'Net shy' finches rule the day

I met up with John G at 7:00am this morning and we walked up to the ringing site at Longshaw. We had 3 nets up by first light and waited for the first birds to arrive. I had put out an MP3 lure playing Grey Wagtail as one had flown over at dawn on each of the last few ringing sessions. Like clockwork one came over, it dropped down to the lure and was caught.

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

A few Blackbirds were attracted to the apples I had put out during the week and several were amongst the first birds to be caught. Plenty of Bramblings and Chaffinches started to arrive but seemed reluctant to settle. Conditions were perfect at first but some mist and fog started to develop which didn’t help but it was obvious that the birds had the situation sussed anyway. Looking at the birds that perched in the tops of the willows it was obvious that a good proportion were already ringed.

It is not unusual for some birds to learn to avoid mist nets and to become ‘net shy’, especially where there’s a fairly static population and a regular ringing routine using the same net rides. It can be counteracted to some degree by leaving bigger intervals between ringing sessions, changing net positions and times of visits and I will be doing this over the coming weeks now that catching rates have fallen off.

Whilst we didn’t get the numbers we had hoped for we did get some variety with the aforementioned Grey Wagtail, a Reed Bunting and a very benign Jay that didn’t take any chunks out of us like they usually do. A few finches did get caught towards the end of the session including 4 new Bramblings and a control Greenfinch (ringed elsewhere) ring number starting TT09___.

male Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)

Jay (Garrulus glandarius), a relatively benign individual but if looks could kill......

Ringing totals with retraps in brackets.
Blackbird 6 (1)
Grey Wagtail 1
Jay 1
Reed Bunting 1
Chaffinch 5 (1)
Brambling 4 (1)
Great Tit 2 - (1)
Greenfinch 1 (1 control)
Blue Tit (4)
Dunnock – (3)
Robin – (1)
Total 21 new birds, 12 retraps and 1 control.

I ventured onto Orrell Water Park in the afternoon to check out the gulls. There were plenty of Black-headed Gulls but only one ringed bird and that was the German ringed bird that I have recorded several times now.

 

On thin ice, Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus).

Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) in action.

A day of two halves

I went to Longshaw with John G this morning hoping for another good catch of Bramblings and Chaffinches. I had been keeping the site well fed all week and the weather forecast was good for this morning at least. We had 3 nets up by first light but when the first birds started to arrive it was quite clear they were fewer in number compared to the last few weeks.

Catching rates were slow and were not helped by frost forming on the nets. This turned them white for a while until the sun rose above the tree line. We packed up at around 11am having only caught 23 new birds and 12 retraps, around a third of last week’s total. Only 2 new Bramblings were caught along with 12 new Chaffinches.

Longshaw ringing totals, recaptures in brackets.

Chaffinch 12 (1)
Brambling 2
Greenfinch 2
Blue Tit 2 (5)
Great Tit 2 (1)
Blackbird 2 (2)
Dunnock 1 (1)
Robin 0 (2)
Total 23 new birds and 12 retraps

I decided to go to Haigh this afternoon as the wind was still very light and the forecast was for much stronger winds tomorrow. John had better things to do so I went alone and had two nets set up by 12:50 which is usually a quiet time of day in ringing terms. There were plenty of birds about and the ringing totals didn’t disappoint in sharp contrast to Longshaw this morning. A total 21 Bramblings were caught including 2 retraps. Interestingly one of these ‘retrap’ Bramblings had actually been ringed at Longshaw on 18/11/12; a movement of 9km northeast.

 

A net full of Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla)

Short distance movements such as this are interesting in their own right. I have been feeding both sites equally well and there are other feeding stations closer to this bird’s ringing site including Kings Moss on the other side of Billinge Hill used by Pete Fearon (blog here). It makes sense for wintering birds to familiarise themselves with food availability over a fairly wide area. This will enhance their chances of survival should any one food supply become exhausted as would happen with natural food sources. It will be interesting to see if there is more interchange between sites over the winter.

One thing that has surprised me is how well we have done for Bramblings relative to other feeding stations in the northwest. The ringing total now stands at 144 Bramblings for this winter but, clearly, the birds are still moving around and numbers at other sites are likely to increase as the winter progresses.

A single Siskin was caught and was the first for the winter at this site; it was an adult male and a little gem. It had found the nyger feeders and it is hoped many more will follow before the winter is out. The ringing totals were excellent for an afternoon but could have been even higher as the session was curtailed at around15:30 when drizzle arrived.

male Siskin (Carduelis spinus)

Haigh ringing totals, recaptures in brackets.
Brambling 19 (2)
Chaffinch 10 (2)
Greenfinch 13 (5)
Goldfinch 2
Siskin 1
Bullfinch – (1)
Blue Tit 5 (4)
Great Tit 1 (3)
Lotti – (2)
Coal Tit – (1)
Blackbird 1
Total 52 new birds and 20 retraps.

