Coal Tits on the move.

The highlight of this mornings visit to Billinge was the capture of 15 Coal Tits which is the highest total for the site by some margin. They were all caught towards the end of the session with a flock of 7 being caught at 10am and a flock of 8 an hour later. The previous day record of 8 was only set on 7th October this year so it is clear there is much more movement going on than usual. Some vis-mig sites around the country are recording similar irruptive behaviour so it is a widespread phenomena. It's not just happening in the UK either as Falsterbo Bird Observatory, in southern Sweden, is also ringing above average numbers of Coal Tits and is on track for one of their highest autumn totals.

One of this mornings Coal Tits, 

Ringing totals for 16/10/2018 were: Coal Tit 15; Blue Tit 2; Great Tit 5; Blackcap 1; Goldcrest 7; Nuthatch 1;  Redwing 14; Song Thrush 5; Robin 1;Lesser Redpoll 3. Total 54 new birds.

Late Willow Warbler

I nearly didn't go out this morning as the forecast said there was going to be more of a breeze than yesterday but the chance of catching more Redwings or something unusual got the better of me. The south-westerly breeze was a bit too strong for the net rides in the top willows so I opted for the more sheltered rides in north-east corner of the site. I set up the first net before it started to get light and unlike yesterday there were the occasional calls of Redwings flying overhead to give me some encouragement.

It turned out to be a much busier morning at the nets than I had expected so I didn't have much time for looking up to see what was passing overhead but at least 200 Redwings went south and many others would have been missed. Redwings were also the most numerous birds in the nets with a total of 19 caught but unlike yesterday there weren't many Goldcrests around and only 4 were ringed. It was almost a repeat performance as far as Coal Tits were concerned with a total of 7 ringed which becomes the second highest day total after yesterday's 8 and it increasingly looks like some are genuinely on the move. The poor autumn for Lesser Redpolls continued with only 3 ringed and 2 of those were adults which, as I said in yesterday's post, isn't a good sign. The most unusual capture was a Willow Warbler as it is a very late date for the species in this area.  It is only the second I have recorded in October but it still well short of the latest which was a bird ringed on 23rd October 2014.

Adult female Lesser Redpoll.

Ageing was straightforward as it hadn't finished moulting with the inner secondaries still growing in both wings. The tertials and coverts were also very fresh and similarly coloured as they should be.

If any further confirmation was required the tail was about as fresh and rounded as they get in adult Lesser Redpolls in autumn.

An October Willow Warbler is rarer than Yellow-browed Warbler at Billinge.

Ringing totals (retraps in brackets) for 08/10/2013 were: Coal Tit 7; Blue Tit 6; Great Tit 8 (2); Long-tailed Tit 7 (4); Willow Warbler 1; Chiffchaff 2; Goldcrest 4; Blackbird 1; Redwing 19; Song Thrush 2;  Robin 2; Chaffinch 1; Lesser Redpoll 3. Total 63 new birds and 6 retraps.

First Redwings and a glut of Goldcrest.

There have been some reasonable arrivals of Redwings on the east coast and in the northern isles over the last week so I thought there would be a good chance of seeing and possibly catching my first of the autumn at Billinge this morning. I was so keen I got up extra early and had the first net set up in the top willows before it started to get light but I didn't hear any nocturnal flight calls of Redwings or any other thrushes for that matter. I quickly set another 3 nets (my usual set up of 3 nets generally becomes 4 once Redwings start to arrive) and while I still didn't hear any Redwings flying over there were 2 or 3 Song Thrushes calling in the bushes as it it started to get light.

Initially there wasn't much moving through the bushes or overhead but that changed after the sun was up and it became quite an eventful morning. There wasn't a huge amount moving overhead but there was a quite a bit more than there has been recently. A Redwing, my first of the autumn, was heard shortly after sunrise and groups of 4, 2, 4 and 15 were seen subsequently. A couple of high flying Song Thrushes and 4 equally high flying Blackbirds were also seen and likely to be migrants from the continent. The morning was punctuated by the occasional calls of Siskins and Meadow Pipits but the stand out highlight was a flock of 19 Crossbills which passed me at eye level and close range as they flew SSW over the SE flank of the hill. Other birds on the move included small numbers of Woodpigeons, Goldfinches, and Chaffinches.

