Spring has finally sprung in Hampshire - March 2014

There is no better sound than that of the sound of spring, and the start of the dawn chorus. Blackbirds, song thrushes and robins are usually the first to start and their song makes the pre-dawn start for bird ringing all the more worthwhile. With the lengthening days the weather has calmed too, which has meant in the first 10 days of the month more birds have been ringed than in the whole of January and February. The majority of the sessions have been at Manor Farm Country Park, but this weekend I ventured back to Botley Wood for the first session of the year.

The sessions at Manor Farm have again been targeted on gathering data for the House Sparrow RAS project. The RAS season started on the 1st March and so the aim was to get as many retraps as possible. The season started well and with 16 new birds ringed and 15 birds either sighted or retrapped. The usual species were also ringed including Wren, Dunnock, Robin and Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tit.

A species that is grossly underestimated by many is the Common Starling, a striking species in the field but truly stunning in the hand. The pale tips contrast strikingly with the metallic violet and green sheen to the main part of the feathers. In the summer months the bill becomes bright yellow, except for the base that is, which turns blue in a male and pink in a female. The image of the male below illustrates this perfectly.

Male Common Starling - Manor Farm Country Park (Rob Skinner)

Six new Redwing have brought the total this year to 20 and another Fieldfare was the second of the year. According to the pattern on the head feathers, which showed very little black other than along the shaft, this bird appeared to be a female.

Presumed Female Fieldfare - Manor Farm Country Park (Rob Skinner)

The session at Botley Wood was more about cutting in net rides in preparation for the arrival of spring migrants, particularly Common Nightingales, but we still put a couple of nets up just in case. Surprisingly there were no spring migrants around not even the odd Chiffchaff, but two Eurasian Woodcocks, a Siskin and a Kingfisher made the visit worthwhile. In contrast to the ringing which resulted in two each of Blue Tit, Wren and Robin, so not really with the effort.

The warm spring days have seen the level of invertebrate activity increase dramatically, Brimstones were abundant at Botley Wood and when I returned home there were Small Tortoiseshell's and Red Admirals in the garden.

Underwing of Small Tortoiseshell

Upperwing of Small Tortoiseshell

Moth numbers have also increased as has the diversity of species and in just three session 15 species have been recorded in my garden. The species list has produced nothing as good as the recent Acleris literana recorded at work but has included Small Brindled Beauty, Clouded Drab and Twin-spotted Quaker.

Twin-Spotted Quaker

Twin-spotted Quaker is common and widespread throughout Hampshire and the Isle of Wight with the peak month for its emergence being March. The other species recorded included  Early Moth, Early Grey, Hebrew Character, Early Grey, Diurnea fagella and the Common Plume Moth Emmelina monodactyla.

Meadow Pipit Ringing at Farlington Marshes

It has been an interesting week that started with the finding of a yellow-browed warbler at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts Testwood Lakes reserve. I was at the site for a staff meeting and had arranged with a colleague to go birding at lunchtime in search of one. Whilst standing at our cars getting our binoculars we heard one calling, and immediately found it in a small patch of scrub. The story of the find is here. Saturday morning proved very busy with an unseasonably high number of birds ringed at Titchfield Haven (I will write about that later) and today was another busy day, but this time at Farlington Marshes.

The Sun Rising over Farlington Marshes

Today began with a pre-dawn start at the Marsh. The aim was to try and catch some meadow pipits out in the point field, and so we had to arrive early to get the nets up. The method for catching meadow pipits involves putting three nets in a triangle, around an isolated shrub. A recording of their song in the middle attracts the birds into the trapping area. We only put up four nets, two in two small areas of scrub and two in a right angle around a small bush. We didn't quite follow the normal method, but were convinced it would work.

Our Pipits Nets Set in a Right Angle

Our first net round produced a handful of blackcaps and a couple of robins. The next round added a few more blackcaps and our first meadow pipits; after that it was mainly meadow pipits. We ended the session on 88 birds, 54 of which were meadow pipits; blackcap was the next most numerous species. The other species included chiffchaff, greenfinch, dunnock, robin, sedge warbler and right at the end of the session a handful of starling.

