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.

Three of a Kind and a Little Fire Cracker - November 2014

Wednesday 5th November began with a pre-work ringing session in the grounds of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust's, Curdridge office. I am very fortunate to work in this semi-rural location, and to have one of my trainees working out of the same office as we are able to grab an hours ringing before work. This was our first session of the winter, and what a way to start, a cracking male Firecrest, on a date reserved for celebrating Guy Fawkes. This bird is surely better than any fireworks display. The remainder of the session was quiet by comparison with a total of four birds caught, the other notable being a female Nuthatch.

Male Firecrest - Curdridge, Hampshire

Fuelled by the success of the morning, I went to Manor Farm Country Park straight after work. I had planned to meet Izzy Phillips there and we were aiming to check to see whether the Little Owls were around, and if so where they were. However, as the weather was so still, and I had my ringing kit with me, we put up a couple of nets. Both Tawny and Little Owls were active, but it was a single Little Owl that appeared first in the net.

Little Owl - Manor Farm Country Park

We were pretty chuffed with our immediate success, but were stunned to return to the net and find another two birds in it. I have previously caught two birds on an evening session, but never three.

Little Owl - Manor Farm Country Park

I have spent many hours wandering around Manor Farm Country Park at night and often encounter Little Owls running around on the fields. All three birds had wet and muddy talons suggesting that they too had been out on the fields in search of food.

Little Owl Talons

On the whole I have found ageing Little Owls to be quite straight forward, particularly with those birds caught in the autumn, since they often retain downy feathers around the nape. According to Baker (1993), the moult strategy of Little Owls is a follows;

Age code 3 - "Partial post-juvenile moult, starting soon after fledging, confined to the head, body, lesser and median-coverts; July, completed by September, October (November)."

Adult - "Complete post breeding moult starting as early as (May) June - July and completed by September or early or early November. Secondaries moult from three centres, usually around s12, s5 and s1. Tail is shed almost simultaneously."

There is slight sexual size dimorphism, with females being on average slightly larger than males, but there is a fair amount of overlap and therefore it is not really reliable.

The first bird we aged as an age code 3 (juvenile, bird of this year). See the image below; 

Adults and first winters are described in Baker as being similar in appearance, but in juveniles mesoptile down is often present on the inner-most tertials. The white spots on the head are bolder and more rounded and the white tip on p10, the outermost primary extends onto the inner web.

I have to admit I found the white spots on the head of all three birds very variable, and there was some evidence of a white tip on the primaries of two of the birds. However, looking at the overall plumage of the three birds, I was confident that that they were all first winters based on the following features.

Wing of Little Owl, showing presumed moult limit

With the first bird it was evident that it had undergone its post juvenile moult. The primaries, secondaries, tertials and primary coverts are gingery brown in colour, whereas the body, head and wing coverts, greater, median and lesser are dark brown in colour. This indicates to me that the main wing feathers (primary, secondary and tertials) have not been moulted as would be expected for a juvenile bird.

Little Owl tail, with one replacement tail feather

To further confirm this assessment, this bird has replaced a single tail feather, which it has probably lost accidentally, rather than through typical moult. The colour difference in the replaced feather and retained juvenile feathers is evident, as is the difference in the broadness, shape of the tip and extent of abrasion on the tips.

Wing of Little Owl, showing presumed moult limit

The second and third birds seem to show the same moult limit, albeit not as obviously as the first bird. In the image below it is again possible to see a contrast in the replaced adult type covert feathers and the gingery coloured primaries, primary coverts, secondaries and tertials.

Wing of Little Owl, showing presumed moult limit

For comparison below are a couple of images of an adult bird that I caught a couple of years ago, at a similar time of year. The lack of contrast between the main wing feathers and coverts is evident, as is the shape, pattern and broadness of p10. Another obvious feature is the size of the white spot, and general shape and pattern on the primary coverts in this adult bird, compared with the lack of it, or smaller size on all three of the juvenile birds.

