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.

Holly Hill Country Park and the continued quest for Crests

This morning I headed out with Rob for a spot of bird ringing. We had been hoping to ring at Manor Farm to top up the Redwing totals for the year, which currently stands at one, but it was just far too windy. Instead we decided to head to Holly Hill Country Park and try for more Firecrests, as it was a woodland site and more sheltered. I had checked out this site last Sunday to see whether it had potential and whilst there I met a local birder who said that he regularly had Firecrests there, so I decided to give it a go.

The site is very public, and there were loads of dog walkers, with most dogs off the lead, but there were enough areas where I could tuck myself away. The site has a distinctly ornamental feel about it, with Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel dominating the understory, but large areas of Holly are also present. The woodland is predominantly broad-leaved with Oak, Ash, Alder and also London Plane present.

We selected a suitable location and set our nets but did not catch a single bird. The second capture site was better and we immediately caught a female Firecrest, followed by a couple of Goldcrests and then a male Firecrest. The male gave some excellent views and was regularly displaying before being caught.

Displaying Male Firecrest

Male Firecrest

Displaying male Firecrest

Male Firecrest

We ended the session having caught three new Firecrests, two females and one male, and also had a close encounter with a fourth bird; another male. We also caught four Goldcrests and a Great Tit, so a very successful morning.

Male Firecrest

Female Firecrest

January Ringing

The last week has been a busy one work wise but I have still managed to fit in a few ringing sessions. I have carried on from where last year finished with my quest for crests and have also had a couple of sessions at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust's Swanwick Lakes nature reserve and in the grounds of the head office at Curdridge. 

My quest for crests took me back to Gosport and the Wildgrounds. On the last visit I had seen at least three Firecrests, but only managed to catch one, so it was an obvious site to retry. Chris and I put three nets up and almost immediately caught a new Firecrest, we also saw a ringed bird, which was probably the bird we ringed last time, and subsequent to catching the first bird saw another un-ringed one.

Firecrest - The Wildgrounds, Gosport

Three new Goldcrests were also ringed at the Wildgrounds, two males and a female, so it was a successful visit to start the week.

Female Goldcrest - Wildgrounds, Gosport

Rob has been keeping an eye on the feeders at Swanwick Nature Reserve, and so we nipped over during the week to have a look. As it was a lunchtime visit we didn't have too much time but quickly put up a net to see what we would catch. I say that but there were never going to be any surprises given the number of Blue and Great Tits present. The lunchtime visit produced 15 birds, mainly Blue and Great Tits as suspected but also a Dunnock. The best thing about the session was the capture of a Blue Tit that had been ringed back in May as a nestling.

The next session was another lunchtime session in the grounds of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust's Beechcroft office. It was a quiet session with only four birds ringed, a Great Tit, two Nuthatches and a Firecrest, this one was a retrap from December.

Nuthatch - Curdridge

We were fortunate to catch one male and one female Nuthatch which provided the ideal opportunity to compare the plumage differences (see the image below).

Nuthatches - Female left, Male right

The final session of the week was a Saturday morning visit back to Swanwick Nature Reserve. The feeders were heaving, which was not surprising given the cold overnight temperature. I would not normally do bird feeders due to the large numbers of Blue and Great Tits that are usually caught, but such sessions are great for trainees, and as Rob and Megan wanted to ring it seemed like a good thing to do.

It was a busy session that resulted in the capture of 65 birds, most of which were Blue and Great Tits as suspected. There were a few other bits to make the session more interesting, three new Nuthatches, three Robins and a Coal Tit. 

Coal Tit - Swanwick Lakes

So not a bad week, 88 birds ringed including two Firecrests, four Nuthatches, a Coal Tit and a Blue Tit that was ringed last summer as a nestling.

The Continuing Quest for Crests

The wind over the last couple of days has been getting steadily stronger, and the blustery conditions have made it much more difficult to find sheltered sites. Yesterday, I headed back to Manor Farm Country Park to try and catch some more Firecrests there. I initially retrapped the two birds that I had ringed with Rob on 20th December, but after trying a few different sites, I caught a new female. Five new Blue Tits were the only other species ringed.

