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.

Spot on weather forecast

This post could have had various titles -. ‘More of the same’, ‘Bramblings feature again’, or ‘Told you I would bore you with Bramblings’ but the spot on weather forecast won it by a mile. Tomorrow is the better day of the weekend but I have to work so I wanted to fit in a session at Haigh this morning if possible.
 
The forecast was for a band of rain coming through overnight and clearing early morning. I have been let down by forecasts on many an occasion so I wasn’t overly optimistic. I got up at 6am and it was raining quite hard. A check of the rainfall radar via the internet showed a band of rain straddling the area with a clearance coming in from the northwest. I set off for Haigh at 6:40am while it was still raining. The rain stopped as I arrived but there were some ominous clouds about as the sky brightened. I put up 2 nets by 7:30 by which time there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The sky remained crystal clear as forecast for the remainder of the day so the forecast was spot on after all.

I was keen to fit in a ringing session at Haigh because Brambling invasions don’t come around that often and the cost of baiting sites is not insignificant. When I started ringing many years ago my trainer used all manner of waste grain and some of it was very rough by today’s standards to say the least; black sunflower was not in our vocabulary back then. These days you seem to have to use high quality feed to get any results. This seems to be a bit of a contradiction with a more sterile agriculture and declining bird populations but is certainly my experience. Even peanuts are not the Greenfinch magnet they once were.

What does this tell us; well bird populations have certainly declined but the remainder will always aggregate around the best food available so it is easy to be deluded to thinking everything is ok. If you are feeding the best, and that is what we tend to do these days, you may not notice fewer birds at your feeders even though many populations are declining. We use constant effort sites to help monitor bird population trends in summer but I am not aware of anyone who has done any constant feeding experiments to measure change in feeding habits and preferences. Sales of niger seed, sunflower hearts, and black sunflower seed have never been higher and were unheard of not that many years ago or am I that old.

At the end of the day a sack of waste grain will not produce the same results as it did as little as 30 years ago and mainly because bird populations have declined that much. Peanuts are not the Greenfinch magnet they once were because Greenfinches have declined significantly whilst artificial food availability has increased so the remainder can afford to be more choosey or that is my theory.

Today’s ringing totals at Haigh were (retraps in brackets):
Blackbird 3
Blue 6 (2)
Brambling 15 (3)
Chaffinch 10 (2)
Coal Tit 0 (2)
Dunnock 1
Goldcrest 1
Greenfinch 14 (3)
Great Tit 5 (2)
Great-spotted Woodpecker 1
Robin 2 (1)
Totals 58 (+15)

Bramblings topped the totals again which indicates there are a lot in the country along with a shortage of natural food sources such as beech mast. We ringed none with a similar feeding regime in the previous winter period which says a lot.

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)

Weekend roundup

I went ringing at the baited sites at Haigh and Longshaw over the weekend. Haigh produced 41 new birds and 24 retraps. Chaffinch numbers had increased on last week with 11 ringed; 9 of these were aged as adults which is an unusually high proportion. Some of the male Chaffinches were of continental origin judging by their colour but none had particularly long wing lengths. Again a few Bramblings were present and 3 males were caught.



Male Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs). This bird is a typical colour for a bird of British origin. Comparison shots showing the variation in colour will be produced in a future blog.

I have only been putting seed down at Longshaw since Tuesday so I wasn’t sure if many birds would be present. Shortly after first light I was pleased to hear the calls of a good number of Chaffinches and Bramblings. By the end of the morning 34 new birds and 10 retraps had been caught including 12 new Chaffinches and 4 new Bramblings. The Chaffinches included a number of continental birds and one had a wing length of 95mm. The continental theme was supported by a single Waxwing flying north during the morning.

First winter male Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)

Given the promising catch at Longshaw I made a couple of extra feeders from plastic drain pipe that, hopefully, will only need topping up once or twice a week. All I have to do now is work out how I am going to pay for all the seed that I am likely to use baiting both sites.