Adult Little Owl - Note colour of wing feathers and lack of contrast and moult limit

Adult Little Owl - Note shape and pattern of p10 (outermost primary feather

Franklin's Gull, Blashford Lakes - October 2014

After the record of the adult Franklin's Gull at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts Blashford Lakes on 18th October, there has been much speculation about where the bird would turn up next. When it was re-found on Ibsley Water, at Blashford Lakes on the afternoon of 28th October, there was in part a sense of relief, in that it was still around, but that relief was certainly over-shadowed with frustration  as there was no way I could get off work to see it. The bird was watched until dark and therefore there was still hope that it would return again.

Wednesday 29th was my next opportunity, so I left work early and headed down. I was not alone, as many other Hampshire birders had the same idea. The number of gulls was much lower than on the previous day, and then the fog arrived. Slowly it drifted across the lake and before we knew it visibility was down to about 50 metres, with ghostly images of Black-headed Gulls beyond that.

It was going to be difficult for me to get away on Thursday, but when news broke that the bird was once again of Ivy Lake I had to go. The weather conditions were much better as was the light and the bird was once again settled on the water to roost. It was visible from the Tern Hide at the southern end of the lake, but was much closer from the Lapwing hide. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me but Ian Williamson has kindly sent me some of the images that he took of the bird.

Franklin's Gull (back bird), Blashford Lakes - October 2014 ( Copyright Ian Williamson)

Franklin's Gull (middle), Blashford Lakes - October 2014 (Copyright Ian Williamson)

Franklin's Gull (middle), Blashford Lakes - October 2014 (Copyright Ian Williamson)

Franklin's Gull (middle), Blashford Lakes - October 2014 (Copyright Ian Williamson)

For ease of reference I have copied the Blashford Lakes map below, the bird was roosting in front of the Lapwing Hide in the north-east corner of Ibsley Water. It is probably best to arrive on site around 2:30 - 3:00 pm as the bird has been found around that time, or just after and that will give plenty of time before the light drops.

The bird is an adult winter and as I mentioned on a previous post is the second record for Hampshire, the first being in 1970. Interestingly, that bird was found at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts Farlington Marshes and was present from 21st February until 16th May. 

Farlington Marshes - 5th September 2014

It was a bit of  dreary start to the day this morning but I had the day booked off and so headed down to Farlington Marshes for a spot of birding. There have been occasional reports of Curlew Sandpipers on the marsh and yesterday an Osprey was seen, so I was quietly optimistic. I arrived just as the tide was falling and headed straight to the main lake to check on the high tide wader roost. The islands just off the car park were my first stop as there was a flock of 45 roosting Grey Plovers and three Black-tailed Godwits. All of the plovers were greys, but it was worth the look at many were still in summer plumage.

Grey Plovers

The last few times I have visited Farlington the water level on the main lagoon had been high, and today was no exception. A couple of Little Egrets and a roost of 24 Common Redshank were the only birds of note, although a Whinchat and three Common Whitethroats were flitting around the scrub. A quick scan of the horizon picked up the Osprey, but it was a long way off, roosting on trees on North Binness Island.

The quickest route to get a better view of North Binness was along the stream, and as this was also the most likely place for Curlew Sandpipers, I headed that way. There was a good sized flock of Black-tailed Godwits roosting and feeding along the stream, with around 50 Common Redshank and five Curlew Sandpipers. At least 10 of the godwits were colour-ringed but I was on a mission to get better views of the Osprey, so decided to come back this way later in the hope that they were still there.

Black-tailed Godwits

I did linger long enough to scope the Curlew Sandpipers and take a couple of pictures. All of the birds were juveniles with their neatly fringed upper parts.

Black-tailed Godwits and Curlew Sandpipers

Black-tailed Godwits and Curlew Sandpipers

Roosting Black-tailed Godwit and Curlew Sandpipers

I headed along the track, but was slightly stumped by the fence being across and cattle being moved. Fortunately the farmer had not really started herding the cattle and so I was able to get past. There were at least 100 Yellow Wagtails feeding around the cattle, but again I did not linger too long.

As I got up onto the sea wall the Osprey was still sat there and now the views through the scope were much better, but it was really to far for photos. I took a couple with my trusty old SLR before reverting to a bit of digiscoping with my very old Sony. 