Firecrest - Manor Farm Country Park

This morning the wind was even stronger and so I headed to a couple of local sites that I had been saving for such conditions. At the first site I could hear a Goldcrest singing and quickly caught two, followed by another new Firecrest and a Robin.

Goldcrest - Funtley

Firecrest - Funtley

My final destination of the day was another very sheltered site, about a mile south of the first. This area is dominated with yew and cherry laurel, and therefore there is plenty of cover. I sat and listened for a while but did not hear a crest, undeterred I set a net and yep you've guessed it, I caught another new Firecrest and also a Goldcrest.

Firecrest - Funtley

So that is now 10 new Firecrests and 17 new Goldcrests that I have ringed at four sites since the beginning of November. All of the birds have been using areas that were dominated with evergreen shrubbery, usually holly and yew, but cherry laurel and rhododendron is also used. Such sites presumably provide the best shelter and food, and it will be interesting to see if the same birds use the same sites next winter. I have previously seen wintering Firecrests at all the sites I have visited so far, so time will tell. 

Titchfield Haven, Bird Ringing Update - 26th October 2014

Today's ringing session had a very end of season feel about it, which was not helped by the dull and dreary conditions. Bird wise, the numbers were low, with only 21 birds captured which included two retraps and a control. The most numerous species was Chiffchaff, with nine new birds ringed, bringing the total for the year to 607. Two more Robins elevated the total to 87, which is the highest total in a year for this species. Cetti's Warbler numbers are also still building and two new birds today has taken the total to 60 for the year, evidence of a good breeding for this species. 

A re-trap Kingfisher was a colourful highlight amongst the dreariness of the day; this bird was a juvenile female, and one of 11 new birds ringed this year so far.

Juvenile Kingfisher

Juvenile Kingfisher

The Siberian Stonechat is still loitering at the Haven, and today it was tantalisingly close to our ringing area, but did not venture in, although I was able to grab a couple more pics of it.

Siberian Stonechat - Titchfield Haven

One of the Common Stonechats did make the mistake of venturing in though. This bird was a very straight-forward individual to a age and sex. The mainly dark throat and face are clearly evidence of a male bird and there was an obvious moult limit in the wing.

Juvenile Male Stonechat

Wing of Stonechat, note the juvenile alula, primary coverts, primaries and secondaries. The
lesser, medium and greater coverts are all post juvenile, as are the tertials.

Common Stonechat - note the abrasion on the edges of the primary and secondary
feathers and the contrast between them and the post juvenile tertials. The tail feathers
are also juvenile and heavily abraded. Also note the colour and dark centres of the rump
feathers, in contrast to unstreaked, salmon pink rump of the Sibe Stonechat (from previous posts)

Our Goldcrest total has also been steadily building and now stands at 38 birds; today we did not catch any unringed birds, but a juvenile male that we caught late on turned out to be a control which was nice. I will add the info to the ringing recovery page once I hear back from BTO HQ.

Control Goldcrest caught at the Haven today.

There wasn't much else to report with regard to vis-mig, a flock of 31 Linnets flying west was the most notable record, otherwise the only passerines recorded were a Grey Wagtail and a couple of Greenfinch's.

Another Eastern Surprise.....well not really!

With the weather forecast for the weekend looking wet and windy I decided to ring at the Haven this morning (17th October). Unfortunately being a weekday there was no one else free, although Barry did suggest that he might pop by at some stage. With the numbers of birds per session dropping right down now, and the overnight weather conditions not particularly good for a fall, I decided to open all the nets. The first round was as predicted and produced a measly four birds, but as I was approaching the ringing station I heard the distinctive call of a Yellow-browed Warbler. I quickly processed the birds I had and headed out for another round. This time it was slightly better numbers wise, with 13 birds made up of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Robins, Goldcrests and, yep you've guessed it a Yellow-browed Warbler. I have been watching the bird news over the last couple of weeks and there have been good numbers around the country, so it was not a major surprise to catch one, but they have been proving more that a bit elusive in Hampshire. I think Barry must have a sixth sense as just as I got the bird out of the bag to ring it he appeared around the corner.