The nets were quite productive and produced one of the best catches of what has been a below par autumn so far. Highlights were 26 Goldcrests (the highest day total this autumn by some margin), a Redwing (obviously the first ringed this autumn), 3 Song Thrush (all likely migrants) and 8 Coal Tits (the highest day total for the site and suggestive of irruptive movement). Also of note were 2 Lesser Redpolls but only because they were both adult males; there haven't been many Redpolls this autumn and the appearance of adults without any first-years doesn't bode well for the rest of the autumn.

It was a return to something like normal numbers of Goldcrests today but the big question is will it last or is it just a one off improvement. One thing is certain only time tell.

It is always good to see and ring the first Redwing of the autumn and hopefully there will be some really big movements to come. The forecast for the middle of next week (Wednesday into Thursday) is looking promising at the moment and may bring the first really big arrivals of the autumn, lets hope so.

Ringing totals (retraps in brackets) for 07/10/2018 were: Coal Tit 8; Blue Tit 3; Great Tit 7; Long-tailed Tit 2 (4); Chiffchaff 2; Goldcrest 26 (1); Wren 2; Redwing 1; Song Thrush 3; Robin 3; Bullfinch 3; Lesser Redpoll 2; Goldfinch 1; Reed Bunting 2. A total of 65 new birds and 5 retraps.

Billinge: 1st October 2018

A light northerly breeze and generally clear conditions weren't likely to produce many birds so I wasn't surprised when a session in the top willows started off very slowly. Only 9 birds were caught in the first couple of hours so I decided to pack up early but then a flock of 8 Long-tailed Tits was caught in what was going to be the final net round and tempted me to stay a bit longer. I am certainly glad I decided to stay as the catching rate wasn't too bad for the next couple of hours, although it was largely made up of tits.  However, there were a few Goldcrests too and they included a bird that was already wearing a ring from elsewhere which was the clear highlight of the morning. The final total of 44 new birds and 1 control was much better than expected and was a good start to the month.

The control Goldcrest had a ring number with prefix KHV and it looked like a very new ring so may have been ringed quite recently. With Goldcrest numbers being very low this autumn I thought my prospects of getting any controls or recoveries would be very low too so this bird was a very welcome surprise.

There haven't been many Redpolls on the move so far this autumn and today's was the first adult male.

Adult male Lesser Redpoll

Noisy Coal Tits are often a feature of clear days in late September and much of  October but how many actually move very far is open to question.

Photographs of Great Tits rarely appear in the blog but I had to include these two as they show how different the intensity of the yellow can be. Both were first-year females. I have looked back at the sexes of the Greats Tits that were caught in September and there was a clear preponderance of females; of the 44 handled 31 were females,12 were males and 1 was left unsexed as it hadn't completed its post juvenile moult.

Ringing totals for 01/10/2018 were: Coal Tit 4; Blue Tit 8; Great Tit 6; Long-tailed Tit 9; Chiffchaff 2; Blackcap 1; Goldcrest 10 (1 control); Blackbird 1; Dunnock 1; Bullfinch 1; Lesser Redpoll 1. 44 new birds and 1 control.

Billinge: 25th September 2018

The prospect of catching more Redpolls tempted me out again this morning and the usual 3 nets produced 34 birds in just over 3 hours but no Redpolls were ringed.

Highlights and observations of note were as follows:

• A Willow Warbler was ringed and is a fairly late record but still well short of the latest for the site which was on 23/10/2014.
• Goldcrests just managed to scrape into double figures for the first time this month with 10 ringed but it still looks like the UK population has taken a tumble as double figure totals should be the norm for much of September. Interestingly, 9 of the 10 Goldcrests were females.
• This was the first session of the autumn without a Blackcap being ringed and none were seen or even heard.
• Tits are starting to show signs of getting itchy feet with Coal Tits becoming much more vocal and flighty. While I sure some do move others may just go through the motions and turn back or only go a relatively short distance.
• Great Tits also showed a sex bias today with the 7 ringed all being females.
• There was next to no visible migration despite the clear conditions and fairly light breeze with only a handful of Meadow Pipits, a few Skylarks, 4 Reed Buntings, 2 Siskins and 3 Redpolls being noted.

Ringing totals for 25/09/2018 were: Coal Tit 3; Blue Tit 4; Great Tit 7; Willow Warbler 1; Chiffchaff 4; Goldcrest 10; Chaffinch 2; Yellowhammer 2; Reed Bunting 1.

Willow Warbler 25/09/2018

8th March 2018 and it's snow joke.