Osprey on Tree on North Binness Island

The combination of poor light and a crap camera did not do the bird any justice, but at least it was a record shot.

Digiscoped Osprey on North Binness Island

I headed back along the stream and through the bushes, the Curlew Sands were still their but unfortunately all the godwits had gone. I watched the Curlew Sands again for a while until they took flight and headed over the scrape and out of sight. 

The bushes were bursting with birds with the majority being a flock of at least 1000 Starlings, but also good numbers of Blackcaps and Common Whitethroats.

Farlington Marshes - 7th August 2014

The tides weren't ideal but we decided to start this autumns wader ringing sessions anyway. The priority species, as last year, was Common Sandpiper. Any individuals captured were to be colour-ringed in the hope of learning a bit more about their migration patterns, and how they use the marsh. We arrived on site at around 18:30 and went out to set the nets straight away; we intended to put up five nets and on the scrape only. 

Once the nets were set it was a waiting game, so we took advantage and did a bit of birding. It was a bit of a breezy evening but there were plenty of Barn Swallows and Common Swifts around to keep us occupied. The swallows were feeding over the meadows and gathering around the reed bed in readiness for roosting.

Barn Swallows gathering in readiness to roost

Bearded Tits were very evident in the reed bed, constantly pinging as the flew back a forth across the reed bed. The stream was the best place for waders, with about 25 Black-tailed Godwits, 15 Northern Lapwing, five Common Sandpipers and a couple of Common Redshank and Common Teal.

Black-tailed Godwits, Common Teal and Mute Swans on the Stream

As the sun set over Portsmouth Harbour the wind began to drop and the tide neared its peak. The five Common Sandpipers on the stream began to call and circled around before heading out into the mid-marsh.

Sunset over Portsmouth Harbour

Our first net round produced two birds, and Dunlin and a Common Sandpiper, both of them juveniles. As I mentioned earlier the Common Sandpiper was a target species for us and was fitted with a combination of colour rings that would allow for the bird to be individually identified in the field.

Common Sandpiper with colour rings

This juvenile bird was aged due to the generally brown but extensively buff tips and dark subterminal bands to the upper parts, and the coverts, were brown and with very heavy dark brown and bright rufous-brown barring.

Juvenile plumage of Common Sandpiper showing extensive barring.

Our second and final round produced four birds, three Dunlin and a Common Redshank, all the birds were once again juveniles. This time last year we were commenting on how we were only catching adult birds, so it was a refreshing change to be catching juveniles.

Dunlin 

The chestnut fringes on the wing and body feathers age this bird as a juvenile. Some juvenile feathers will be retained through to the next summer so birds should still be able to be aged up to that point.

Juvenile Dunlin showing buff fringing to feathers

The upperparts and coverts of the Redshank were extensively fringed buff and warm brown, thereby ageing it as a juvenile. The bill was a dull reddish colour, darkening towards the tip again a juvenile feature.

Juvenile Common Redshank with obvious buff tips to plumage

Hampshire Birding and a Colour-ringed Mute Swan - February 2014

Today I headed out to the west of Hampshire for a spot of local birding. I started at Lepe with a view to catching up with the long staying Lesser Yellowlegs, and decided to head on from there as news of other birds broke. I arrived at Lepe just as news came through that the Lesser legs was still there, which was a good start. As I arrived at the usual pool there was no sign of the bird, but a couple of redshank, five dunlin, a black-tailed godwit and a Mediterranean Gull kept me entertained for a while. I continued to scan and eventually found the Lesser legs at the back of the scrape, in amongst some dense vegetation. Spurred on by my success I next headed across the road in search of Firecrests. I had seen a couple of birds here back in the autumn when the Lesser legs had first turned up, but I had no luck today.

My next stop was Beaulieu Road Station, a regular site for wintering Great Grey Shrike. One had been reported yesterday, 1st February, in the area so I walked out to the railway bridge, as it was the highest point on the heath, and therefore the best place to scan from. Unfortunately, I did not find the shrike, but did get some good views of three Dartford Warblers, my first of the year.

