It turned a bit parky

The weather this week has stayed poor with temps around the zero mark. I still walk the dog down the lane past the meadows every morning and do a spot of birding. This week has turned up 6 Little Egrets, a Stonechat, a Red Kite and a Grey Wag. I have seen the thrush numbers go up and then go down with the snow cover. 

Fieldfare arrived in strength after the first snows - just 50 or so at first then 100, then 300, feeding in one of the paddocks. It remained like that for another day before dropping off  to 100 when we had the second snow and finally to just 15. Redwings, on the other hand, have been around in low numbers for quite a while, but built up gradually after the first snow to 50 in the one field before jumping to 60, then 100 then 150 during the second snow period. They are still in the same field. There were also 40 Lapwing, a scarce bird for me, in between the snows.

East paddock pre-snow (nice and soggy) and after the second snow (thawing, still soggy)

I catch about 50 House Sparrows every year, quite a few as 3J/3's, but seldom retrap any. The reason for this is that they feed two or three doors up from us and overfly at 'full speed' on their way to the "tip" and council yard. This week, however, I re-caught 5 of the little 'so-and-so's". I have also been fortunate to catch another new, wintering Blackcap, this one another 3CY/6 female. It soon found its way around the fedeers - and nets - and seemed happy playing chase around the ivy, too, that is beginning to ripen.

Last, but not least, a 2CY Redwing launched itself into the net as I was gauping out of the kitchen window.

Male House Sparrow (winter)

Immature Redwing (winter) - 6 ogc's

So, cutting to the chase, 18 new and 22 re-traps of 13 species over the last seven days.

Latest adult female, wintering Blackcap

Goldcrest (1) - resident adult female, maintaining weight

Blue Tit (2)

Great Tit (2)

Blackcap 1 - 6F (pic)

Wren 1 - tiny female with 8 ogc's

Blackbird 1 (2) - new 2CY male & 2 adult females, weights = 98-106 gm

Redwing 1 - decent cp suggested a male; good weight @ 68 gm

Robin (3) - all 2nd calendar years on upper mandible

Dunnock 1 (3) - oldest a 4M on 12-01-11

House Sparrow (5) - oldest a 4M on 01-03-11

Chaffinch 6 - star species of the week; 50/50 on sex, 4 adult birds

Goldfinch 5 (1) - 1 new male, the rest females

Bullfinch 2 (3) - 3 adult & 1 imm. female , plus adult male

The weatherman tells us that we are in for the best part of a week of rain. How satisfying! Will be away for three days next week, anyway, on family business, so don't expect too much next time. But you never know.

Post-Valentine's agony

Half term! The grand-children arrived on Tuesday and my priorities had to change. The garden is looking bleak after the frosts but there are signs of spring, with a few Snowdrops out and the crocuses pushing up but not yet open because of the wintry weather. The buds are showing on the Pussy Willow, too. Twelve Redwings have been sitting in the Ash trees and swooping across the garden, looking for the remaining Pyracantha berries as well as any fruits on the Ivy that the Woodpigeons and Blackbirds have missed.
It being half-term, the steam trains on the West Somerset "branch" line have started running again after the mid-winter lay-off, when essential maintenance takes place. Of course, we had to take in the station as part of our walks. This is one of Pete Waterman's locos.
During one of our local tours, we popped in to Carhampton church to view the magnificent rood screen. I was more interested in the large churchyard. This is only cut at the 'back end'; the rest of the year it is allowed to grow naturally and it contains a large variety of common and not so common plants, about 100 in all. The dozen Yew trees are magnificent and were playing host to a group of noisy Siskins and Chaffinches.
The family were leaving on Friday, so I was able to put some nets out. This gave me a chance to show Erin (8) birds close up in the hand. She liked the 'big' Redwings and the 'wriggly' Blackcap; and she was able to name them.
Here's the list of what was caught and ringed (re-trapped):
Blackcap 1 (1)
Blackbird 1
Redwing 4
Dunnock 1 (1) - still they come
House Sparrow 3 (1)
Greenfinch 1
Goldfinch 5
Bullfinch 1 (1)

Total 17 (4)

Yesterday, Denise and I recce'ed an orchard with a view to catching some Fieldfares before they decide to up and go. The wind was against us, billowing the nets, and the sun was also bright. We did manage to suss out the most sheltered part for a future attempt. This will probably be sooner rather than later, as the 400 or so birds could well depart as the temperature is forecast to reach the mid-teens later in the week.
Fingers crossed!

Tails. You Loose.

Felt very much like it this last week. It has been very mild for the time of year - up to 14deg C! believe it or not. It's been like that for three weeks now. The wind has come and gone, making netting a bit hit and miss. The main problem has been the utter lack of birds, presumably because they are still finding food in the countryside and their calorie expenditure has been minimal (if they keep out of a draught at night). I did see a Siskin today, though, and the Dipper flies back and forth every morning at sunrise. The next four days may well present the birds with a different scenario - namely, FROSTS! and low (6deg C ??) daytime temperatures. The feeders have been cleaned and refilled ready.

The main excitement has been another Blackcap, this one an adult female. I include its portrait below and that of its diagnostic, wide and rounded tail feathers.



The most surprising, if only for their colour, were two male Bullfinches together at the end of the orchard. They were probably after plundering some of our apple buds.

The other significant event occured when two of the four or five Redwings stripping the last of the Holly berries, from the 'big un' out front, fell into the net. One was a immature bird, the other an adult, whose tail, wide and rounded like the adult Blackcap's, is also posted below.


And so to the grand total of all my efforts in the garden since the last blog post - it hasn't really been worth going over the meadows as they remain very wet under-foot.