A real dump of snow greeted me first thing this morning and it continued to snow for a good few hours. Some snow had been forecast but I had expected it to be wet sleety stuff and soon turn to rain but this was the real deal and covered everything in a good 3 to 4 inches of the white stuff before it finally stopped.

The view from the front door.

The view towards Orrell Water Park.

The snow clearly had an impact on the birds and the garden feeders were busier than they had been during the recent severe cold spell. We didn't get much snow then and many species, especially seed eaters, still had access to natural food sources and didn't seem pushed for food despite the very cold temperatures. This morning was a different story with the thick covering of snow limiting their feeding options and causing more birds to come to the feeders. 

Birds were queuing up to use the feeders and I have quite a few dotted around the garden.

The birds gather in the trees across the road from the garden before dropping down to feed.

Another group on its way in.

You could imagine this Goldfinch thinking 'Where did this lot come from'.

and this one was really shaking its head.

Some Goldfinches were clearly in pairs.

and another pair.

This male Chaffinch is in one of those 'what are you looking at' poses.

Looking at its tail shape this female Chaffinch is almost certainly an adult.

Female Chaffinch. I only included this photo because of the lump of snow on her head. The snow really did come down thick and fast.

It was nice to see a few more Greenfinches at the feeders but they are nowhere near as numerous as they used to be in the 'good old days', when Greenfinches were ten a penny.

Male Siskin

I was able to read part of the ring number on this female Siskin and it is not one that I have ringed. It will be really frustrating if I don't manage to catch her and establish where she has come from.

Three Pied Wagtails fed on the lawn below the feeders including this fine male. This bird has been a regular in the garden for much of this winter.

It won't be long before my Starling RAS starts. This adult male (A57) was originally ringed as a juvenile in June 2012.

Female Starling

Male Blackbird

Female Blackbird

Judging by the size of of its bib this Coal Tit is a male.

Woodpigeons haven't visited the garden much recently as they have been spending a lot of time feeding in a nearby field of oil seed rape.

The fat cakes have certainly helped this Goldcrest survive this winter.

Winter may not have released its grip just yet but give it another week and I should be writing posts about returning Chiffchaffs and other spring migrants. 

Billinge 7th September 2017

The 7th provided a brief interlude in the current run of unsettled weather so got up at daft o'clock to make the most of it. I set the usual 3 nets in the top willows at first light and the following few hours produced a decent catch of 60 new birds and 1 retrap. Ringing highlights were a Redstart which continued the exceptional run of records of that species, 3 Grey Wagtails was a good total as I didn't see more than 6 going south and 4 1cy Coal Tits hinted at the start of some movement in that species.

The Redstart was the 6th to be ringed this autumn and to put that into context only 4 were ringed during the previous three. Interestingly 5 of the 6 have been females.

1cy Coal Tit, noisy individuals and the occasional small group are usually seen or heard heading south on fine days through much of September and well into October.

There was very little movement overhead but there were a few interesting bits a pieces in the form of a group of 3 Song Thrush flying very high to the west, 2 Tree Pipits going south and a Crossbill also going south. There were surprisingly few Meadow Pipits going over and a trickle amounting to no more than about 30 were noted heading SSW. The only other sighting of note was another Redstart that was seen after I had packed up and was carrying my gear back to the car.

Only 2 Willow Warblers were caught and this one hadn't finished its pj moult but it had a weight of 9.4g and enough fat to migrate a good distance.

Ringing totals for 07/09/17 were: Goldcrest 9; Blue Tit 8; Great Tit 2; Coal Tit 4; Chiffchaff 14 (1); Willow Warbler 2; Blackcap 2; Whitethroat 1; Robin 2; Redstart 1; Grey Wagtail 3; Chaffinch 6; Goldfinch 6.

Recent recoveries.

A few recoveries have trickled in recent weeks and while some of the birds involved hadn't gone very far they are interesting nevertheless.

S552233       first year      Coal Tit   (black pin on map)
Ringed          22/10/2016  Billinge Hill, Merseyside.
Controlled     21/01/2017  Woolston Eyes, Warrington. 18 km SSE, duration 91 days.
A total of 52 Coal Tit were ringed at Billinge Hill last autumn with the majority being ringed in September and October when there was an obvious southward dispersal/movement. The recapture of this bird at Woolston Eyes is the first recovery to show the destination of any of these birds.

HPV497        full grown     Long-tailed Tit   (blue pin on map)
Ringed          05/10/2014  Billinge Hill, Merseyside.
Found dead  04/03/2017  Prescot, Merseyside. 13 km SWW, duration 881 days.
This is the first movement away from the ringing site and it was found dead under a window.