Yellow-browed Warbler, Titchfield Haven - October 2014

The bird was in excellent condition, the plumage was immaculate and it was carrying a lot of fat (ESF score of 4). This is only the fourth Yellow-browed the be ringed at the Haven, the first was in 1978, but the last three have been in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

Yellow-browed Warbler, Titchfield Haven - October 2014

The tail feathers on this bird were pointed indicating that it was probably a juvenile.

Yellow-browed Warbler tail - October 2014

The session continued with nothing else notable to report and only 37 birds ringed of which five were retraps. The total included 13 Chiffchaffs, five Blackcaps and five Goldcrests, two Robins and single Song Thrush, Blackbird and a lingering Reed Warbler.

A sad looking Goldcrest

After ringing I wandered along the boardwalk looking, and listening for the yellow-browed but there was no sign which was a shame as it would have been nice to see it in the field. 

A quick scan over the beach was also worth while as a mixed flock of gulls were roosting there. The flock included seven Common Gulls, 14 Herring Gulls, 96 Black-headed Gulls and 1 each of Lesser Black-backed and Mediterranean Gull. The Med was sporting a red colour on its left tarsus with the inscription PPP9. A quick look at the colour ringing website here suggests that this bird was ringed in Poland, I will let you know the details when I find out.

Adult Mediterranean Gull with its red colour and the alpha-numeric code PPP9 (honest)

Ringing and Mothing on a chilly spring like day

Another lull in the weather combined with a day off, and yep you've guessed it back to Manor Farm for a spot of bird ringing. But not only that, given the good conditions I decided to put the moth trap out for the first time this year.

One of nine new Redwings caught during the session

The day started early as I was keen to get the nets up long before first light in the hope of catching more Redwings. This time I suffered no equipment failure and before long nine new Redwing had been trapped. The total included three adults and six first years, which gave the two trainees, Rob and Megan, the chance to gain some invaluable experience in ageing the species.  I had purposely chosen not to put too many nets up and subsequently the number of birds caught was low but it meant we had time to study the birds in more detail.

Male Golcrest

Our total included an adult male Blackbird, a Goldcrest, single Great and Long-tailed Tits, three Goldfinch's and a Chaffinch. All the birds were new with the exception of the Chaffinch that had originally been ringed on 26th November 2011, two years and 87 days previously.

Oak Beauty

Returning home I checked out the moth trap and was pleased to see six moths of four species within it. There were singles of Oak Beauty, Dotted Border and Tortricodes alternella and three Common Quakers, so not a bad start for the year.

Dotted Border

Manor Farm Country Park Again....

This morning started with a pre-dawn start at Manor Farm Country Park. Overnight a thick fog had formed which made for a very damp and somewhat eerie feel, which was enhanced by the very vocal Barn Owls. I opted to put the usual nets up in the hope of catching some more Redwing, or maybe even a Fieldfare, and was rewarded with a couple of new Redwing, both first winters. There were very few thrushes around, so I was very pleased to have caught any, and especially as these will probably be the last ones I get to ring until they return in the autumn.

First year Redwing

Other species captured included Blackbirds, Wrens and a few Dunnocks, two of which were retraps. Both of the the retraps were over a year old, but the individual pictured below was originally captured on 8th July 2007, 4 years 247 days previously.

Adult Dunnock

In a previous post I discussed the difficulties associated with ageing Dunnocks and this individual, had it not already been ringed, would have probably been left unaged. However, the brightly coloured eye and the all black bill would have aged this bird as an adult, had it been caught in the autumn.

