fair, and just as we thought the number of birds was declining, we suddenly have a good day. Since my last post we have ringed on seven occasions with the totals varying from 25 on 16th to 95 on 20th. 

In contrast to earlier in the year, Chiffchaff has become the commonest species, with Blackcap and Goldcrest making up the supporting cast. Blackcap numbers are now well and truly at a record level with 964 birds ringed, Chiffchaff numbers stand at 500. A catch of 27 Goldcrests on 20th October has taken the total to 76 for the year; a very respectable total for us but not unexpected given the numbers recorded on the east coast. 

Female Goldcrest

Again, not unexpectedly two Firecrests have also been trapped, a species that we never get bored with ringing.

Male Firecrest

We have not caught any more Sedge, Willow, Grasshopper or Garden Warblers, but have added the occasional Whitethroat and Reed Warbler. There is always a tinge of excitement when we find a Reed Warbler at this time of year, but as yet they have all been just reeds. A comparison of key species up to 26th October from 2010 - 2014 and up to 22nd October for 2015 is below.

With the key species now tailing off, others have started to increase. We have been regularly catching new Robins and our total now stands at 78, 17 Bearded Tits, 18 Lesser Redpolls, a record for the site, 14 Reed Buntings and seven Song Thrush. Ten Kingfishers is a very good total for the site.

To date the total number of new birds ringed since July stands at 3778 of 37 species.

Mid-September Ringing Update

I wasn't intending to do another mid-September update as the weather last weekend didn't look that great and so I thought any ringing was unlikely. However, as it turned out the conditions on Sunday 13th were perfect. It was evident first thing that it was going to be a good day as the nets were 'dripping' with birds on the first round. We were so busy that Barry and I alternated extracting and ringing whilst Maggie patiently scribed. By the end of the session we had ringed 267 new birds and had two controls, one Chiffchaff and one Blackcap and our second Common Redstart of the year, which was a cracking male.

Of course having caught so many birds, it dramatically altered the totals for the year to year comparisons, so I thought I should update the blog to reflect this, and bring it in line with the September 14th date used in previous years. The story with Sedge Warbler is still down, and well down at that, with this years total 40% below our average for the time of year. By contrast, the Reed Warbler is having a fantastic year, and the total is 58% up on the average, and heading towards our highest ever annual total. 

Summary of Key Species Ringing Total up to 14th September

Summary of Key Species Ringing Total up to 14th September

Grasshopper Warbler numbers are still trickling along, but with the total now standing at 118 numbers are over 260% below average. Other species totals below average are Willow Warbler, at 7% down, Garden Warbler at 34% down and Whitethroat at 2% down. 

The winners, as well as Reed Warbler, are Chiffchaff at 38% above average and the real winners Blackcap with a total of 448 birds ringed so far. This total is 116% above the average for the time of year, and if the pattern continues could see Blackcap elevated to the most numerous species ringed this year. In total we have ringed 2472 birds of 29 species, to date.

The Barley Birds are back again

There is an inevitable re-occurring theme with this blog, other than the obvious general birding and ringing one that is, and that is my fascination with the Common Nightingale. Every April I search traditional territories within my patch and try to establish how many there are. It can be very frustrating at times, as the secretive nature of the species means that I will hear them, but often obtain just fleeting glimpses. Over the years I have learnt the patience is the key, and that is exactly what made this mornings visit to Botley Wood a successful one. 

I arrived on site early, just before sunrise, and began my usual circuit. The Ravens were again very obvious, but I am barely even giving them a second glance at the moment. Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and a few scattered Willow Warblers were still the most notable of the summer migrants, until I walked up the first ride and heard a Nightingale, my first of the year. The bird was fairly close to the path, but was on the opposite side of the vegetation to me so I crept through a small gap and waited. Although they often sit in the open, Nightingales will perch close to a branch and usually behind it if they have seen you, this makes them very difficult to pick out in spite of their loud song. My first male was in full song and very close but initially I couldn't see it. I stood and patiently waited and eventually picked out some movement in a willow tree. The bird flicked left and perched up right in front of me. At this point, the bird was in the open but I was in vegetation and so getting a clear shot was a challenge. I was eventually able to manoeuvre myself so I could get a couple of shots, while the bird continued to sing....just brilliant! This bird was an unringed male, that may be the same bird as last year as I failed to catch the bird on this territory last year.