JDH819       adult male    Goldcrest   (yellow pin on map)
Ringed         01/10/2015  Billinge Hill, Merseyside.
Controlled    29/10/2016  Hilbre Island, Wirral, Merseyside. 38 km WSW, duration 394 days.
This bird will have moved much further than the 38 km between the two sites. It was caught when on passage at Billinge and similarly when controlled on Hilbre Island the following year and probably originated from northern England or Scotland.




A couple of recovery reports for Siskins were also received and illustrate the mobility of the species.

D874496      first year female   Siskin
Ringed         18/03/2014   near Orrell, Greater Manchester.
Controlled    14/02/2017   Witton-le Wear NR, Durham. 143 km NNE, duration 1064 days.

S192064       first year male     Siskin
Ringed          11/04/2016   Peebles, Scottish Borders.
Controlled     07/03/2017   near Orrell, Greater Manchester. 293 km S, duration 330 days.




Siskins are an variable migrant and move further in some years than others in response to fluctuations in natural food supplies. There was a major irruption of Siskins in autumn 2015 but fewer were on the move last autumn and that is now being reflected in the numbers coming to the feeders in my garden. In 2016 I ringed 118 up to 11th March but have only ringed 64 over the same period this year. It will be interesting to see how numbers compare later in spring although I expect numbers will remain about 50% down on those of last year.

Garden Goldcrest and other visitors

It is not uncommon to hear or see a Goldcrest in or near the garden but it is relatively unusual to see one taking advantage of any of the feeders. A couple of days a ago I noticed a female Goldcrest gleaning food items from the branches below some of the feeders and the following day it was also pecking fragments of fat from the wire mesh of the fat block holder. This morning I noticed it was coming to the fat block and feeding on it fairly regularly so I decided to try and get a few photos.

Goldcrest 12/02/2016

Caught in the act.

In previous years I have occasionally seen the odd one taking food particles that had fallen onto twigs below some of the feeders, also taking small fragments from the base of a sunflower heart feeder and occasionally pecking at the fat blocks but it doesn't happen every winter.

The blunt and rounded tail shape shows this bird is an adult. There doesn't appear to be any orange in the crown so we can be reasonably sure it is a female. Males can keep their orange crown feathers concealed under yellow feathers but you usually get a glimpse of it every now and again, especially if they get a bit agitated. 

It must have found a really good bit up there.

 I make my own fat blocks which contain a very high proportion of dried mealworms and birds certainly seem to know if a fat block is giving them a good nutritional return for their effort. In the past I have experimented when feeding adult Starlings in the early part of the breeding season and the blocks with the higher proportion of mealworms were preferred and attracted more birds despite the fat blocks with the lower mealworm content being almost identical in appearance. It may be trial and error at first but whatever the mechanism they certainly seemed to know which had the better nutritional content.

The Goldcrest came to the fat block about every 20 minutes and only stayed for about a minute on each visit so I ended up taking quite a few photos of some of the other visitors. And, as I have commented on before, there wasn't a single House Sparrow amongst them.

Adult male Starling.
This male is just about in full breeding condition now that its bill has completed the change from being black to the full breeding colours of blue and yellow. The fine and limited spotting to the long throat feathers and flanks shows this bird is an adult (2CY+). 

Male Pied Wagtail.
Two Pied Wagtails regularly come to feed on scraps below the feeders, this male and a very grey backed female that looks similar to some White Wagtails 

Blue Tit
Tits had a fairly poor breeding season last year and very few have been coming to the feeders this winter

Coal Tit
Like Blue and Great Tits there have been fewer Coal Tits coming to the feeders this winter.

This adult female Chaffinch has badly encrusted legs and feet (either mange or avian papillomavirus) and you can just see part of the left foot. It only uses one leg and holds the other up under the feathers but in all other respects it seems to be quite healthy.

This first-year female has escaped infection, so far at least.

Adult male Blackbird
There have been a lot of Blackbirds around this winter with more visiting the garden than I have ever seen before. It is not uncommon for there to be 10 in the garden at one time and many more must visit over the course of a day.

Female Blackbird

There seemed to be a few more Goldfinches around today with up to 25 in the garden at any one time.

Adult male Siskin and what a stunner.

There was plenty of argy-bargy at the feeders.

A nice selection of birds that brightened up what was a rather grey, cold and windy day.