Billinge: 17th & 18th July 2017

17th July
I am not getting any better at the early morning lark and only got to site at 7am. The weather was glorious and it was very warm from the off. I quickly set 3 nets in the top willows but there was distinct lack of warblers calling in the bushes which suggested there were fewer around compared to my last visit. On the other hand there had been a marked increase in the number of Goldfinches with at least 60 feeding on the knapweed in the vicinity of the net rides.

A total of 46 new birds were caught with all but one being juveniles. The single adult was a moulting female Willow Warbler. The ringing totals confirmed that there were fewer warblers around but this was offset by a good catch of Goldfinches. The biggest surprise was a near total absence of tits, not that I am complaining, with only 2 caught and hardly any others seen or heard.

Juvenile Goldfinch

One of the juvenile Goldfinches had white sub-terminal patches on the three outer tail feathers. These patches were once thought to have some age related significance and while the number of patches Goldfinches have varies between 1 and 3 the presence of 3 was considered to be something that was only found in some adults. Juveniles like the bird above clearly show that can't be the case and serve as a useful reminder. A more recent study suggested birds with 3 patches were always males and while males may have more and or bigger patches on average there is more overlap than that study found and I have caught females with 3. I am sure these tail patches have an important role as birds spread their tail and show them off when they do the clockwork like pivoting display but they are not the help we would like them to be when it comes to ageing and sexing Goldfinches in the hand.

Totals for 17/07/17 were: Goldcrest 1; Great Tit 1; Coal Tit 1; Chiffchaff 6; Willow Warbler 7; Blackcap 6; Wren 3;  Greenfinch 1; Goldfinch 20.


18th July
With thundery and then showery conditions forecast from mid-week I decided to fit in another visit and try the rides in the NE corner of the site. It was another very warm morning and the biting insects were really on form but it turned out to be very quiet on the bird front. The catching rate was really slow and I packed up at 10am, following 2 blank net rounds, and having only caught a total of 14 new birds in the earlier rounds.

Again there were hardly any tits around and warblers were also very thin on the ground for this part of the site. Tits are supposed to have had a reasonable breeding season but I haven't seen or heard any sizeable tit flocks as yet but that doesn't mean they are not out there, somewhere. It was just one of those mornings that produced a below par catch, as happens now again, and it will be a while before we really know what sort of breeding season it has been overall.

One of the Dunnocks was a recently fledged juvenile.

The flight feathers were not fully grown but it could fly quite well and was caught in the top panel of a mist net.

It will still be dependant on its parents for food so it was released very close to where it was caught.

Overhead there was no movement to speak of but a single Yellow Wagtail, a scarce bird in this area these days, went south as did a Siskin.

Ringing totals for 18/07/17 were: Goldcrest 3; Blue Tit 1; Chiffchaff 2; Willow Warbler 1; Blackcap 1; Wren 2;  Dunnock 2; Chaffinch 1; Bullfinch 1.

Mirror mirror on the car: part 3

The Dunnock was full of the joys of spring again this morning and doing his best to impress. I couldn't see if he was showing off to a female as he was on the far side of the car, near the hedge, and only visiting the wing mirror on that side of the car. I can only presume a female was skulking around there, somewhere.

As he was putting on a regular performance at the same wing mirror I decided to try and get some video. He was sat by the window of the drivers door when I went to the car and only flew off when I opened the passenger door to set up the camera. It only took a couple of minutes to get set up and the Dunnock returned to the wing mirror and started performing almost as soon as I went back in the house. I went out and repositioned the camera a couple of times and the bird returned almost immediately each time. Three of the best clips have been edited together and can be seen in the video below. Unfortunately the camera didn't pick up any sound through the closed window.

The car wing mirrors seem to be a big part of his courtship behaviour now so I am not going to cover them or close them in just yet but I will keep an eye on the situation. It will be interesting to see if his behaviour continues as we get further into the breeding season and if it brings him any success with the ladies.

Mirror mirror on the car: part 2

The Dunnock was at it again this morning but it soon became apparent it wasn't a simple case of a bird attacking its own reflection in a mirror, far from it. Dunnocks have complex mating systems and may be monogamous (pairs), or engage in polyandry (two or three males with one female), polygyny (one male with two females), polygyandry (two or three males sharing two three or four females). The behaviour of this particular bird appears to add another variation to those mating systems.

When I saw it by one of the car wing mirrors again this morning it would have been easy to assume that it was simply treating its own reflection as an intruder, which is what I had thought the other day. The difference today was that I noticed there was another bird nearby, presumably a female. I watched for a while, taking photos as I did so, and realised it was seeking out and displaying to its reflection but only on the side of the car that could be seen by the female.

A grotty photo but then it was another miserable wet morning and it was taken through double glazing and two windows of a car. The other Dunnock was in the hedge which can be seen in the background.

As the presumed female Dunnock moved round the car so did the displaying male, seeking out its reflection as it did so. The wing flicking the bird engaged in was akin to that of displaying male trying to drive out an intruder but also that of a male in one of the complex mating systems involving more than one male. It didn't just use the mirrors and displayed to other reflective surfaces too.