Male Nightingale

Male Nightingale

Male Nightingale

Male Nightingale

I continued around my usual circuit and could hear two more birds, one was only giving occasional bursts of song, but the other was in full song. I decided to look for that one and was again rewarded with some great views of a singing male, this one also unringed. Whilst watching this bird a second bird was skulking in the dense undergrowth close to me. This bird was not singing but uttering the typical 'wheeling' and 'croaking' calls, so may well be a female.

Male Nightingale

I pressed on with my circuit and picked up the male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker again, Great Spots and Greens were also very vocal, th good weather was clearly encouraging them to call. As I continued it was evident that the Chiffs and Blackcaps were busy nest building. A Chiffchaff was grabbing spiders web, much the the spider's annoyance I should image, although its was better than being eaten.

Chiffchaff nest building

A male Blackcap was singing its scratchy sub-song whilst the female was busy nest building in a small patch of bramble. While I was watching it a second male was paying the female a bit of attention, this went unnoticed by the singing male for a minute or so, but he was quick to see off the intruder once he did.

Male Blackcap

Botley Wood again and Blashford Lakes

In the hope that the first Nightingale would have arrived back at Botley Wood last night I started the day there with a pre-breakfast stroll. There had been a slight frost overnight but it was quickly thawing as the sun got higher. The Ravens were the most obvious birds when I arrived, one bird was sat on a pylon calling away, whilst the other roamed more widely. A couple of Bullfinch's were calling and Chiffchaff song was everywhere, well at least it appeared to be. 

Chiffchaff - Botley Wood

I took my usual route, taking in all the usual Nightingale territories, but not even a croak was to be heard. Several Blackcaps appeared to be paired up, and there was an abundance of Blackbird and Song Thrush, but yesterdays Willow Warbler appeared to have moved on. I walked all the way through to the Whiteley end and recorded several more Chiffs, Blackcaps and Bullfinch's and a single male Sparrowhawk, but that was about all of note. In spite of the early start there were a few butterflies on the wing, I recorded Brimstone, Green-veined White, Comma and Peacock, the individual below was perched high on a willow taking advantage of the sun.

Peacock Butterfly - Botley Wood

After breakfast I decided to head down to Blashford Lakes. There had been a few Little Gulls around the previous day so I was hoping to catch up with a few of them. I didn't have much time so headed straight for the Tern Hide for a view of Ivy Lake. There were loads of Black-headed Gulls present but I couldn't find any Little Gulls; I bumped into a local birder who had been there all morning and he hadn't seen them today either. There were however a few bits that made the trip worth while, 4 Common Terns were a year tick as were the two Little Ringed Plovers. I don't see LRPs very often so it was good to see them, and one bird was on the foreshore just in front of the hide. 

Little Ringed Plover - Blashford Lakes

The more I watched the close bird it became apparent that something was wrong. Rather than running it appeared to be hoping and was not covering much ground, certainly not in the way that plovers usually do. It would also regularly settle down and rest, which was quite unusual.

Little Ringed Plover - note broken leg

After while the bird turned around and it was then I noticed its right leg. The leg was either broken or deformed and was bent around 180 degrees so it faced backwards. It was also stuck at a right angle so that it didn't touch the ground but just pointed upwards. The bird seemed to be feeding OK and at one point it flew across a creek to the beach opposite the hide, it landed perfectly on its one leg and continued to feed along the edge of the water.

Close up of broken/deformed leg

Over the years I have seen loads of birds with dodgy legs and there was a one legged Redshank the frequented the beach at Hill Head for several years. Hopefully this bird will be able to survive despite its damaged appendage.

Titchfield Haven - End of Year Summary 2014

After what has been a generally successful season at the Haven, we have hung up our bird bags and migrated to other sites. The season ended with a total of 4651 full grown birds, one pulli, and 259 retraps of 44 species, bringing the grand total to 4911. The undoubted highlights were the Pallas' Grasshopper Warbler, the Cuckoo and the Yellow-browed Warbler. Besides the rarity highlights there were also some record catches for our standard fare, namely Robin, Blackcap and Willow Warbler. Other highlights included the first Woodcock for the site, the Wood Warbler and the Pied Flycatcher. Having now entered all the totals into IPMR there have been some slight amendments to the totals, with Willow Warbler slightly down to 268 and Grasshopper Warbler up to 341.

Table of Ringing Totals for 2014 in the autumn ringing area, the numbers
in red represent highest or equal highest totals for the site.

