A Hudsonian Whimbrel and Kestrel Pulli

For the second time this year the British Isles has been graced by the presence of a Hudsonian wader. In May I twitched the Hudsonian Godwit in Somerset, which was a cracking bird and not a species I thought that I would ever see in the UK. This week news broke of a possible Hudsonian Whimbrel at Pagham Harbour in West Sussex. It was not long before it was confirmed and so being only 25 minutes down the road I had to go. 

Hudsonian Whimbrel is a species I have seen many times in the USA and Canada, but this was only the 9th record in the UK, so not a species I had expected to see, and so close to home. It is a cryptic species, that is very similar to Eurasian Whimbrel, but with good views is actually quite straightforward to identify.  In flight the back, rump and upper-tail coverts are concolourous with the mantle and therefore very different from Eurasian Whimbrel that has a white rump and the distinctive 'V' up its back. The underwing, auxiliaries and flanks are also densely barred with a ground colour that is warmer than that of Eurasian Whimbrel. When not in flight the striking head pattern should be the first clue to a bird being a Hudsonian Whimbrel, since it is much stronger, with the pale/white supercilium and crown stripe contrasting strongly with the darker feathers. 

I nipped down to see this bird on Wednesday morning, and it was interesting to see how obvious the head markings were. I was unable to get any photos of it unfortunately but as it is still there I hope to pop down again for a second look and may get some.

Today (12th June) I popped into Manor Farm Country Park to check the Kestrel boxes and see how they were getting on. If you remember, two weeks ago the chicks were too small in one box so I didn't check the other. Today, the chicks in the first box were doing very well, and we were able to ring four very healthy chicks. There were five much younger chicks in the second box, one of which was half the weight of the others, and may not survive, but they were all big enough to ring, so fingers crossed they will all fledge.

A brood of four Kestrels - Manor Farm Country Park

A brood of five (smaller) Kestrels - Manor Farm Country Park

After ringing and a quick stroll around the woods I headed home and opened a net in the back garden. It had been a dull and humid morning and by mid afternoon, when I got home, there was a little bit of moisture in the air but no wind, so almost ideal. I only ended up catching about ten birds, which included juvenile Blue and Great Tits and Great Spotted Woodpecker, also adult Greenfinch, Robin and Nuthatch. In recent weeks I have had four Stock Doves feeding in the garden, today one strayed into my net, as did a Wood Pigeon for comparison. The iridescent green on the side of a Stock Dove's neck really is quite striking and it lacks the white that is present on Wood Pigeon. Note also the iris and bill colour.

Stock Dove - Funtley

Wood Pigeon - Funtley

Whilst waiting for birds to fly into the net I worked my way through the moth trap, that I had left out overnight. I had caught over 100 moths with nothing particularly of note. The highlights for me were Marbled Brown, which is not that regular in my garden and a few migrant species, Diamond Back Moth and Rush Veneer. The main highlight though was a Dusky Cockroach, a species that I have occasionally caught in the past, but never that frequently. This is one of three native cockroach species in the UK, the others being Tawny and Lesser Cockroach. There are of course pest species that have colonised so it is always worth checking if you find one in your house, to make sure it's not a native species.

Dusky Cockroach - Funtley

What's in the Box?

Had a busy day planned today checking nest boxes at Manor Farm and then doing some dormouse monitoring at Titchfield Haven, and so a 5:30 start was the order of the day.

There are eight owl boxes at Manor Farm, which are situated in a variety of locations, and many have been used over the last few years. We started down near the farm museum and were instantly rewarded with a brood of six Common Kestrels. The chicks were very well advanced and had almost fully grown wings, but we still managed to ring them.

Juvenile Kestrel

The weights of the different birds ranged from 189 to 210 grams so they were all healthy, the parents must have worked so hard to rear six chicks.

A Cosy Brood of Kestrels

The next box that we checked is located in the farmland in the middle of the park and last year there was evidence of a roosting Barn Owl but no sign of breeding. However during the early spring, when in search of Woodcocks, we had heard Barn Owls calling, so I was quietly hopeful that we would be in luck. Sure enough as I looked in the box there were two chicks nestled in the bottom. The larger chick weighed 380 grams and was beginning to grow its feathers but the smaller one weighed only 300 grams, but it did have a very full stomach. It must be so difficult for Barn Owls to provide enough food when we have weather as bad as we've been having in the UK recently. I will go back and check on them in a couple of weeks to see how they are doing.

Barn Owl Chicks

The next box we checked had been occupied by Grey Squirrels in previous years, but this year there was another brood of Kestrels. Well when I say a brood, one chick, one long dead chick and an addled egg. So a much smaller brood than in the other box, but success all the same! This chick was smaller than the smallest chick in the other brood, but only just, weighing 182 grams.

Juvenile Kestrel

The next two boxes were empty, but then success again, this time a brood of two Stock Doves. These birds were just starting to grow their primary feathers but one was still quite downy, and weight wise they were very similar at 238 and 242 grams. I have not ringed this species at the park before so it was a nice addition to the ringing list.

Stock Dove Chicks

The final box was also occupied by Stock Doves, but the eggs had not hatched yet. Before leaving we popped into the stables to check on the resident Barn Swallows. Five chicks were in the nest but they were too small to ring so we will have to go back next week. 

My next stop was a visit Titchfield Haven for some dormouse monitoring. I have been helping out with the monitoring for a couple of years now whilst also training the rangers towards a Natural England licence. We started at a site to the west of the main reserve where 30 boxes are up, and had several other rodent species, Yellow-necked and Wood Mouse and Bank Vole, before we found our first dormouse. The nest was classic, stripped bark on the inside with very fresh, green leaves around the outside, it was so clean and tidy we felt bad disturbing it .

Dormouse Nest

The animal inside was a female and she was a good size, weighing 18.5 grams, and seemed to be quite unperturbed by the handling experience.

Female Dormouse

In fact, she was so relaxed that she seemed to find it a struggle to stay awake.......bless!

Sleepy Female Dormouse

Our final stop was Titchfield Haven and the boxes around the bird ringing area. There is a mix of nest tubes and boxes here, but only around 20 in total. We found a couple of nests which had been made this year, but no animals other than another Bank Vole, a nest with young Bank Voles in and another Yellow-necked Mouse.