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.

Titchfield Haven Bird Ringing - 28th August 2015

With a four day weekend ahead of me, it seemed like to perfect way to kick it off was a ringing session at The Haven. The end of August is now fast approaching and I will do a summary of where we are totals wise then, but as todays session was a pretty good one, I thought it warranted a short blog post. Barry had only been able to do one session so far this week because of the appalling weather, but yesterdays session had resulted in 10 new Grasshopper Warblers, so it was worth the effort.

The conditions looked ideal for another session this morning with a clear night, and a bright and wind less morning, and it was clear it was going to be good as our nets were dripping with birds first thing. As it happened things didn't end up as good numbers wise as we thought with under 180 birds were trapped, but we were treated to our first Common Redstart and Lesser Whitethroat of the year.

Juvenile Common Redstart

The Common Redstart was a juvenile and there was no evidence of a dark throat or grey feathers in the crown, so was probably a female. Whilst I had the Lesser Whitethroat in the hand I thought I would check the wing formula to make sure it was just of the European sub-species.....well you never know!

Lesser Whitethroat

The wing formula was spot on for European Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca curruca with the second primary being shorter than the fifth but just longer than the sixth.

Wing of Lesser Whitethroat 

The bulk of our catch was made up of Reed and Sedge Warblers again but Blackcaps were't that far behind. We also caught another 18 Grasshopper Warblers, so 28 in two sessions, which is more like it. Good numbers of Whitethroats were also ringed, two of which were adults and one of those a control.

Adult Whitethroat

The bright orange iris and extent of pure white in the tail feathers were dead give aways for the age, as were the retained adult secondaries in both birds.

Tail of adult Common Whitethroat

The remainder of the catch was made up of Willow Warblers, notably four of which were adults, Chiffchaffs, Cetti's Warblers, Goldcrests, Garden Warblers, Long-tailed Tits, Dunnocks and a retrap Song Thrush.

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.

Bird Ringing Summary, Titchfield Haven - October 2014

With the autumn migration season at the Haven gradually drawing to a close, and the first Redwings and Bramblings of the autumn returning, I have been playing around with some of the species ringing totals. But rather than just focus on the last five years, I have looked back to 1998 at a selection of species. As well as looking at the capture totals between 1998 and 2014, it has also allowed me to look at the general trend of each species over that period. Initially I have looked at those species that we are unlikely to catch again this year but as the season progresses I will add other species. The table below provides information on a selection of passerines, including those that are regular and others that are more uncommon.

The table above looks at the ringing totals between 1998 and 2014 for a selection of passerines.
The totals in red are record years, the total figure is the total number of birds ringed in that year,
not just the total of the species shown.

As I have stated previously the total of 270 birds for Willow Warbler was a record for the site by a good number, as illustrated above. Between 1998 and 2014 the previous highest total was 158, and we have come close to catching 150 birds on three other occasions. Looking at the trend for the last 16 years there is a steady increase. It is difficult to interpret what this means but certainly the number of birds being caught each year is showing a gradual increase.

The Grasshopper Warbler total ended with a total of 340 birds, which is the fifth highest total ever for the species. Once again there is a strong upward trend for the species but that is likely to be slightly skewed by the amazing total of 950 birds in 2011.

The total of 151 Common Whitethroats is the second highest total for the species and once again the trend for the capture totals is a strong upward one. Looking at the totals it is evident that three of the last four years have produced the first, second and third highest totals which could suggest that the species has been having productive breeding seasons recently.

Another species showing a strong upward trend is Garden Warbler and this year's total of 67 was the third highest ever. It is interesting to note just how few birds are ringed annually, in comparison to other species such as Common Whitethroat and Blackcap. Could this indicate the smaller numbers of birds that breed in the British Isles or do Garden Warblers not migrate through the Haven in high numbers?

A species that we get asked about every year when we carry out public ringing events is the Aquatic Warbler. It is a species that is on most Hampshire birders wish list and a species that I have been fortunate to get to grips with on many occasions. Since 1972 only 16 Aquatic Warblers have been ringed at the Haven; the first was in 1977 but 15 have been between 1998 and 2009. We have had several years with multiple captures with the peak being 2006 when four birds were ringed.

