Not much to report from the cold weather.

The recent cold weather didn't result in any significant increase in birds visiting my garden and perhaps that is because we didn't get much snow in this area. Siskin, Long-tailed Tit and Starling actually visited less frequently and in smaller numbers than they had before the onset of the cold weather, which was a bit of a surprise. The smaller numbers of Siskin and Long-tailed Tit was mirrored by a dip in the BirdTrack reporting rate so it wasn't just a local phenomena as far as those species were concerned. On the other hand, the reporting rate for Starling increased on BirdTrack so my garden bucked the trend in that case. Garden birds just didn't seem to be pushed for food in this neck of the woods and the only unusual visitor I had in the garden was a Black-headed Gull that dropped in and took some bread from the lawn. It was a one legged individual and would have found feeding more difficult at the best of times so the fact that it risked landing in a small enclosed garden, crossed by telephone lines, during a severe cold spell is not as surprising as it otherwise might have been.

I have seen some effects of the cold weather when out an about including a few Woodcock in unexpected places, a sizeable flock of Redwing foraging in a woodland and a few displaced Meadow Pipits, but that is about it for me. Several checks of the Black-headed Gulls on Orrell Water Park have only produced one ringed bird that I have not encountered before and that bird was ringed as an adult near Hempsted in Gloucestershire on 13th  January 2007. The Scottish and 2 German ringed Black-headed Gulls have been seen from time to time and all 4 ringed Black-headed Gulls were photographed yesterday along with a ringed Coot that was originally ringed in south Wales. 

EL71428 first photographed on 28/02/2018 and again yesterday.

It rarely kept still so I had to take quite a few photographs before I managed to get the full ring number - EL71428

Scottish ringed Black-headed Gull EZ33149 has been a regular this winter.

German ringed Black-headed Gull DEH IA141745 almost has a full brown hood now.

 German ringed Black-headed Gull DEW 5437612 has barely started to get its brown hood.

Coot GR03863 was originally ringed at Comeston Lakes, near Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan on 23/12/2010 and has been recorded at Orrell Water Park on numerous occasions since. 

Curly claws, pigeon porn and other garden goings on.

I was photographing birds in the garden yesterday afternoon when I noticed a Goldfinch that was sat belly down on a branch. It had its back to me but its abnormal posture clearly indicated that something was wrong. At first I thought it was a sickly individual, perhaps suffering from trichomonosis, but then I realised it had abnormally long claws and couldn't grip the branch normally.

I eventually managed to get some photos of it face on and apart from its feet it appears to be in good condition.

I have occasionally come across birds with overgrown bills but it is more unusual to see birds with hugely overgrown claws. It obviously had some form of skin condition affecting its feet, possibly knemidocoptic mange, and this has presumably led to the overgrowth of the claws. It was able to use the feeders that have perches but the state of its feet must impede it when more acrobatic feeding methods are required. Diseases that affect birds feet are becoming an increasing health issue for birds that are attracted to garden and other feeding stations with Chaffinches being the most affected species.

As for the pigeon porn, it was, as you may have guessed, just a pair of Woodpigeons mating. It is quite early for them to be breeding but then a pair of Woodpigeons usually manages to rear an early brood near the garden. I have seen recently fledged young in early to mid April in previous years and allowing for a nestling period of about 33 days and and incubation period of 17 days that gives a first egg date in mid to late February, so this pair is continuing that early breeding trend.

Mating Woodpigeons. Spring was certainly in the air for this pair.

The last week has seen a increase in the number of Siskins visiting the garden feeders, not a big increase but a noticeable one nevertheless. I still haven't seen more than 10 at the feeders at any one time but the varying proportions of males and females along with ringed and unringed birds shows there is quite a bit of turnover during the course of a day. In addition, recent ringing activity has produced 16 new birds and photography has shown that some of the savvy returning ringed birds are still present and avoiding recapture. However, the most obvious sign of the higher numbers has been the increase in the volume of chatter coming from the birds when they sit in the tops of the trees between bouts of feeding.

Almost two thirds of the Siskins caught this winter have been adults which suggests they didn't have a particularly good breeding season last year.

Although I wasn't able to get the full ring number this bird is almost certainly one that was ringed in the garden last winter or early spring.

Long-tailed Tits are still regular visitors but the flocks have largely split into pairs now. With some very cold temperatures forecast for the next week it will be interesting to see if any of the flocks reform temporarily or if they remain in pairs.

I managed to read just enough of this bird's ring number to be able to say that this one was ringed during the winter of 2014/15.