 

It may have been a disappointing autumn for many species but it looks like being an above average winter for a few and Bramblings are at the top of my list. In a good Brambling year I generally catch them in the second half of the winter so to have caught 12 so far this autumn is particularly encouraging. However it does indicate that natural food sources are in short supply which could impact on survival.
 
Totals for the weekend were:
Blackbird 3
Blue Tit 6 (+14)
Brambling 7
Chaffinch 23
Coal Tit 2 (+6)
Dunnock 0 (+1)
Goldcrest 3 (+2)
Goldfinch 3
Greenfinch 14 (+1)
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Great Tit 6 (+6)
Lesser Redpoll 2
Nuthatch 0 (+3)
Reed Bunting 1
Robin 3 (+1)
Wren 1
 
Total 75 (+ 35 retraps)

Bramblings headline

The forecast was fairly promising for mist netting this morning so I headed off to the baited site at Haigh. I was hoping for a Brambling in the catch as one had been present when I topped up the feeders earlier in the week. I was late getting up and it was already getting light when I arrived which was less than ideal. As I was setting up I could hear the distinctive nasal calls of several Bramblings amongst the calls of Greenfinches along with a good number of Redwings, Fieldfares and Blackbirds leaving their roosts.

I put up the usual two nets and set up two mp3 lures, one playing Goldcrest and the other playing Redpoll. On the first round of the nets I was delighted to find 2 Bramblings in the catch; a good start to what became a very productive morning.



adult male Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)

The feed had clearly attracted a good number of birds especially Greenfinches with a total of 30 being ringed. Chaffinches were surprisingly scarce with only 2 caught and outnumbered by the final total of 5 Brambling ringed. The Goldcrest lure produced the goods with 10 new birds and the Redpoll lure pulled in 3 Lessers.

first winter male Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

One interesting feature of the morning was the high proportion of adults in the catch - 3 of the 5 Bramblings, 6 of the 30 Greenfinches, 8 of the 10 Great Tits and all 3 Lesser Redpolls. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the rest of the winter.

 

Adult male Greenfinch showing the key ageing features - clean yellow outer webs of alula with pearly grey tips, pearly grey tips to all of the primary coverts and rounded tail shape, all primaries and tail feathers are fresh.

Ringing Totals:

Greenfinch  30

Brambling  5
Chaffinch  2
Lesser Redpoll  3
Bullfinch  1
Great Tit  10
Blue Tit  6 (+4)
Coal Tit  0 (+2)
Robin  1
Dunnock  1 (+1)
Blackbird  1 (+1)
Goldcrest  10

Total  70 (+8 retraps)

Christmas is coming

I went up to Haigh this morning as I have been baiting the site all week and it also offered the best chance of shelter from the cold northerly wind. It felt more like winter than late October with a very sharp frost. I soon regretted wearing wellies with thin socks as I quickly lost the circulation in my toes; very painful.

I put up a 60ft and 30ft net in the usual dog leg and also set up 3 MP3 lures. In general the catching rate was what you might call steady all morning but there were far fewer Chaffinches than expected given the habitat. The MP3 lures added 8 Goldcrests and 4 Lesser Redpolls to the catch and possibly helped the Greenfinch totals too.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
 

Visible migration was dominated by Pink-footed Geese with at least 750 birds in 5 skeins flying south-east. At least 4 other skeins were heard and not seen so the total could have easily exceeded 1,000. Around 80 Redwings were seen flying west and 3 Fieldfares flew north. Only 6 Redpolls were recorded, 4 of which were caught and a group of 3 Siskins flew north.

Ringing totals were (recaptures in brackets):

Greenfinch 28 (1)

Goldcrest 8
Lesser Redpoll 4
Goldfinch 1
Chaffinch 7 (1)
Bullfinch 2 (1)
Great Tit 13 (1)
Blue Tit 7 (2)
Coal Tit 1 (3)
Robin 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Dunnock (1)
Totals 73 new birds (+10 retraps)



Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

After returning home and lunch I walked across the road to Orrell Water Park to check out the Black-headed Gulls for rings/darvics. I took the big camera and long lens so I could photograph any ringed birds. The only ringed Black-headed Gull was an adult wearing a chunky foreign type ring. I managed to take enough photos to get the full number and address which showed it was ringed in Germany. This is the first German Black-headed Gull I have controlled.