Next stop was Hampshire and Isle of Wight Trusts Blashford Lakes reserve where a ‘redhead’ Smew had recently been reported. After a brief stop at Ibsley water I headed to Ivy Lake, where the bird had been seen earlier in the morning.  But rather than heading for the North Hide, which I suspected would be crammed with birders hopeful of a view of a Bittern, I headed to the west of the lake and the viewing screens. The northern screen was no good as the afternoon sun made silhouettes of the birds so I headed for the southern screen. The light was much better here and within a couple of minutes I had picked up the Smew, but sadly the recently reported Red-crested Pochard eluded me.

Mute Swans at the Avon Causeway

I decided to head home after Blashford, but on the way had a quick stop at the Avon causeway. The whole area was flooded and the water was still flowing over the road making it virtually impassible. I stopped and started to scan the area; a couple of Stonechats were new for the year and then I picked up a colour-ringed Mute Swan. The bird had an orange coloured ring on its left tarsus, with the black lettering ‘S2L’. Having recorded several colour-ringed swans in recent years I suspect that this bird was ringed by Dave Stone in Christchurch Harbour during the annual Mute Swan round up, but the question is how long ago....?

Adult Mute Swan with Colour Ring

Orange Colour Ring on Mute Swan

......I will keep you posted!

Mealy Redpolls at Blashford Lakes - January 2014

A recent visit to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trusts Blashford Lakes reserve gave me the opportunity to pop into the woodland hide to look at the visiting finches. The feeders are a popular place for visiting birders as you can get great views of a variety of species, especially lesser redpolls, siskins and bramblings, although there have been none of the latter recorded so far this year. Siskins too have been thin on the ground, but there are good numbers of lesser redpolls coming to the feeders, despite the mild weather. There has also been reports of a mealy redpoll frequenting the feeders and fortunately for me it was there as I entered the hide.

Mealy Redpoll Carduelis flammea (first bird)

The bird was very obvious amongst the lesser's since it was larger and paler with pale fringing to the wing feathers and an obvious white rump. The wingbar formed by the greater coverts was also broad and white, and an obvious white tramline was present on the mantle. Looking at the pointed shape of the tail feathers on this bird it appeared that it was a first winter bird.

Mealy Redpoll (first bird)

After a while the Mealy flew off, but before long it appeared to be back again. However, looking at this bird it did not have the overall grey tones of the first bird, the mantle was warmer brown in tone and the streaking on the flanks was not as bold. Looking more closely at the bird the white fringing on the tertials and tips of the primaries was broader. The white rump on this bird was more heavily streaked than the first bird, but this is not visible in the photo below.

Mealy Redpoll (second bird)

For comparison, below is an image of a typical lesser redpoll. The plumage of this bird is much warmer brown in its tone and heavily streaked. The wing bars are buff coloured and the flanks are boldly streaked and brown. Most birds tend to lack the white tramlines down the mantle, but not all.

Lesser Redpoll C. cabaret

Redpolls are notoriously variable in their plumage and therefore care needs to be taken when identifying them. A recent article published the the birding journal British Birds (Volume 106, December 2013) provides an interesting insight into the complexities of redpolls and is worth a read. The image below shows the variation in three birds seen during my visit to Blashford Lakes.

Lesser Redpolls and Eurasian Siskin

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, you do get some excellent views of birds on the feeders, so it is definitely worth a visit. But please remember that the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is a charity and needs your support, so make sure you leave a donation to help pay for the bird food.

Eurasian Siskin

Bearded Parrotbill...Reedling or Tit.....Ringing at Farlington Marshes - November 2013

Despite the success of last weeks ringing session at the Haven, and our first Radde's warbler (sorry to mention it again!), today we decided to go to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust's Farlington Marshes reserve to try and ring bearded parrotbills. We had been aiming to try several weeks ago, but the weather conditions have been against us. This morning it was forecast to be flat calm for the first few hours, then strong winds and squally showers moving in by lunchtime, so we decided to give it a go.