Robins don't feature in the blog very often but an unringed bird appeared to be a newcomer to the garden and was doing its best to assert its place in the pecking order. There was a lot more in the way of chasing than I have seen of late and it seemed to have claimed top slot by the end of yesterday. Its reign may only be temporary though as there is likely to be a lot more competition and far more aggression between the local Robins as we move into the spring.

Cock Robin 22/02/17.

Goldcrests have been regulars at the feeders this winter and, even though there is usually only one bird in attendance, ringing has shown that four birds have acquired the habit of feeding on the fat cakes and fragments of sunflower hearts.

Lastly, a Wren has also taken to feeding on the fat cakes and is a frequent visitor to the fat cake in the bird table trap. It is free to come and go as often as it likes as the trap has a manually operated door that is left open and is only used very selectively.

For the record all of the photos were taken through double glazing which does have an effect on image quality, well that is my excuse. I have come to the conclusion that it is better to make that compromise on image quality rather than risk missing out on photo opportunities and adding to global warming by leaving the windows wide open for hours at a time. That's all for now and I hope you found something of interest.

Long-tailed Tit feeding behaviour.

Way back in December 2013, the 24th to be precise, I was watching birds visiting the feeders in the garden when I noticed a Long-tailed Tit hanging from a twig by one leg whilst holding a sunflower heart in the foot of the free leg and feeding on it. I had never seen a Long-tailed Tit feeding on a sunflower heart in this manner before and I couldn't find any descriptions or reports of this behaviour in the literature I had to hand or from internet searches. I posted a brief account of what I had seen on the blog at the time and a link to that post can be found here.

It didn't appear to be common behaviour amongst the many Long-tailed Tits visiting the garden back then and although I observed this feeding behaviour on more than one occasion later that winter it may have been limited to just one individual. This was one of those situations when it would have been really informative if the Long-tailed Tits were colour-ringed as I would have been able to establish how many individuals were involved but what I can say is I didn't see more than one bird feeding in this manner at the same time.

I have seen and photographed Long-tailed Tits using this feeding method each winter since that first encounter and it has gradually become more common amongst the birds that visit the garden. I haven't started colour-ringing my Long-tailed Tits (yet) so it is still not possible to be certain of the number of individuals involved but last weekend (13th & 14th Jan) at least 4 were using the 'hanging and holding' feeding method simultaneously out of a total of ten or so that were in the garden at that time. Establishing numbers is further complicated by the fact that more than one Long-tailed Tit flock may visit the garden over the course of a day and birds from the same flock may switch between feeding on sunflower hearts and fat cakes but there is no doubt it has become more prevalent amongst the the birds that visit my garden. This also begs the question as to what extent it is an innate skill as opposed to having to be learned. Again colour-ring could help answer that as it could show if there are any differences between age groups (potentially a nice line of research for someone).

There is a bit more to it than just hanging upside down and eating - a Long-tailed Tit will take a sunflower heart from the feeder and carry it in its bill to a suitable twig and then hang upside down before transferring the seed to one of its feet. Now I don't know if individuals have a preference over which foot they hang from and which foot they hold the seed in or if they can be ambipedal but I have seen individuals hang from either foot and photos in this post show that (now there is another research project for someone). The twig that an individual chooses to hang from may be near the feeder but is often one or two metres away, presumably to avoid disturbance from larger species that may come to use the feeder. The twig selected obviously has to be a suitable diameter to enable the bird to get a good grip and the way the tendons work in the birds leg and foot probably allows it to hang with little or no effort.

There are a couple of aspects of this feeding behaviour that I find really interesting, one is that they seem to be increasingly taking advantage of a relatively new food source in the form of sunflower hearts and the other is the question of how common and widespread it has become. With that in mind I contacted Kate Risely, who runs the BTO Garden Birdwatch project, to see if it was something she was aware of and if had been reported before. Kate wasn't aware of any reports of this behaviour and thought it was interesting enough to try and find out how common and widespread it is by putting a request out on Twitter (link here). 

Kate also did a little digging and kindly pointed me to some references in the literature on Long-tailed Tits feeding whilst holding food items in one foot and hanging from the other. Two of them were notes in British Birds, one from 1959 and the other from 1989, and related to food items that had been provided. Ornithologist Derek Goodwin commented on the latter report saying: 'this is normal and usual behaviour if a Long-tailed Tit finds an insect too big to be swallowed immediately'. This shows the feeding method itself is not that unusual, although I would say I think it is one that is easily missed or overlooked in anything other than a garden or feeding station setting as Long-tailed Tit flocks are usually always on the move. However, the use of this feeding method to exploit sunflower hearts taken from feeders does appear to be relatively new.  It remains to be seen how common and widespread it is or if it is an increasing trend as has been the experience in my garden. Early replies to the BTO tweet show it has been noted elsewhere but none make comment on how long it has been happening or if it is increasing at the locations concerned.