Goldcrest (1) - an adult male
Blue Tit 1 (1)
Long-tailed Bushtit 1 - must be an 'incomer'
Blackcap 1
Wren 1 - an adult female
Blackbird 1 (2)
Redwing 2
Robin (2)
Dunnock 1 (5) - that makes it 12 different "Shufflewings" in the garden in the last month
House Sparrow 1
Goldfinch 2
Bullfinch 2
12 species, 13 new, (11 retraps), over five of the last nine mornings.

More to come?

This could be said of several things at the moment. Rain? My cold? Blackcaps? Xmas cards? Blue Tits? More decorating? Redwings? Whatever!

Any road up, I've managed to fit in a bit of "bird catching". 16 birds covering 10 species since my last blog entry on Wednesday. Not bad - and a new species ringed for the garden/1km 'home' square!

We've had so much rain lately that even our wellington boots have grown webbed feet. The stream has risen even further and, down at the net sites, has begun to undercut the banks in the soft mudstone geology. Will all my racks be there in the spring, I wonder?


One of the pleasing happenings is the appearance of "young" Blue Tits; this is against the recent run of 'mainly adults' that have been a feature of this autumn. You can tell it's a 'bird of the year' by the bleached and un-moulted feathers close to the edge of the wing.


The Blackcaps still keep on turning up. Here is a young male with hell of a lot of "juvvy brown" still left among the 'adult type' black feathers of a male crown. He also had 2 easily distinguished, old (i.e. faded) greater coverts.


On to the new species. We have had between 17 & 23 Redwings toing and froing from the Holly tree and the Ashes. Today I managed to ring a couple of these, one a youngster, the other an adult. These are easily told apart by the tail shapes and the striking white tips in the juveniles to (at least one of) the tertials which cover the closed wing.


A few more birds added to the 2011 totals; it won't be long before we all start a new "countdown" in 2012. I hope to have all my "legal paperwork" done and sent off by the end of the first week in January [It actually goes electronically] together with my permit renewal.

A couple of (half)day's effort realised the following:
Blue Tit 1 (2)
Great Tit (1)
Long-tailed Bushtit (1)
Blackcap 2
Blackbird (1)
Song Thrush 1
Redwing 2
House Sparrow 1
Chaffinch 1
Goldfinch 3**

**I am looking forward to catching a few more of those King Harry's.
Oh. I forgot. It's gonna get warmer for a bit - and the winds'll pick up to force 5 gusting 6, and I don't want a net in the apple trees again! I'll try and be patient.

In anticipation

The weather has been "on and off" lately, with both wind and rain a frequent occurence. However, at times things have quietened down sufficient for a few interludes of ringing in the garden. It just so happens that I managed three sessions over the weekend with fifty/fifty success.

While walking the dog on Friday I came across the first 'big' flock of Fieldfare this winter hereabouts; it contained 28 birds that were feeding on Hawthorn (Crateagus sp.) berries in the lane leading to my meadows site. The following day, 7 Redwing appeared in the Ash (Fraxinus) trees at the bottom of the garden just before dusk. The following morning, a group of them were busy eating their way through the Holly (Ilex) berries on the 15m high tree that adorns our frontage. The missus is worried that they won't leave us any for Christmas decoration!

Is this the beginning of the "winter invasion" that we look forward to, when birds are driven, at last, to feeding in our gardens? Ringers always look forward to birds being attracted to our feeding stations in winter. Trouble is, every third household feeds the birds round here!

Back to the birds caught. As expected many of the new and retrapped ones were birds of the year. A bright male Blue Tit was from last January when ringing commenced, a female sized Robin was also an adult and had only arrived in the garden earlier this month, the Chaffinch, which spends a lot of time under the front shrubbery, was an adult female on tail shape and all the other finches were adults apart from a 1CY female Goldfinch with 2 ogc.


Adult male BULLF; 22nd= species (with COLDO) of 40 ringed by me in ST04

The Greenfinches arrived as a party of 7 birds on Sunday, the first winter 'flock' that I have noticed in the garden to date. The male Blackcap is now the 9th this winter period.


Totals: 13 species, 12 new, 12 re-traps.
Blue Tit 4 (1)
Great Tit (2)
Long-tailed Bushtit (3)
Blackcap 1
Wren (1)
Blackbird (2) - both male
Robin (1)
Dunnock (2)
House Sparrow 1
Chaffinch 1
Greenfinch 2
Goldfinch 2
Bullfinch 1

The weather forecast for the coming week is "not good", with the gale force winds due to batter the south of England this time. I hope we don't get the destruction seen in Scotland last week. Fingers crossed.

Thrush rush

With a cold front passing through at dawn (plus a piddling drop of rain), many redwings were forced to land. They have been coming from the east, having first travelled across the North Sea from Scandinavia. There are lots of Hawthorn bushes at Priory and the birds were very noticeable up until about 2 pm.

I had to make a visit to the feeders to fill them and it was only then that I realised that I had misjudged the ringing opportunity today. The moderate wind was tempered slightly by the bushes in the 'rough', enough to make ringing possible. So home I went, found my long-johns, made a flask and some sandwiches and went back and set up a couple of nets.

I did manage to catch two Redwing but the big deal was the ten new Goldfinches that I trapped.
Might give it a try in the semi-darkness tomorrow morning - if I set the alarm. Not too hopeful that I'll catch more than a couple of Redwing, the main target, though.

There was a record count of some 38,000 Redwings passing over the Pinnacle, Sandy, today. Most of the birds were moving NW, suggesting that they made landfall along the Suffolk/Essex coast after crossing the North Sea.