Spring fever

Today was always going to be too nice to do anything other than get out and make the most of it. I have never known a more eagerly awaited spring but it is hardly surprising after the miserable, wet and windy winter we have endured. Spring fever is evident in many birding blogs and websites and I am showing some symptoms too. In my case a sure sign of spring fever or should I say migration fever is a willingness to be up before first light several mornings on the trot but then it isn't often that good birding and good weather coincide in the UK.

This morning I went to the baited site at Longshaw with Wayne (WP), a trainee ringer. There had been a good number of Chaffinches and a few Bramblings present when I had topped up the feeders yesterday afternoon so I hoped to catch a few this morning. We put up the usual nets and waited for the birds to arrive whilst listening to the background chorus of Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Robin, Wren and Treecreeper to name a few. The first round of the nets only produced a Dunnock and a Chaffinch and the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds weren't any better. There were a few finches around and we had a group of 7 Bramblings circle the area but they were reluctant to come down for some reason. Although the ringing was slow there were a few birds on the move including 2 Grey Wagtails, 4 alba Wagtails, 2 Lesser Redpolls, 4 Linnets and Skylark. A Chiffchaff was almost certainly new in and sang occasionally and up to 4 Buzzards circled overhead.

We had only caught 8 birds by 11:20 and I began to think we should have packed up earlier when we suddenly started to catch a few finches and Wayne got his first Brambling, a fine male. This first Brambling was soon followed by another 4, all equally fine males, along with a good backing cast of Chaffinches and Greenfinches. We ended up with a total of 34 birds, 26 of which were caught in an hour and a half around midday when catching normally tails off! This is the second time this has happened at this site recently so I am going to try an afternoon session next time to see how we get on.

male Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
None of the Bramblings were carrying much in the way of fat so they may be around for a week or two yet.

Ringing totals for 10/03/14 with retraps in brackets -

Brambling 5

Chaffinch 14

Greenfinch 5

Bullfinch 1

Wren 1

Goldcrest 1

Dunnock 1 (1)

Long-tailed Tit (1)

Robin (1)

Great Tit (2)

Blue Tit (1)

Total 28 (+ 6 retraps)

Spring fever takes many forms and it also caused me to put the moth trap on last night for the first time this year. There was a very modest catch of 3 Common Quakers, a Clouded Drab, a Hebrew Character and an Oak Beauty but a good start to the season nevertheless. Hopefully this year will be a much better year for migrant moths, it certainly couldn't be any worse than last year turned out to be. I will run the trap most nights now until early November or perhaps a bit later depending on how the year goes.

Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi)

Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta)

Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica)

Oak Beauty (Biston strataria)

flammea, was good to see ya.

The baited site at Longshaw was the venue for this morning's ringing session. The forecast was for a pleasant spring day with little or no breeze and that's just what we got. Having said that it was rather chilly to start with and for much of the morning for that matter. Two 60ft nets were deployed as usual and I played a Redpoll lure under one of them. The use of the MP3 lure was more speculative than anything as there have been no Redpolls in the immediate area and spring passage doesn't usually get underway until mid-March or later.

The catching rate was surprisingly slow to start with and only improved a bit as the morning went on. This is the opposite of how a ringing session usually goes but at least it did pick up just enough to stop me from packing up early. Things started to improve when I heard a Redpoll call back to the MP3 lure. I only thought a single bird was involved but when I went to the net I was greeted by a fine Common Redpoll and 2 Lesser Redpolls in the middle of the net. This is the first Common or Mealy Redpoll, as I prefer to call them, that I have caught in quite a long time. In fact the last time I caught one, Mealy and Lesser Redpolls weren't treated as separate species so I could almost say I ringed a new species today.

Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) 01/03/14.

Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) and Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis cabaret) 01/03/14.

The other star bird of the morning was a rather handsome Willow Tit. We are lucky in that there still seems to be a stable population in this area although they are fairly thinly scattered even in their favoured habitats. The finally tally for the morning was a satisfactory 22 new birds and 10 retraps. Ringing totals (retraps in brackets) were - Chaffinch 10 (1), Greenfinch 4, Lesser Redpoll 2, Common Redpoll 1, Dunnock 2 (1), Robin (2), Song Thrush 1, Blue Tit 1 (3), Great Tit (2), Willow Tit 1 and Long-tailed Tit (1).

Willow Tit (Poecile montanus) 01/03/14.