Adult male Goldcrest

Another bird that I was reacquainted with this morning was this male Goldcrest, who was originally captured on 6th April 2010, 1 year 126 days previously. He was in full song for much of the morning and raising his crest up in display to the accompanying female

Gold crest of the male Goldcrest

During the session there was a flock of five Bullfinch's feeding tantalisingly close to my net ride, but alas they were too engrossed in their meal to move along the hedge to my net.

Manor Farm Country Park Again...

With the predicted windy conditions not materialising, it was back to Manor Farm Country Park this morning for some more ringing. It was freezing and the heavy frost took its toll on my hands and feet, the latter still haven't warmed up this evening!!

We had a steady morning session which ended with 31 birds captured of which 13 were recaptures, most were fairly recent retraps, but two, a Dunnock and a Goldcrest were older.The Dunnock was ringed 2 years 298 days previously, but the notable one was the Goldcrest, which was ringed as an juvenile bird 3 years and 45 days previously. I have never previously retrapped a Goldcrest older than a year, so the age of this bird was quite a surprise. However, looking at data on the BTO website, it appears that the maximum recorded age for a Goldcrest is 4 years 10 months and 9 days, so our little chap has a little way to go yet!

Adult Male Goldcrest

Other species captured included five Blackbirds, three House Sparrows, a few Great Tits, Robins and Wrens. Another Linnet took our total for the year to 20 and this immaculately plumaged Blue Tit added to the cast.

Adult Blue Tit

There were hundreds of thrush's present, most of which were Fieldfare and Redwing, but the occasional Song Thrush was also recorded. We only captured one Song Thrush and two Redwing, despite our best efforts.

Immature Redwing

I was reading an article in the latest copy of BTO News about Redwing, which stated that the wintering population in most of Western Europe, including Britain, is the nominate race Turdus iliacus iliacus, with the race T.i.coburni, which breeds in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, wintering mainly in Ireland and northwest Iberia. However, there have been two ringing recoveries of this race in England, but it clearly is rare. So I started thinking how would I identify coburni if I caught one; the biometrics of the two races are virtually identical, although coburni does average slightly larger and the plumage overall is slightly darker, with heavier streaking on the throat and breast, and more extensive olive colouration across the flanks and under-tail coverts. 

Boldly Streaked Redwing

Looking at the two birds we captured today they both seemed to be boldly streaked on the  flanks and the under-tail coverts, but they lacked the bold streaking on the throat. Size wise they were both above average, with wing lengths of over 120mm, but given the variability in the species I think I am going to have to go to Iceland again and get my eye in before I am bold enough to claim one.

Titchfield Haven Bird Ringing - End of September Update

Just back from a 10 day trip to the Greek Island of Crete and a weekend break to Boscastle in Cornwall, so will have plenty to write about over the next few weeks,but thought I would start with an update of the bird ringing activities at Titchfield Haven. As I have already mentioned in a previous post, the wet and windy weather at the start of September ruined any chances of capturing 1000 Grasshopper Warblers for the year. Nonetheless, we pressed on and up to 30th September we had amassed the grand total of 950 new birds and one control (a bird ringed by another ringer)....a quite amazing record total for the year. The juvenile caught on 30th September may well prove to be the last of the year, since we have captured very small numbers in October previously.

Our 950th Newly Ringed Grasshopper Warbler for 2011

But whilst Grasshopper Warbler numbers declined, Blackcap and Chiffchaff numbers increased to the point where by the end of September we had captured nearly 500 new Blackcaps and just under 650 Chiffchaffs, the latter being another autumn record for the site. As with the Grasshopper Warblers the high numbers of birds is probably evidence of successful breeding seasons for these species.

Juvenile Chiffchaff, Titchfield Haven

Four additional species have also been added to the annual tally during the latter half of September, these were Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, House Martin and Goldcrest. All capture records related to single birds with the exception of Goldcrest, with nine new birds captured by the end of September.

Juvenile Goldcrest

Common Redstart numbers were also boosted with the capture of two new birds, and Common Whitethroat numbers reached the record number of 168 new birds by the end of September.