 

German ringed Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) photographed Orrell Water Park 27.10.12

 

Sunday 7th October

Yesterday started off with a morning ringing session at Haigh. I had been baiting the site for a few days so I knew I was guaranteed a few birds but Goldcrests were the main interest. On arrival I heard my first Redwings of the autumn and at first light 60 or so flew out of the canopy.

 

I put up two nets; one near the feed and another near a large area of brambles that still have a good crop of blackberries in the hope of a few Blackcaps. I put on a Goldcrest lure and 6 new birds were caught within a few minutes. After that initial little rush the morning progressed in a steady fashion.

Overhead there was very little southerly passage apart from a few Meadow Pipits, House Martins, Swallows and Chaffinches. A few more Redwings blogged about in random directions along with one or two Song Thrushes but that was about it for visible migration. A very poor showing for the time of year and probably not helped by rolling banks of fog that affected the region.

Goldcrest topped the ringing totals with 12 new birds but two Jays made the biggest impression; on me at least. The biggest surprise was the complete absence of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps.

 

 

 

 

Yes they really do hurt and they both got my finger in the same place.

 

Haigh Totals

Goldcrest 12

Coal Tit 6 (+3)

Great Tit 6 (+3)

Blue Tit 5 (+3)

Nuthatch 3 (+1)

Goldfinch 3

Chaffinch 2

Robin 2

Jay 2

Lesser Redpoll 1

Wren 1

Total 43 new (+10 retraps)

 

I briefly called at my mothers on my way home and the calls of Goldcrests tempted me to put up a net in the garden which added another two and a Dunnock to the day’s total.


Adult female Goldcrest



Adult Goldcrest tail feather shape

On getting home I rounded off the day trying for a few Goldfinches in the garden in near perfect conditions. Another 19 birds were added to the ringing totals including 13 new Goldfinches. 

Final ringing totals for the day were:

Goldcrest 14

Coal Tit 6 (+3)

Great Tit 6 (+3)

Blue Tit 5 (+3)

Nuthatch 3 (+1)

Goldfinch 16 (+2)

Chaffinch 2

Robin 3

Jay 2

Lesser Redpoll 1

Wren 1

Collared Dove 1

Dunnock 2

House Sparrow 1

Total 63 new (+12 retraps)

Before and after gets ten out of ten

The weather forecast was really good for mist netting this morning so I decided to squeeze in a quick ringing session before work. Being based in an office at a country park which is also one of my ringing sites also helped.


The office

Blackcaps were going to be the target and two males were singing at the side of the car park behind the stable block on my arrival. A 20ft net was quickly erected and a short burst of Blackcap song from the mp3 player produced a female (first female of the spring) and then a male.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)

The net was then moved about 50 metres and the male of another pair was caught within a couple of minutes. The female came close but skirted round the net twice so I decided to move on. Before I did I noticed a Chiffchaff nest building close by and seemingly oblivious to my presence; one to find on another day.

I then went round to the area I use as a baited site as I also wanted to collect all the feeders so I could give them a clean before putting them into storage for the summer. I quickly put up the 20ft net again, as I still had time, and a Willow Warbler and then another male Blackcap were both caught in less time than it had taken to put up the net. It was far too nice a day to go to work but unfortunately the bills don't pay themselves so I had to pack up and head to the office.


Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)

My work took me to Pennington Flash Country Park later in the day and as the weather was still ideal for netting another short ringing session beckoned before going home. Same technique, 20 ft net and two locations 12 metres apart producing another three male Blackcaps, a Chiffchaff and by catch in the form of a Willow Tit.


Willow Tit (Poecile montanus)

Ringing totals for the day: Blackcap 7
Willow Warbler 1
Chiffchaff 1
Willow Tit 1
Total 10