A flock of several hundred starlings made a spectacular sight, particularly
as they were wheeling around overhead harassing a couple of kestrels. We
were fortunate in that the flock tended to miss our nets except on one occasion
when six  birds were caught.

Ageing meadow pipits is not something that I have covered before so having had the chance to study so many birds it seems like the ideal time to do it. Adult meadow pipits undergo a complete moult after breeding, whereas juvenile birds only do a partial moult. This means that in the autumn there should be evidence of juvenile feathers in the wing. 

Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis - note the long hind claw in this image. The most
likely confusion species in the British Isles, Tree Pipit A. trivialis
has a much shorter hind claw.

According to Svensson some birds moult a number of their medium and greater coverts and tertials, therefore birds should be identifiable by the contrast between the new (adult) and old (juvenile) feathers. Adult birds on the other hand will have wing feathers, all of the same generation and therefore no contrast will be present. The following series of photos illustrate this.

The image above illustrates a bird that was presumed to be an adult since there was no obvious moult limit in the wing, and the fringing on the greater and medium coverts and tertials is olive-buff in colouration. The 'tooth' on the medium coverts is also not strongly pronounced. This bird had previously lost its tail and was in the process of moulting it back in.

The image above illustrates an example of a first year birds wing. The greater coverts are pale fringed with the exception of the second covert from the left. This feather is an adult type feather and is strongly coloured buff.

In the image above it is possible to see the pronounced 'tooth' of the first year type medium coverts. The majority of the greater coverts are adult type feathers, with the exception of the innermost covert.

Above is another example of a first year birds wing. It is possible to see the contrast between the juvenile and adult coverts in the medium and greater coverts. In addition the two uppermost tertials have been replaced, but the lower one is still juvenile.

The majority of the tail in the image above is adult, but it is possible to see one remaining juvenile tail feather (the lower of the two central tail feathers). This image illustrates the difference in colour and shape with adult feather broader, more rounded at the tip and strongly coloured buff. The amount of wear on the tail feathers, their shape and the extent of white in the outer tail feathers was a very useful feature.

The most notable thing with handling so many birds was the difference in colouration between individuals. Some first year birds had very pale, almost white fringing, whereas others has fringing coloured similar to adult birds. It is important not to pay too much attention to the colour of fringing when ageing birds but look for evidence of a moult limit in the wings and tail and signs of abrasion.

Garden Ringing again....

At last!....after a busy work and social calendar I finally managed to get out and do some ringing, well put a net up in the garden anyway. It was a steady session that resulted in 13 birds  of six species being caught. Greenfinch was the commonest species which was nice to see, since this species has been absent from the garden in the last couple of years. A single Goldfinch and a couple of Blue Tits added to the tally, as did a rather aggressive Jay. I am always careful with this species and plan my approach as they always seem to draw blood....and this bugger was no exception.

Eurasian Jay

After what can only be described as a painful few moments extraction I felt was in control and so set about ageing it. Adults undergo a complete moult post breeding, whereas juveniles only a partial post juvenile moult, which means that it should be possible to see some contrast in the wing feathers. In the case of this bird the secondaries, tertials and wing coverts appeared to have been replaced; the secondaries and tertials were jet black and glossy and showed very little abrasion.

Eurasian Jay, a stunning bird

Whereas the primaries were dull, faded, abraded and pointed at the tip, a feature typical of a first year bird. In addition the tail feathers were not as broad as would be expected for an adult, with the 5th feather measuring only 20mm wide, when measured 40mm from the tip. The cross bars on the primary coverts, alula and outer greater coverts were more characteristic of an adult bird, but given that this part of he wing had all been moulted this was not unexpected. Therefore I aged this bird a 5, a bird that was definitely hatched in 2011.