On getting home there was still very little in the way of any breeze and it had become quite overcast so I decided to put a net up in the garden to catch a few more Siskins.  My approach to catching Siskins in the garden is to only do very short ringing sessions of about an hour every 2 or 3 days if the weather allows and with the way the weather has been that has not been easy to achieve. This afternoon's total was 9 new Siskins and 2 retraps along with a new Greenfinch. One of the retrap Siskins had increased its weight by 1.8g in a week and the other by 1.1g in 3 days, not a bad increase for a bird that usually weights around 11 or 12g. I have now caught 50 different Siskins in the garden in the past week with 49 being new birds and 1 a retrap from last spring. Hopefully there will be a lot more Siskins to come this month and through into early April and with a bit of luck a some more Redpolls too.

Siskin (Carduelis spinus) 01/03/14.

Siskin (Carduelis spinus) 01/03/14.
One of 50 caught in the garden in the past 7 days.

Monday 07/10/13

I took the day off work as I had to take the dog to the vets before he chewed one of his legs off. He had developed a skin complaint on one of his back legs and it wasn’t improving on its own or with any of our remedies. I also needed to sort out a few other things that can only be done and chased up in the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday world.

On the plus side the moth trap finally turned up a decent migrant moth in the form of a Vestal. It was only the fourth I have ever caught in the garden but my joy was short lived when my attempt to photograph it failed miserably. I have photographed them before but as I won’t use old photographs in my blog you will have to click here if you want to know what they look like.

This evening I wandered up to Longshaw to see how many Linnets were roosting in the willows. There is a roost there every autumn and that is what first drew me to the site but numbers vary year to year depending on the crops planted in the area. As things turned out there weren’t many Linnets in the roost but I still caught a few bird including 4 Linnets.

Linnet (Carduelis cannabina)

The one and only Chiffchaff caught was interesting in that the end of its tail had broken off. I have mentioned fault barring in previous posts and that this can lead to feathers breaking along the line of weakness and here was potentially a good example. The impact on the bird will vary with the location of the break but will never be good even in a minor example like this one. The broken feathers will not be replaced until the next moult which could be 6 or 12 months away depending on the species involved. 

Chiffchaff tail 07/10/13.

The weather is likely to take a turn for the worse towards the end of the week so I am not sure when I will post again. It could be good for Little Auks if the northerlies are strong enough on the coast and probably some winter thrushes by the end of the week too.

A mixed bag

I went to the ringing site at Longshaw this morning as I thought there could be a bit of finch passage and there should be a few Chiffchaffs and crests around. I wanted to be set up by first light but was late as usual and 2 Lesser Redpolls flew over just as I finished putting up a 60ft net. The plan was to lure birds to the net by playing songs from 3 MP3 players and I started off playing Redpoll, a warbler / Long-tailed Tit mix and Linnet.

Willow Tit

female Goldcrest

Feathers blown back to reveal the orange crown of a male Goldcrest

Chiffchaff

A few birds were attracted almost immediately with 2 Chiffchaffs and singles of Linnet, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Willow Tit being caught. Overhead there was a steady trickle of Meadow Pipits heading south along with a few Skylarks. A few Chaffinches were also on the move and 5 Swallows were noted but there was very little else. Ringing tailed off mid-morning but final tally of 26 new birds a 1 retrap wasn't bad considering only 1 net was used.

Ringing totals for Longshaw 05/10/13 (retraps in brackets)
Chiffhaff 6
Goldcrest 4
Wren 1
Blackcap 1
Robin 1
Dunnock 1
Blue Tit 6
Great Tit 2
Willow Tit 1
Coal Tit 1
Long-tailed Tit (1)
Lesser Redpoll 1
Linnet 1
Total 26 (+1)

On getting home I checked the moth trap. There hasn't been much of interest for a while but with some good migrant moths turning up at coastal sites there is always a chance. There were a few migrants in the trap but nothing special, just 2 Silver Ys', a Diamond-backed Moth and a very worn Rush Veneer. A very fresh Red-green Carpet brightened things up but then I noticed a moth called 'The Streak' on the side of the trap. This is not a migrant or rare moth but is one I rarely catch and is only the second I have seen. It has a widespread but patchy distribution as the larval food plant is broom.

Red-green Carpet

The Streak

As the wind was still light I put a net up in the garden in the afternoon. Goldfinches are still eating me out of house and home so I expected to add a few more to the total. A couple of hours later another 16 new Goldfinches had been ringed. Most were juveniles in various stages of the partial post juvenile moult but one had almost undergone a complete moult having replaced its tail and most of its flight feathers. This bird was presumably from an early brood. Such an extensive moult is very rare in juvenile Goldfinches from the UK and is more typical of birds from southern Europe.