Aquatic Warbler - Titchfield Haven 2009

Since 2009 we have not caught an Aquatic Warbler at Titchfield Haven and subsequently there is a strong downward trend for the species at the Haven. Aquatic Warbler is classified as Vulnerable and has declined rapidly in previous years due to the destruction of its habitat. Its decline has been stopped in some areas due to intensive management but in countries like Hungary the species has been quoted as declining to extinction. The decline in the species may be reflected in the lack of birds being caught at the Haven in recent years.

Titchfield Haven - Early September 2014 Update

With all the excitement of the weekend and the Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler I didn't get around to posting an update of the weekends ringing at the Haven. The weekend was very much one of two halves, Saturday was another busy day with 233 new birds ringed, whilst Sunday was more relaxed with only 137 new birds ringed. There were in fact several highlights besides the obvious one, the first was the capture of three Kingfishers in a day, the first time we have done that. 

Juvenile Common Kingfisher

Sexing juvenile Kingfishers is always an interesting topic of conversation, you have to decide whether the colouration on the back is more green-blue or blue-green and whether the amount of red on the lower mandible covers two-thirds or one-third. Usually this has to be done with just a single bird, so with three there was the ideal chance for comparison.

Three Juvenile Kingfishers

The next highlight was the capture of two Common Redstarts, our first of the year. Barry had decided to put a Redstart tape on in the morning, it had obviously been worthwhile. Both birds were juvenile birds, and both were males, the black throat feathers can be seen coming through the strongly buff fringed feathers on the image below.

Juvenile Male Common Redstart

Of the 233 birds ringed 91 were Blackcaps, our best day of the year for this species, 32 were Common Whitethroat, 30 Sedge Warbler and 20 each of Grasshopper Warbler and Reed Warbler. Willow Warbler numbers remained good with 10 new birds and 10 new Chiffchaffs were also caught. Only four new Garden Warblers were added to our total to date of 64, which has now surpassed last years total of 63. 

I have previously posted on the subject of ageing Common Whitethroats and in particular the colour of the iris which is quite often the first indication of age. The bird below posed an interesting conundrum, as on first impression the eye looked decidedly juvenile. But on closer inspection its was possible to see a retained worn adult secondary feather in the wing. In addition extensive white was present in the outer tail feathers, these features pointing to an adult. 

Adult Common Whitethroat - although the iris is obvious, it is considerably darker than most adults.

Common Whitethroat - Note retained worn adult secondary in the wing

Common Whitethroat tail, note extent of white on outer edge of the outer tail feathers and on the
tips of the fifth and fourth tale feathers

As I have already mentioned, Sunday was a completely different day with only 137 new birds ringed. The most numerous species was again Blackcap, with 68 new birds ringed, Reed Warbler was next with 30 new birds, followed by Sedge Warbler with 26. Only two each of Grasshopper Warbler and Common Whitethroat were ringed, and our third Lesser Whitethroat of the year.

The Latest Bird ringing update from Titchfield Haven - August 2014

We have been a little slow to get going with bird ringing at the Haven this autumn. This has been partly due to some of us taking a summer break, and also due to Barry being busy radio-tracking Eurasian Woodcocks. The season is now underway and to date we have run eight sessions, six in July and two this weekend. Early indications are that it has been a good breeding season for some species, the Sedge Warbler total currently stands at 326, whereas the Reed Warbler total is only 198. Grasshopper Warbler numbers have started slowly with only 75 ringed to date, but 95 Willow Warblers in eight sessions is indicative of a good breeding season.

Juvenile Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus

The majority of the Willow Warblers we have caught have been juveniles, including the bird below with slightly aberrant plumage. An adult bird was trapped during the last week of July, this bird was in primary moult and so will not be going very far until it has finished that.