I have previously posted graphs showing species totals between 1998 and 2014, with trend lines to illustrate how the numbers have increased or declined over that period. For this post I thought I would show how similar species have fared over that same period, so below are comparisons for Whitethroat verses Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaff verses Willow Warbler, Blackcap verses Garden Warbler and Reed Warbler verses Sedge Warbler.

Comparison of ringing totals for Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat

Comparison of ringing totals for Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler

Comparison of ringing totals for Blackcap and Garden Warbler

Comparison of ringing totals for Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler

It is interesting to see how the numbers of the different species have varied over the period, and how some species are just that much rarer than others. The most obvious being Common Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat and Blackcap and Garden Warbler. It is also interesting to note how the peaks and troughs for each species are mirrored in many cases, with fluctuations in numbers being more pronounced in species with the highest totals.

Our ringing studies will be continuing over the winter, with visits Manor Farm Country Park, Farlington Marshes and Walpole Park all planned, and from there we will see where things take us.

Quantity and Quality whilst Bird Ringing

I managed two ringing sessions this weekend, the first was yesterday (14th June) afternoon in my garden and the second was this morning at Botley Wood. The sessions were entirely different with one being made up of a large quantity of a Blue and Great Tits whereas the other was made up of predominantly quality birds, such as Whitethroats, Blackcaps and Garden Warblers.

Garden Ringing - 14th June
Over the last couple of weeks I have seen increasing numbers of birds returning to the garden feeders, but I just hadn’t had the time to put a net up. The most numerous species are Blue and Great Tits, and so not everyones cup of tea, but I don’t mind ringing them. If I want to put a net up in the garden to try for other species, then the tits are just a by-product. But its not all bad as it is possible to build up some good longevity data through retrapping the same birds. In fact only this week I heard back from BTO HQ, that a Blue Tit that I had ringed on 31st December 2008 was killed by a neighbours cat on 9th May 2014, 5 years and 129 days since ringing. This is not a record by any means, that stands at 9 years, 9 months and 2 days, but it is a good age for a species that on average survives for just 3 years (according to BTO facts). Interestingly this bird had not been re-trapped since its original ringing date, but was evidently still in the area.

This session was made up of 39 birds of which 18 were Blue Tits and 14 were Great Tits, all of the tits were new birds, and all except one were juveniles. The remainder of the birds were made up of two Dunnocks, two Greenfinch’s and single House Sparrow and Nuthatch. The only re-trap was one of the Dunnocks, which was originally ringed on 28th October 2011. My first juvenile Greenfinch of the year was trapped, and whilst this bird was clearly a juvenile, its tail was broader and not as pointed as other juvenile feathers I have seen in the past.

Juvenile Greenfinch - note streaking on breast

Juvenile Greenfinch Wing - note the brown fringed greater coverts and
pointed primary converts

Juvenile Greenfinch Tail - this tail is broader and not as pointed as many
juvenile greenfinch tails that I have seen. It will obviously wear over time
but it is always worth looking at a combination of features when ageing birds.

Botley Wood Ringing - 15th June
This session required a 5am start which was not idea since I had stayed up late to watch the England vs Italy match. Given the result I wished I hadn’t but we make these mistakes in life, when it comes to watching England playing football I never seem to learn! It was a steady morning that resulted in 30 birds from only four nets. Unlike my garden, only two tits were caught, one blue and one great. The most numerous species was Common Whitethroat, with nine birds ringed, followed by Chiffchaff, with eight birds ringed.

Juvenile Chiffchaff - the plumage is very fresh and fluffy; a yellow gape
is still obvious

Two of the whitethroats were retraps, one from 2nd June 2012 and one from 1st May 2013, four were adults and five were juveniles. This was great training for Chris who was able to compare the differences between adult and juvenile whitethroats in prep for the autumn at Titchfield Haven. 

Adult Whitethroat - note pale iris

Juvenile Whitethroat - note dark iris - when ringing whitethroats in the
autumn always check the eye as the colour of the iris will give you a clear
clue to the birds age

Similarly the Chiffchaff numbers were made up of adults and juveniles, and so it was possible to compare the different ages. The other species ringed were four each of Blackcap and Garden Warbler and three robins. Surprisingly, we did not catch any juvenile Garden Warblers or Blackcaps, I would have certainly expected some to be on the wing: the robins were all juveniles. 

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.

Our First Ringing Control in Portugal

Ringing activities during November for me have been restricted to a couple of sessions at Titchfield Haven and a bit in the garden. The sessions at the Haven were the latest we have ever done and did not really amount to much despite having all of our nets open. In fact on both dates half of the birds were resident retraps. However we did manage to add a few more chiffs to our annual total and caught more goldcrests in those two sessions than we had all year.

Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita

We also caught another new kingfisher which takes our total to the year to four. This bird was an adult, this can be seen by the all black colouration at the base of the lower mandible.

Adult Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

One session was also memorable due to the capture of two green woodpeckers. Both birds were retraps and adults, but one was a male and the other a female.

Male Green Woodpecker Picus viridis

Male birds (above) exhibit a red centre to the black moustache, whereas female birds (below) have no red in the black moustache. 

Female Green Woodpecker

One thing I do like about winter is the fantastic light and lack of heat haze, on a still clear day this lends itself to taking crisp photos with lots of contrast.

The River Meon at Titchfield Haven from our ringing area

The downside of ringing in the winter, is that on clear nights you can start your session with a heavy frost. This is not ideal when trying to open furled nets as it quickly saps any heat from your hands and makes your nets stand out until the sun melts the frost.

Frost on Phragmities Reed Head

Within the last couple of weeks we have also had a few recoveries back from BTO HQ, a summary is provided below. It is sometimes quite frustrating how long some of these take to come back, this is very evident with the blackcap T619991. This bird was controlled in Portugal in February 2010, but we have only just received the information. In these days of instant news and computerised data it is a shame it takes so long. On a very positive note though this is the first bird that was ringed at the Haven to be controlled in Portugal, so a great recovery for us.

Other interesting foreign controls were two French ringed sedge warblers. One bird was ringed as a juvenile in France in 2011 and retrapped at the Haven this autumn two years and a day since its original capture. The second bird was first ringed as an adult in France last August and and retrapped at the Haven this August. Both were presumably British birds migrating south when they were trapped in France, which is why they have been retrapped at the Haven. A reed warbler ringed on the Isle of Wight was retrapped at the Haven, having travelled north by 17km in five days. It is possible that weather conditions were preventing this bird from migrating south and therefore it was coasting waiting for suitable conditions.

Species	Ring No.	Capture Type	Age	Date	Details
Blackcap
	T619991	N	3	27/09/2009	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire
		C		06/02/2010	Fontes, Faro, Portugal (132 days, 1623km  SSW)
	Y759573	N	3J	22/07/2013	Bessacarr, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire
		C	3F	07/09/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (47 days, 297km, S)
Reed Warbler
	Y718412	N	3	17/08/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire
		C	3	05/09/2013	Litlington, East Sussex (19 days, 99km, E)
		C	3	12/09/2013	Litlington, East Sussex (26 days, 99km, E)
	Y813442	N	3	01/09/2013	Great Meadow Pond, Windsor, Windsor and Maidenhead
		C	3	24/09/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (23 days, 80km, SW)
	D562011	N	3	29/08/2013	Haseley Manor, Arreton, Isle of Wight
		C	3	03/09/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (5 days, 17km, N)
	Y544426	N	3	01/09/2013	Thatcham Marsh, Thatcham, West Berkshire
		C		08/09/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (7 days, 65km, S)
	Y813442	N	3	01/09/2013	Great Meadow Pond, Windsor, Windsor and Maidenhead
		C		21/09/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (20 days, 80km, SW)
Sedge Warbler
	Y719541	N	3	07/09/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire
		C	3	20/09/2013	Nanjizal, Land's End, Cornwall (13 days, 327km, WSW)
	6693908	N	3	19/08/2011	Marais de Cap, Montmartin-en-Graignes, Manche, France
		C	4	20/08/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (732 days, 173km, N)
	6706223	N	4	24/08/2012	Urdains, Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
		C	4	02/08/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (343 days, 819km, N)
	D218893	N	3	26/07/2013	Kirkton of Logie Buchan, Aberdeenshire
		C	3	10/08/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (15 days, 728km, S)
	D610553	N	3	21/08/2013	Dunkirk, Little Downham, near Ely, Cambridgeshire
		C	3	19/09/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (29 days, 209km, SSW)
	D639756	N	3	21/08/2013	Much Marcle, Herefordshire
		C		07/09/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (17 days, 159km, SSE)
	L931682	N	3J	04/08/2013	Bellflask, West Tanfield, North Yorkshire
		C	3	10/08/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (6 days, 375km, S)
	Y661622	N	3J	22/07/2013	Rye Meads, Hertfordshire
		C		06/08/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (15 days, 137km, SW)
		C		08/08/2013	Titchfield Haven, Hill Head, Fareham, Hampshire (17 days, 137km, SW)