As you may have gathered from the title to this post, the bearded parrotbill is a species that has puzzled ornithologists for over two centuries. It is considered to be a member of the Paradoxornithidae family, but is thought to be an outlier in that family. It is the only parrotbill species to exhibit sexual dimorphism and a bill that bears no resemblance to other parrotbills. Subsequently the English name has changed from bearded tit to bearded reedling, and now to bearded parrotbill. There is no guarantee that this latest name will last long though, as according to molecular evidence the link with parrotbills may be a remote one.

We erected four nets at dawn and could hear bearded parrotbills calling their distinctive 'pinging' call almost immediately, but our first net round produced only three wrens. There have been at least 35 birds in the reedbed at Farlington and so we were hopeful of catching some birds, and and we didn't have to wait long.

Male Bearded Parrotbill

Male birds are striking and probably the most stunning breeding species in the British Isles. They are easily identified by the chestnut and white upperparts, grey head and throat and distinctive black moustache. The bright yellow bill and iris put the finishing touches to this beautiful species.

Male Bearded Parrotbill - Note the characteristic black moustache that
give the bird its name, grey head and rich chestnut and white upperparts.

Female birds are by contrast much duller and lack the distinctive moustache and the head is a buffish-brown colour. The wings are chestnut and white, as with the male birds, but not as bright.

Female - Bearded Parrotbill - The female is much duller than the male and
lacks the moustache and grey head.

Another striking feature of male birds are the black undertail coverts, which add to the overall stunning look of the species. Female birds lack the black and instead theirs are buff.

Male and Female Bearded Parrotbills - Note the striking black undertail
coverts of the male bird.

Ageing bearded parrotbills at this time of year can be tricky as both adult and juvenile birds undergo a summer complete moult and are therefore inseparable. Birds moult from mid-July through to late October and prior to that the 1st primary of a juvenile bird is longer than the longest primary covert, and its tip is rounded. In adult birds the 1st primary equals the length of the primary coverts  and its tip is pointed. A feature which is used by some ringers is the colour of the iris, which is paler in juvenile birds and richer in adult birds. Of course this feature is only any good if you have experience with the species, or have several birds for comparison. Fortunately we caught 17 birds, 16 were new and one was a retrap and so we had plenty of birds to compare. 

Comparison in eye colour of full grown birds - the bird on the right is undoubtedly
a bird of this year (age code 3), the bird on the left could be adult, or maybe a juvenile
from a first brood

The image above illustrates the difference in eye colour in two male birds. The right hand bird has a very pale, yellowish iris which would suggest a juvenile bird. In contrast the bird on the left, has an iris which is more orange in colour. This bird could be an adult, but the iris was still yellowish towards the outer edge which may indicate a juvenile bird but from a first brood. The image below illustrates two females, the bird on the right was an adult that was ringed at least two years before. Looking at the bird on the left, it again has a very pale iris indicating a juvenile bird. Another interesting feature is the colour of the bill, the adult birds bill is brighter, whereas the presumed juveniles bill is darker, this is not evident in the male birds.

Comparison of eye colour in female birds. The right hand bird was a retrap
that was at least two years old.

The session was not only memorable for the beardies but also for another species that I have not handled this year...a common stonechat. We had seen three birds feeding on the edge of the reedbed and suspected that there might be a chance of catching one or two. This bird was a juvenile (age code 3) male. 

Common Stonechat Saxicola torquata

Adult stonechats undergo a complete moult after breeding, whereas juvenile birds undergo a partial moult. Therefore birds can be aged by the presence of retained juvenile feathers, evidence of wear and fringing. This bird exhibited a moult limit in the greater coverts and also a fair amount of wear and fringing in the wing and tail feathers, as seen below.

Common Stonechat

The surprise bird of the day was a sedge warbler, a species that should by now be well on the way to Africa. We have caught a few late birds during October at Titchfield Haven, but to catch this species in early November is exceptional. I looked back at the previous latest date for the species in Hampshire, and other than a previous bird that was recorded wintering on one occasion, the latest date is 9th November and that was in 1963. The latest bird in Hampshire in 2011 (2012 data not yet available) was 16th October.

Sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

By the end of the session we had caught 24 birds, 17 beardies, three wrens, and one each of robin, stonechat, Cetti's and sedge warbler. Looking at the forecast for the rest of the weekend it is doubtful that there will be anymore ringing.