Note the new glossy black primaries contrasting with browner and slightly
worn outer 2 juvenile primaries. If this had been an adult that had
 suspended its moult the unmoulted feathers would be much more obvious
 and would be heavily worn and bleached.

Juv Goldfinch detailed in the text and photo above.
Note the rounded adult type tail feathers.

Ringing totals for the garden 05/10/13 (retraps in brackets)
Goldfinch 16 (1)
Chaffinch 2
Greenfinch 2
Blue Tit 1
Great Tit 1
Dunnock 1
House Sparrow (1)
Total 23 (+2)

'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.

 

Super Saturday

I have been putting plenty of seed down at the feeding stations at Longshaw and Haigh during the week and made some additional feeders to ensure there is a continuous supply of seed. The large capacity and design of the feeders should mean they will only need refilling a couple of times a week although that could change if the number of birds continues to increase. When I went to put food out on Thursday there were good numbers of finches present including 30+ Bramblings at both sites so I was keen to try and fit in a ringing session at each over the weekend, weather permitting.



This morning looked like being the only decent opportunity for ringing with a forecast of heavy rain and increasing winds from late Saturday afternoon through to Sunday morning. I decided to go to Longshaw as there was also the chance of luring a Waxwing in again although expecting a repeat of last week was a real long shot. I met up with John G and we had 3 nets up before first light, one 60ft and two 30ft nets. I also set up a couple of MP3 lures players playing Waxwing on the off chance. 

Bramblings and Chaffinches started dropping in shortly after first light but no Greenfinches. For some reason Greenfinches only start to arrive about an hour or so later and peak numbers are only present from around mid morning onwards. I am not sure why there should be such a difference in arrival times between these species but it is very noticeable. The distance from their respective roost sites could be a factor but can’t really explain such a big difference in arrival times and the even later build up in numbers of Greenfinches. They may simply leave their roost sites at different times but that would seem strange for similar species with the same diet. Anyway there is always something to learn and that is what keeps my interest. 

The morning progressed in a steady fashion but with fewer retraps than might be expected given the number of birds ringed last Sunday. At around 9:30 a single Waxwing turned up but history didn’t repeat itself and it wasn’t caught. On the next round of the nets 2 Coal Tits were amongst the catch of finches which is not that unusual but one of these birds was a control (ringed elsewhere); ring number starting Y99. There has been an eruption of this species in the UK this autumn so it will be interesting to find out where this bird has come from. Hopefully it will be more than a local movement.

We packed up at around 11:30 having caught 62 new birds and 16 recaptures. Finches dominated the totals with 22 Brambling (including 3 retraps), 20 Chaffinch and 19 Greenfinch. 

The sky had greyed during the morning and the wind was still very light so I persuaded John to give Haigh a try in the afternoon before the rain arrived. After a quick bite to eat we drove up to Haigh and put up a couple of nets. The breeze was picking up but this was offset to some extent by it being very dull and overcast. 

Afternoon ringing sessions are usually much less productive as birds have had all morning to feed up and there is usually more wind making nets easier to see. There were a lot of finches present on arrival with over 60 in the vicinity of the feeders, mainly Bramblings and Greenfinch. Two Blue Tits were caught in the first net while the second was being put up getting us off to a very quick start. 

Bramblings dominated the subsequent catches and made up a third of the afternoon’s total of 75 birds. One of these Bramblings was a control (ringed elsewhere); ring number starting D170. This was aged as a first year bird and will have been ringed relatively recently because of that; possibly as a newly arrived migrant on the east coast. The first spot of rain arrived shortly after 15:30 curtailing a very productive 3 hour afternoon ringing session.

 

Adult male Brambling left and first winter male Brambling right. Note the more extensive orange across the breast of the adult and the narrower and less extensive pale fringes to the head feathers.

The total for the day was 153 birds, comprised of 107 new birds and 46 recaptures. Bramblings made up nearly one third of this total with 43 new birds, 3 retraps and 1 control. This brings the number of Brambling ringed this autumn to 80 which is an exceptional total for us this early in the season. Anyone who has read my last few posts will know that Bramblings have featured in one way or another and that looks set to continue on today’s performance. Most of my ringing effort will be at these two baited sites until next spring so I am likely to become a real Brambling bore judging by recent performance. Such events don’t come around very often and I will happily bore you with many more Brambling related posts given half a chance. 