Juvenile Willow Warbler with aberrant plumage (B S Duffin)

Cetti's Warblers and Chiffchaffs breed in good numbers at the Haven and to date we have trapped 22 and 29 respectively. Common Whitethroat numbers are trickling along with just 14 so far, but then we would expect the peak numbers to be ringed in September.

Juvenile Common Whitethroat 

The first Garden Warblers of the year were ringed on 31st July, and the total to date is just eight birds, and the Blackcap total stands at just nine.

Juvenile Garden Warbler

We have to open our nets pre-dawn in the hope of catching good numbers of Grasshopper Warblers and regularly catch bats as a result. I have plenty of experience extracting bats and so am usually the nominated person to get them out. This latest individual was a juvenile pipistrelle bat and it was badly tangled, but after being liberated it rested on me for a while before flying off.

Pipistrelle bat Pipistrellus species

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. 

Botley Wood Bird Ringing Again - May 2014

I have now found six common nightingale territories in the vicinity of my Botley Wood study area, so I decided that much of the bank holiday weekend would be spent trying to catch some. The weekend started well with a second new bird of the year caught at a previously unused or unknown location. Unlike the first bird of the year, this bird was a bit more tricky to age, at first glance there were no obvious pale tips to the wing feather coverts, thereby suggesting it was an adult. However on closer inspection a pale covert tip was present on the outermost greater covert, so I aged this bird as a 5.

Common Nightingale - the second new bird of the year

Unfortunately, the good start to the weekend did not continue as this was the only nightingale caught, but at least I did get to colour ring this one. Since my last ringing session, there has been a mass arrival of garden warblers, with a least six males on territory. Despite my nets being located in many of their territories only one bird was trapped and ringed.

Garden Warbler - Botley Wood

Typically adult and juvenile garden warblers undergo a complete winter moult and therefore it is not be possible to age them in the spring. Common whitethroats were also much more evident, with at least four territories present. Three birds were trapped during the session, one new bird and two retraps, one that was ringed in May 2013 and one that was ringed in May 2012. 

Adult Male Common Whitethroat

Ageing and sexing common whitethroats in the spring can be problematic for anything other than an adult male. This bird was originally ringed in May 2012 as a male bird, and therefore being two years since ringing, this bird was definitely an adult. The first give away to its age was the colour of the iris. Svensson describes the colour as orange or reddish-brown, which pretty much describes the colour of this individuals eye.

Adult Common Whitethroat 

In a male bird the throat should be white, and the crown, ash-grey, but admixed with brown, and the breast should have a pinkish flush on the breast. This bird was certainly showing a white throat and when the head feathers were raised up they were extensively grey, but this individual lacked the pinkish wash on the breast. The final feature is that the outer tail feather should be pure white, which it was on the outer web but not the inner web. There was no doubt that this bird was a male though, as on release it flew to the nearest bush a sang.

Adult Common Whitethroat Tail

By the end of the session we had ringed 20 birds which included chiffchaffs, robins, long-tailed tits, blue tits, a blackcap and a female bullfinch. After the session I went for a wander and saw that some moorhen chicks had hatched. There were two chicks and despite the best intentions of their parents they appeared not to have learnt the alarm call yet as they swam straight up to me. Unfortunately moorhen chicks have a tarsus that develops slowly and therefore when they are this small it is not possible to ring them.

Moorhen Chick

This time last year I saw both grizzled and dingy skipper, but I only saw dingy this weekend. The one individual that I saw seemed to have a deformed hindwing on one side, but it still seemed to be flying ok.

Dingy Skipper Erynnis tages

After a good start to the year at Botley Wood butterfly numbers seem to have dropped off, as this weekend I only saw four species, brimstone, orange tip, peacock and the skipper, and only singles of each.

More Birding on the Patch and Beyond...

With the weather set fair this weekend I was hoping to get in some spring ringing, but unfortunately that didn't happen. Instead I spent the time birding at various locations within my patch and on Sunday (April 21st) I ventured further afield to Hampshire County Councils Hook with Warsash Local Nature Reserve. Saturday began with another stroll around Botley Wood, every visit this week has yielded new species, but not today. Willow warblers, whitethroats, chiffchaffs and blackcaps, all seem settled on territories, and a fly over raven was a good record, but the best news was the return of my second nightingale of the year.