Brambling bonanza

I am working this Sunday so I took today off instead and also because the weather was looking quite good for ringing. John G is also working this weekend and was off work today so we headed out to Longshaw. We had 3 nets up before first light even with a bit of a disaster when one of the shelf strings snapped in one of the two 30ft nets.

The first net round was quite poor despite the near perfect conditions but subsequent rounds were very productive despite some fog rolling in. We were kept quite busy all morning with a total of 98 birds caught including 28 new and 6 retrap Bramblings. This took the number of Bramblings ringed in November and for the year to 108; an exceptional total for recent years. We also caught 22 new Chaffinches and many of these were continental birds judging by their wing lengths.

Ringing totals with retraps in brackets

Blackbird 1
Blue Tit 1 (8)
Brambling 28 (6)
Chaffinch 22 (6)
Dunnock 1 (1)
Goldcrest 2 (1)
Greenfinch 14 (2)
Great Tit 0 (4)
Robin 0 (5)
Totals 69 (+29 retraps)

The dog got a bit bored as we were so busy and took out his frustration on a willow. Perhaps he should have chewed the twig he was tied to.

 

Bramble finch fest and a Waxwing too

I went to the baited site at Longshaw yesterday morning to top up the feed and was really encouraged by the number of finches present. At least 75 Chaffinch, Brambling and Greenfinch were present with roughly equal numbers of each making up the flock. Small groups were coming and going all the time making overall numbers difficult to gauge. With the forecast looking really good for this morning a productive ringing session was on the cards.

I met up with John G just before 7:00am and we had a 60ft and 30 ft net up just after first light. I put out an MP3 lure playing Redpoll and another playing Waxwing. There are no berries at this ringing site but I had brought a few berry laden sprigs of cotoneaster, hawthorn and rose hips and secured them in a willow bush by the 60ft net. This was more in hope than anything but you never know with so many Waxwings in the country, many of which are still on the move.

 

male Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
 

male Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)



female Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
 

Chaffinches and Bramblings started to arrive soon after first light and the first round of the nets produced 24 birds including 12 Chaffinches and 10 Bramblings; an excellent start. About half way through the morning I thought I heard a Waxwing call back to the MP3 lure while we were on a round of the nets. We couldn’t see any and we didn’t hear any more calls other than from the MP3 player so I put it down to wishful thinking. A little while later a party of 9 Waxwings appeared from the direction of the 60ft net. A quick check of the net found one Waxwing had been caught and what a stunner (as they all are). It was an adult but the sexing characteristics were within the overlap between male and female or were borderline.

Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)
 

Catching rates generally decreased as the morning progressed although there was a flurry of Greenfinches at the end of the morning including a control adult male Greenfinch. The ring number started TR6 - a sequence we have not come across before. The last net round also produced 2 more Bramblings bringing the morning’s total for the species to 20 new birds and 2 retraps (both ringed the previous weekend); a fitting end to a memorable morning.
 
Ringing:
Waxwing 1
Brambling 20 (+2)
Chaffinch 20
Greenfinch 16 (+2 includes 1 control)
Blue Tit 2 (+8)
Great Tit 0 (+3)
Dunnock 1 (+1)
Robin 0 (+1)
Total 60 new birds, 16 retraps and 1 control

At home the moth trap contained a Red-green Carpet despite it being a cold night and the lateness of the season for this species.

Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata)

Making the most of the weather

A forecast for calm conditions tempted me to take the morning off work and fit in a ringing session at Haigh. The first few rounds of the nets were much less productive than expected given the near perfect conditions. A flock of about 25 Bramblings flew around shortly after sunrise but none dropped in. The finches didn’t start coming in to feed in any number until after 9:00am. Up to 50 Greenfinches eventually gathered along with a dozen or so Chaffinches and Bramblings.



one of my drain pipe feeders

The majority of the tits caught were adults including 9 of the 10 new Blue Tits or 12 out of 14 if retraps are included. The 2 new Goldcrests caught brought the total ringed at Haigh this autumn to 82. Given that most of the birds didn't come in until later in the morning I may try an afternoon ringing session on my next visit.

adult Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)

Ringing Totals

Greenfinch 28 (+3)
Brambling 5
Goldfinch 4 (+1)
Chaffinch 2 (+2)
Great Tit 1 (+2)
Blue Tit 10 (+4)
Coal Tit 1 (+1)
Goldcrest 2
Wren 1
Blackbird 1
Robin 0 (+1)
Total 55 (+14 retraps)