Today’s ringing totals, retraps in brackets:

Brambling 43 (+4 including a control)
Greenfinch 31 (+2)
Chaffinch 23
Bullfinch 0 (+2)
Blue Tit 6 (+17)
Great Tit 1 (+5)
Coal Tit 1 (+3 including a control)
Long-tailed Tit 0 (+5)
Blackbird 2 (+1)
Robin 0 (+5)
Dunnock 0 (+1)
Nuthatch 0 (+1)
Totals 107 new birds (+46 recaptures)

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)

Really Fogged Off

My heart sank when mist and fog were forecast for this morning and sank further still when I got up at 05:50 to find the forecast was correct. Fog is generally bad news for ringing as it can suppress any migration and makes nets easier to see. I had three choices – go back to bed, watch the Korean Grand Prix or go ringing at Longshaw as planned and hope that it would lift quite quickly.


Sunrise through the gloom at a foggy Longshaw ringing site.

Adjacent farmland through the gloom.

I went with the latter and hoped the fog would burn off leaving clear blue skies and stimulating some movement. I put up a couple of nets and set up a couple of mp3 lures playing Grey Wagtail and Goldcrest initially. The first round of the nets lifted my spirits a little with a Grey Wagtail and Song Thrush being caught. The Song Thrush appeared to be a continental bird being more olive grey on the upper parts, especially noticeable on the nape,mantle and rump unlike our much browner British version.

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos).
The generally olive-grey upperpart of this bird suggested it was of continental origin.

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos). Olive-grey back and rump suggest this bird is of continental origin.

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

The fog looked like it would clear quite quickly at first and allowed few birds to move but then closed in again, only finally clearing at 11:30. A few Song Thrushes were calling from the bushes and 3 others flew south east but only two Redwings were seen. The first Brambling of the autumn was heard and 4 Reed Buntings moved south through the bushes. A single Redpoll appeared through the gloom followed much later by a group of 3 as the sun came out. Meagre pickings from what would have been a really good day, without the fog that is.

 

male Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)

 

Ringing totals:
Grey Wagtail 1
Lesser Redpoll 2
Blue Tit 2
Long-tailed Tit 2
Song Thrush 1
Blackbird 1
Wren 1
Goldcrest 1
Coal Tit 1
Reed Bunting 1
Robin 1
Total 14

So So Weekend

The forecast for Saturday was for wall to wall sunshine after a frosty start and very light winds so I decided to give Longshaw a try. I had a couple of nets up at first light but it was soon evident that birds were going to be few and far between with few birds calling in the bushes and only a trickle of birds passing overhead. It was so quiet that I resorted to taking some frosty photos to pass the time. Only 8 birds were ringed but they did include the first Lesser Redpoll of the autumn and a Grey Wagtail.

On returning home the calm conditions tempted me to put a net up in the garden as the feeders have been attracting good numbers of Goldfinches recently. The strong sunlight made the net more visible than I would have liked and some bird could clearly see it. However, it didn’t put the birds off and 25 new and 1retrap Goldfinches were caught along with a few bits and bobs. Had it been overcast more would have been caught as many birds clearly had no trouble avoiding the net.


Juvenile Goldfinch replacing primaries

In the evening I went down to Scotman’s Flash to see if any Swallows were still roosting there. Conditions were perfect as a little cloud had bubbled up but, unfortunately, it was also perfect for midges and mosquitoes which really made their presence felt. Three Reed Warblers were caught before the first Swallows arrived and the calls of several Water Rails carried across the reed bed along with a brief burst of song from a Cetti’s Warbler. Initially only 4 Swallows appeared but around 50 eventually gathered as the light started to fail and 22 were caught including 1 retrap. Interestingly the retrap had been ringed in the roost on 2^nd September so has stayed around for a good while.

 

Sunday was forecast to start calm but with a strengthening easterly wind picking up. I decided to give Longshaw another try but it was much as yesterday with little in the bushes or passing overhead. Only 9 birds were caught but they did include another Lesser Redpoll and the first Siskin of the autumn; a fine adult female.


Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis cabaret) The flecks of white on the plumage are the remains of feather sheaths showing this bird is just completing its moult of body feathers..

Female Siskin (Carduelis spinus)

The final tally for the weekend was:
Grey Wagtail 1
Swallow 21 (+1 retrap)
Wren 1
Blackbird 1
Coal Tit 1
Blue Tit 3 (+1 retrap)
Great Tit 2
Greenfinch 1
Chaffinch 2
Lesser Redpoll 2
Siskin 1
Goldfinch 25 (+1 retrap)
Reed Warbler 3
Chiffchaff 4
Goldcrest 3

Total 71 (+3)

 

The best from the moth trap was a Small Tortoiseshell. Butterflies get caught very occasionally but are always a bit of a surprise. One insect that has been largely absent from my moth trap this autumn is wasps. I caught a few (queens) in the spring but very few this autumn and none this month; another and more welcome consequence of the poor summer weather.


Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)