Male Nightingale - Botley Wood

I have been colour-ringing nightingales at this site since 1998 and so always spend a bit of time trying to track down a bird when I hear one. After a bit of of stalking I was able to track down a male in full song. Initially it didn't show its legs, but after a bit of maneuvering I got a good view. Unfortunately this bird was not colour-ringed, but its good to see new birds still returning to the site.

Male Nightingale - Unfortunately not a colour-ringed bird

My next stop was Manor Farm Country Park. I had been asked to do a dawn chorus walk on Sunday 21st and so thought I would go and have a look around to plan my route. But no visit to Manor farm would be complete without checking the resident house sparrows for colour-rings. After a couple of hours, and some very patient observing I had manged just two birds...not what you would call a raging success.

Male House Sparrow - Manor Farm Country Park

My patience was rewarded in a way though, as whilst watching a couple of sparrows I noted a couple of robins carrying food. Pretending not to watch, I was soon able to track down the nest to a metal jug hanging in a garden shed.

This Robin is clearly not an arachnophobic since it had a pretty big
Tegenaria sp. spider in its beak

The brood was snuggled down in the bottom of the jug, out of sight of predators and in the dry and warm.

Happy family Snuggled in their Nest

Fortunately, I had brought my ringing kit with me and quickly put a ring on each of the brood of four before moving on. 

Robins certainly do look better with Feathers

Ringing birds in the nest (pulli) is a valuable resource since it provides the precise age of a bird and its place of origin, and therefore in the case of longevity and dispersal studies it can be extremely useful. I will be watching this brood over the next week to see how they get on.

A handful of Robins

After a couple of hours at Manor Farm my next stop was Curbridge. I had timed my arrival with the falling tide, and by the time I got there it was pretty low. Several wader species were present, including two common sandpipers, 10 common redshank, two oystercatchers and nine greenshanks. Greenshank numbers tend to be at their highest in the spring at this site, with two or three birds usually spending the whole winter.

Three Greenshanks and and Oystercatcher

Whilst scanning the waders I noticed another medium sized wader on the mud and was pleased to see my first whimbrel of the year. The number of whimbrels present at Curbridge in the spring has previously reached over 100, but in recent years those numbers have dropped off, and now they rarely number more than 20 or 30 individuals, at any one time. 

Sunrise over the River Hamble

Sunday began with, what can only be described as, a ridiculously early start. I was up at 03:45 and at Manor Farm by 04:30, but I was not alone. The enthusiastic attendees for my dawn chorus walk arrived not long after me, and before long skylarks began to sing, along with little and tawny owls. Before long blackbirds, song thrushes and robins had joined in and the dawn chorus was in full song. We took a route around the park, and more by luck than judgement, were perfectly placed to watch the sun come up over the River Hamble. Great, blue and coal tits soon joined in the chorus, as did nuthatches, green and great spotted woodpeckers. A lone whimbrel fed on the inter-tidal and three oystercatchers flew overhead, kleeping as they went. Every year this dawn chorus walk seems to coincide with great weather and this year was just amazing, however hard it is to get up in the morning...on a day like this it is always worth it just to watch the sun come up.

Sunrise over the River Hamble

After a well deserved afternoon nap, a nipped out for a bit of of patch birding. There have been a couple of little gulls at Hook with Warsash over the last couple of days, so that seemed like a good place to start. I arrived in time to see both birds feeding over the lake along with an Arctic tern, which was an unexpected surprise. Both of the little gulls were 1st winter birds, one had a complete tail band and one just two dark tips on the outer tail feathers, so the two birds were easily separable. They fed over the lake for about 30 minutes before heading off north and up The Solent.

First Winter Little Gull

Other species present included lapwings, gadwalls, swallows, little egrets, redshanks, black-headed, common and herring  gulls, three oystercatchers a curlew and a very obliging whitethroat.
 

Common Whitethroat