Now this may seem far fetched but this bird seemed to be trying to impress the female by displaying to its own reflection in the absence of another male or males.

King of the car.

To try and confirm what was going on I covered the wing mirror on the far side of the car.

When the female Dunnock went to the far side of the car the male Dunnock went to the far mirror even though it was covered. This suggests its behaviour wasn't a simple reaction to the accidental encounter of its reflection. This bird seemed to have learned where it could encounter its reflection in relation to the position of the female and went there in order to impress the female.

What no mirror.

The fact that the male Dunnock went and sat in front of the covered mirror when the female was on that side of the car shows it was actively seeking out its own reflection and where, in the male Dunnock's mind, it would find a potential intruder/second male (in the form of its reflection) to react to and so impress the female. Now the thought of that is really interesting. This male Dunnock is effectively using the reflective surfaces of the car to display against in order to impress a female. Perhaps some male Dunnocks put on a better display if they perceive they are in a complex mating system rather than a simple monogomous relationship. How the female perceived this is anybody's guess, especially as she wouldn't have been able to see the reflections.

Mirror mirror on the car....

.....who's the most dominant Dunnock by far. It was a wet and miserable for much of this morning but that didn't put a damper on the antics of one of the garden Dunnocks. I glanced out of the kitchen window while making a brew and noticed one was attacking its reflection in the car wing mirror. I ran for the camera but when I got back to the window it wasn't there and I thought that was that but, luckily, it came back after a few minutes and I managed to get a few shots.

Looking out for trouble prior to an attack.

The garden Dunnocks have been frisky for a while now and can often be seen going around in twos and threes and displaying by waving their wings at each other or chasing each other around but I have never seen one attacking its reflection before. Given the angle of the wing mirrors it is hard to understand how it got into a position to see its reflection in the first place and what made it more interesting was that it also went round to the other side of the car and attacked its reflection in the other wing mirror too. It only stopped this behaviour when another Dunnock appeared and it chased after that bird. I will keep a look out from time to time over the next few days to see if it engages in this behaviour again and if it does I will have to get into the habit of closing in the wing mirrors.

Seeking shelter

A moderately windy day limited my ringing options to the woodland at Haigh Hall. I found a couple of sheltered spots and tried a few different lures but there was little about or passing overhead to call in. I was hoping the good blackberry crop would produce a few late Blackcaps but not a single Blackcap was heard or seen.

It was fairly slow going but I had a new camera to get to grips with and that helped pass the time. Goldcrests topped the totals with 7 ringed bringing the total ringed at Haigh to 34 this month and to 55 for all sites. These birds fascinate me and it will be interesting to see how many October will bring.

Passage overhead was largely limited to small numbers of Meadow Pipits along with a few Swallows and House Martins. However, a Turtle Dove caused me to do a double-take and was a complete surprise given their status these days.

A Southern Hawker was caught in a mist net and gave a photo opportunity as did a sheltering hoverfly and a Speckled Wood. The temperature only just reached levels to make these insects active and then only for very brief periods as clouds rolled by.

Anyway here a few photos taken with the new camera; an Olympus XZ-1 compact.

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

 

Spangle Galls

 

Dunnock (Prunella modularis)

 

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

 

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

 

Hoverfly spp.

 

Hoverfly spp.

 

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)

 

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)

Ringing totals for the day were:

Goldcrest 7
Great Tit 3 (1)
Goldfinch 1 (1)
Coal Tit (2)
Wren 1
Dunnock 1
Long-tailed Tit 1
Blue Tit 1
Nuthatch 1
Greenfinch 1
Total 17 new birds and 4 retraps

Grey day at Haigh

Got up before dawn to go to the feeding station at Haigh but didn't rush and enjoyed a few cups of coffee before setting off. Arrived at around 7:30 and put a 60 and 30 ft net in the usual dog leg. Didn't expect to catch too much despite almost perfect overcast conditions with only a slight breeze as so many birds seem to be on territory and breeding following the recent spell of warm weather.

The slow if steady catching rate allowed me the time to take a few photographs of species that don't usually get a look in such as Wren and Dunnock.

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

Dunnock (Prunella modularis)

Dunnock (Prunella modularis)

Only stayed around 4 hours but still managed to catch 19 new birds and 10 retraps with 8 Greenfinches being the most numerous of the new birds; 3 of which were adults including this fine male.

adult male Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)


Fewer Chaffinches were around but those that came to the feeders were looking their best as were the Bullfinches.

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

I also tried playing Redpoll song for a while and caught 3 Lessers that were probably on their way to breeding grounds further north.  Redpolls are one of my favourite species and are likely to feature in this blog whenever I catch them.

2CY Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis cabaret)



2CY  male Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis cabaret)



2CY male Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis cabaret)

Not a bad morning really for the time of year and ringed a new Blackbird in the garden trap when I got home. Had to go to work in the afternoon but caught a pair of retrap Starlings in the evening when I finally got home.

I will see if I can get up early in the morning and hope a few Redpolls are on the move.