The Barley Birds are back again

There is an inevitable re-occurring theme with this blog, other than the obvious general birding and ringing one that is, and that is my fascination with the Common Nightingale. Every April I search traditional territories within my patch and try to establish how many there are. It can be very frustrating at times, as the secretive nature of the species means that I will hear them, but often obtain just fleeting glimpses. Over the years I have learnt the patience is the key, and that is exactly what made this mornings visit to Botley Wood a successful one. 

I arrived on site early, just before sunrise, and began my usual circuit. The Ravens were again very obvious, but I am barely even giving them a second glance at the moment. Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and a few scattered Willow Warblers were still the most notable of the summer migrants, until I walked up the first ride and heard a Nightingale, my first of the year. The bird was fairly close to the path, but was on the opposite side of the vegetation to me so I crept through a small gap and waited. Although they often sit in the open, Nightingales will perch close to a branch and usually behind it if they have seen you, this makes them very difficult to pick out in spite of their loud song. My first male was in full song and very close but initially I couldn't see it. I stood and patiently waited and eventually picked out some movement in a willow tree. The bird flicked left and perched up right in front of me. At this point, the bird was in the open but I was in vegetation and so getting a clear shot was a challenge. I was eventually able to manoeuvre myself so I could get a couple of shots, while the bird continued to sing....just brilliant! This bird was an unringed male, that may be the same bird as last year as I failed to catch the bird on this territory last year.

Male Nightingale

Male Nightingale

Male Nightingale

Male Nightingale

I continued around my usual circuit and could hear two more birds, one was only giving occasional bursts of song, but the other was in full song. I decided to look for that one and was again rewarded with some great views of a singing male, this one also unringed. Whilst watching this bird a second bird was skulking in the dense undergrowth close to me. This bird was not singing but uttering the typical 'wheeling' and 'croaking' calls, so may well be a female.

Male Nightingale

I pressed on with my circuit and picked up the male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker again, Great Spots and Greens were also very vocal, th good weather was clearly encouraging them to call. As I continued it was evident that the Chiffs and Blackcaps were busy nest building. A Chiffchaff was grabbing spiders web, much the the spider's annoyance I should image, although its was better than being eaten.

Chiffchaff nest building

A male Blackcap was singing its scratchy sub-song whilst the female was busy nest building in a small patch of bramble. While I was watching it a second male was paying the female a bit of attention, this went unnoticed by the singing male for a minute or so, but he was quick to see off the intruder once he did.

Male Blackcap

The First Common Nightingale of the Year - April 2014

I had a spare couple of hours last night (28th April) and so headed down to Botley Wood with Mark Cutts in the hope of catching my first common nightingale of the year. We headed to an area where I had seen an un-ringed male bird that appeared to be already paired, back on the 24th April. A bird was singing as we arrived, but much further back in the vegetation than I had seen it, but given my experiences last year, I presumed it was the same bird. Last year I had ringed a new male at this location and had colour-ringed it, so it was slightly disappointing that it had not returned. We put up a couple of nets, and almost on command the male bird flew back to the main track, where one of our nets was, and began to sing. The bird was very excited and singing in full view before heading down the hedge and straight into our other net.

First year male Common Nightingale - Botley Wood

The bird was un-ringed and therefore was presumably the bird I had seen a few days before. It was first year bird (hatched last year) which was immediately evident due to the pale tips to five old greater coverts, the primary coverts (see below) and the tertials.

Pale tips visible on outer five greater coverts and tips of primary coverts

The BTO have recently changed the ring sizes for some species. Previously adult birds were ringed with an A size and pullus with a B size, now A and B can be used for adult birds. I have often felt that an A ring was a little too small, and this was the case for this bird too so I opted for a B. The only annoying thing was that in my haste to get out I forgot to pack my colour rings, that will have to wait until next time.

This year looks like it might be quite a good one, since I personally have recorded five singing males so far and have heard of two others, so hopefully some got re-traps among them.

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