References:
Hall-Craggs, J (1959) British Birds 52, 21-2.
Shackleton, K (1989) British Birds 82, 373-4.

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.

17/01/16: Water Rail and BLB Blackcap steal the show.

I woke to find there was a decent covering of snow so I decided to have a walk around the park across the road from my home before everybody and their dogs decided to do so. I headed up to the small reserve area to see if the Water Rail would put in an appearance before the site got too busy but as a made my way there it was clear that many dog walkers were already out and about.

The wintry scene that greeted me as I made my way through the park.

There was no sign of the Water Rail at first but Robins were following me around hoping I had some food in my pocket. I have loads of photos of Robins but it is hard to resist taking more when they pose in the snow, so now I have even more.

Robin

The feeding station was attracting quite a few birds as you would expect and my eyes were drawn to two Starlings that were feeding from a fat filled coconut. Both were birds I had colour-ringed in my garden last year as part of my RAS (Retrapping Adults for Survival) project.

B80 was ringed in the garden on 26/05/15 and was a breeding adult male when ringed. The base of its bill has already turned blue even though the breeding season is some way off.

It didn't look like the Water Rail would show for me but then I noticed it lurking under some overhanging branches. Eventually it moved into a more open area and I manged to get a few shots.

The Moorhen looked the more nervous of the two as it made its way past. 

A Grey Wagtail was feeding in the same area but the light levels were too low to get any really good shots.

Bathing and feather maintenance is important whatever the weather.

After bathing it was time for a good scratch and a preen.

On getting home I grabbed a coffee and was watching the birds in the garden when I noticed a ringed male Blackcap on one of the fat cakes. I assumed it was the male I had ringed in late December even though I hadn't seen it for a couple of weeks. I decided to try and grab a few photos of it to see if I could read the ring number and luckily I managed to get a few good shots quite quickly. On reviewing them on the back of the camera I could see the ring number was above the address rather than below it which meant it must be a foreign ring !!!! (the address would be above the number if it were a British ring of that size). Obviously it wasn't the bird I had ringed in December as I had initially thought and I was so glad that I had decided to photograph it. 

Where are you from.

It also fed on the ground below one of the feeders but this was too far away to get good images of the ring even when it was showing the ringed leg.

Although the ring is upside down you can make out a 2 and a 9. I rotated the image to make it easier to read.

The ringed leg of the Blackcap was often obscured while it was feeding and after a short bouts of feeding it would disappear for a while making the task far from easy. I thought about putting a net up to try and catch it but decided against it as there was a bit of a breeze and with so much snow on the bushes and on the ground the net would have been easier for the bird to see. The camera seemed the best option in the circumstances and while I was waiting for the Blackcap to feed I photographed a few of the other birds that were visiting the garden.

Male Starling

2CY male Blackbird

Male Siskin.
The odd Siskin has been visiting the garden in the last week but there were several today. Hopefully they will be daily visitors from now on and numbers will build up as we move towards the spring.

Long-tailed Tits

This Grey Wagtail is a regular visitor to the garden and feeds on scraps that have fallen from the feeders.

Goldfinch

A few hundred photographs and a few hours later I still wasn't sure if I had managed to get the full number or the address on the ring. I loaded all of the images onto my computer and sifted through them. It was impossible to make out the numbers on the ring in most of the images but with a lot of cropping and a bit of manipulation there was just enough detail in some of them to make out all of the numbers and a few of the letters of the address. I was confident I had the full number but I couldn't quite make out the address which is just as important when it comes to tracing a ring. However, when I looked at images of foreign rings on the web and compared them with mine I soon became certain that it was a Belgian ring and the letters I could read were from the middle part of the word 'Brussels'.

The 2 was the give away that the numbers were above the address and those letters on the lower line of the address appear to be part of the word 'Brussels'.

Cropping and manipulation of this image revealed the last two numbers - 8 and 6.

I went through the images several times and manipulated the usable ones in different ways and I am now happy it does say Brussels and it is a Belgian ring. I will be submitting the details to the BTO in the next few days and I will post details of when and exactly where the bird was ringed in due course.