Eurasian Jay Wing

The next bird out of the net was a Starling. Two pairs nest in the roof of my house, but I still don't  manage to catch that many. In starlings both adult and juvenile birds undergo a complete moult in the autumn, although in adult birds this is sometimes arrested....according to my trusty Svensson that is!

Female Starling

Sexing this bird was fairly straight forward since this bird had a pinkish base to the bill with a pale circle around the iris. This bird also had a well formed and engorged brood patch.

First Year Wing of Starling

Looking at the wing, it was more typical of a species with a partial post juvenile moult, since the primaries, secondaries, tertials, primary coverts and tail feathers were all juvenile feathers, along with some of the greater coverts. The tail feathers were also broad and rounded, which is typical of juvenile feathers in the autumn for this species.

Broad and rounded Tail of First Year Bird

The final bird out of the net was a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker, still wearing its red crown feathers. So it looks like the local pair have successfully reared another brood, unfortunately I think the Blue Tits in my nest box were used as a protein supplement for this family!!

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

After furling the net I sat down to enjoy a relaxing glass of wine and was immediately aware of movement around the flower pots......and there was the local hedgehog pottering around in search of slugs......always a welcome visitor to my vegetable patch!

Hedgehog

Bird Ringing Back at Manor Farm

The weather forecast today looked excellent for bird ringing, so with activities at Titchfield Haven now concluded, it was back to Manor Farm Country Park. The session began pre-dawn to set the nets, and given the recent influx of Redwing, I decided to target this species. I could hear Redwing calling as we arrived, but as dawn broke the two most notable species were Eurasian Blackbird and Fieldfare, with at least 20 and 40 present, respectively. A mixed flock of finches, which consisted of 80+ Linnet, 20 Greenfinch and 10 Eurasian Goldfinch was also present.

Each net round produced an interesting selection of birds, and by the end we had captured 44 birds, of which 39 were new birds and five were retraps. The total included three Wrens, two Dunnocks, four each of Robin, Blue and Great Tit and single Pied Wagtail, Goldcrest, House Sparrow, Greenfinch and Bullfinch. 

Redwing

Two Redwing were a nice reward for my efforts and the first of the autumn. Winter thrushes are such good looking birds with their black and yellow bills and colourful plumage. The underwing coverts and flanks of Redwing are not usually seen in the field but are striking in the hand.

Redwing Underwing

As luck would have it, one adult and one juvenile bird was captured today, thereby providing an excellent opportunity to show the differences in plumage. Adult birds undergo a summer complete moult, whereas juvenile undergo a partial moult, and therefore like many passerines it is possible to age birds in the autumn by the presence of retained juvenile feathers.

Juvenile Redwing Wing

In the case of juvenile Redwings, the combination of un-moulted pale tipped greater coverts and tertials and pointed tail feathers make identifying juveniles relatively straight forward.....

Juvenile Redwing Tail

Adult Redwing Wing

 ......with the virtually unmarked greater coverts and tertials and rounded tail feathers, easily identifying adult birds. But it is not always that straight forward!

Adult Redwing Tail

Eurasian Blackbird was the most common species captured, with six new birds and two retraps captured. One of the retraps was an adult bird which was originally captured on 23rd December 2005, 5 years 332 days previously, and it was aged as an adult then! This was the first retrap of this bird since its original capture. The other retrap was first captured in April 2010, and has been retrapped four times since its original capture.

Whilst doing the net rounds I noticed where the mixed flock of finches were feeding so quickly put up a line of three single shelf nets. The result was seven Linnets, two Goldfinch's, one Greenfinch and a couple of Dunnocks. 

Common Starling

Three surprise captures though were two Common Starlings and a Black-billed Magpie. The Starlings were both aged as juveniles, as was the Magpie.

Juvenile Black-billed Magpie

The Magpie was aged by the shape and extent of black on the first and second primaries; in juvenile birds the amount of black covers at least the outer third of the feather, as seen below.

Juvenile Black-billed Magpie Wing

By the end of the session we had captured 16 different species, which had made the morning very interesting, lets hope the rest of the winter is as varied.