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

Retrap Great Spotted Woodpecker in the Garden

I had a few minutes spare this morning before heading off to a family wedding so I opened the 12 metre net in the garden. There was a bit of a stiff breeze and so birds were seeing the net, except that is for one Great Spotted Woodpecker. In typical fashion, as soon as I approached the net it began screaming, and didn't stop until it was safely placed within the bird bag, and then started again when I took it out.....not sure  the neighbours would have been to pleased!

Adult Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

The bird was a retrap and therefore it gave me the opportunity to test my ageing skills with this species...and so here goes. Firstly it was possible to sex the bird by the presence of red feathers on the nape, this bird was a male. Moult wise, adults undergo a complete post breeding moult which begins in June - mid July and finishing in mid September to late October. Juveniles undergo a partial moult which includes body and primaries, and some (or sometimes all) upper wing coverts. Therefore it is usually possible to see contrast between old and brown unmoulted wing coverts and newer glossy ones in juveniles, whereas adult wing coverts are uniform, although they can retain the odd primary covert.

Adult Great Spotted Woodpecker Wing

A close examination of the wing feathers revealed no contrast in the greater or primary coverts, but the tips of the primaries were extremely abraded, which is a typical feature of young birds, since their feathers are not as hard wearing. Although that is not a feature mentioned in Baker (1993), for this species.

Adult Great Spotted Woodpecker Primary Coverts

Given the uniform age of the wing feathers it appeared that this bird was an adult, and so to the moment of truth. I looked back through my ringing book and couldn't find this ring number, so got the next oldest book out and there it was, originally ringed on 6th December 2008. This bird was ringed as a juvenile male three and a half years previously, and has not been recaptured since, until today.

Three Woodpeckers and a Rannoch Looper

Put my moth trap out for the first time in ages last night (3rd June), which meant an early start in the morning to check it before the resident House Sparrows ate the contents. The weather conditions were also good for netting, a bit breezy, but worth a go so I opened one net in the garden in the hope of catching some new birds. The warm overnight conditions proved good for mothing and the trap was crammed with over 150 moths of 50 species. Three Shoulder-striped Wainscots were immaculate, suggesting a recent emergence, and a singe Grey Arches was an uncommon visitor to the garden. But my attention was drawn to a small geometrid that I had not seen before. I think subconsciously I knew what it was as I went straight to the page for Rannoch Looper and there it was.

Rannoch Looper, Hampshire June 2011

This species is classified as a Nationally Scarce Notable A species in the UK, occurring only in central Scotland in open pine and birch woodland, but it is also a suspected immigrant. Having spoken to a couple of mates it would appear that there was an influx in Hampshire last night, as a few others have been caught in the county, and also in neighbouring Dorset at Portland Bill http://www.portlandbirdobs.org.uk/aa_latestnews.htm.

Rannoch Looper, Hampshire June 2011

Given the number of moths turning up I don't think there is any doubt that this species is also an immigrant from mainland Europe to the UK. As I continued to work my way through the moths a family party of two adult and five juvenile Great Tits stumbled into my net, and just as I got up to begin extracting them, a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker joined them. Within the hour I had caught two juvenile and one first year male Great Spotted Woodpecker, along with a few more Great Tits and a couple of new Blue Tits.

Head of Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers have a crimson red crown......

Wing of Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

......white tips to the primaries..

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

.....and a pale red vent. According to Baker, K. (1993) juveniles undergo a partial post juvenile moult which includes body, primaries, some or all of the upper wing coverts and tail, with secondaries, tertials and most or all of the greater and primary coverts retained.

Head of First Year Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

Adult Great Spotted Woodpeckers can be sexed by the presence of a bright crimson nape patch, and can be aged by the bright red vent and lack of with tips to the primaries.

Wing of First Year Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

According to Baker, adult birds undergo a complete post-breeding moult. This bird showed an obvious contrast in the greater coverts, and had retained five apparent juvenile greater coverts, in addition, the tips of the primaries were extremely abraded.

First Year Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

I therefore aged it as a first year male bird. Three woodpeckers and a Rannoch Loper was not a bad score for a nights mothing and an hours ringing in the garden.