Blogger's block

There is not much to report so this post could equally have been titled 'Same old same old', 'Shite weather', 'Roll on Spring' and so on. Yes there was some sunshine this morning but it didn't last long and the gloom soon returned in all of its forms. At least the next named storm (Imogen) is having the decency to deliver the worse of the forecast wind and rain much further south and is due to impact southwest England and south Wales tomorrow. It is not that I would wish such weather on those regions but the north of the country has had more than its fair share recently so it is a relief of sorts.

So if you haven't guessed already the birding, like the weather, is largely stuck in a rut and remains rather samey. If I did a school type register for birds visiting the garden there would be around 96% attendance from the usual suspects. Numbers of Goldfinches, Siskins and Redpolls haven't really changed, the Grey Wagtail attends everyday but misses lots of lessons, House Sparrows wag it (are absent, play hooky) nearly all of the time and the Belgian-ringed Blackcap remains the 'more often than not' foreign exchange student. Things have got so predictable that a one legged Great Tit stood out (well sort of wobbled out) as an obvious newcomer to the feeders today.

Away from the garden the birding isn't much better at any of my usual haunts, not that I have ventured out all that much. The best I can offer in the way of sightings and photographs are of a drake Mandarin that often frequents Orrell Water Park and was there again today. Even for a Mandarin this is a particularly 'plastic' duck as 'plastic ducks' go as it comes to bread and frequently displays to female Mallards. There are naturalised Mandarins that breed in the area but they keep to type and generally frequent rivers, canals and ponds in mature woodland and don't usually hang around with bread loving Mallards in parks.

Drake Mandarin, Orrell Water Park 07/02/2016.
Fine feathers, flesh and blood but 'plastic' nevertheless.
For readers of this blog that may not be familiar with the term 'plastic' being applied to a bird it is a term that is generally used for a none native species (mainly wildfowl) of dubious origin. In the case of a Mandarin in the UK this means a bird of recent captive origin rather than being from the naturalised (wild breeding) population. In other species of duck the term plastic means being from captive origin rather than being a genuine wild vagrant where such vagrancy is a possibility. For smaller species (mainly passerines) the term 'cage hopper' is often used instead of  'plastic' where escape is the likely source of the occurrence.

Drake Mandarin, Orrell Water Park 07/02/2016.

Drake Mandarin, Orrell Water Park 07/02/2016.
Not the rear of the year in my eyes but those sails (modified tertial feathers) are worth a look at from all angles.

Drake Mandarin, Orrell Water Park 07/02/2016

A drake Mandarin may be a stunning looking bird in its spring finery but the fact that it features in this blog shows how stagnant the birding is at the moment. Hopefully I will have something better to blog about next time although it is unlikely to look as good.

Slowing down

There has been a marked slowing down in visible migration over Billinge in the last couple of days and it is beginning to feel a bit more like winter. A few thrushes were still on the move yesterday and today with Redwings in high double figures and Fieldfares in the low hundreds on both days. Finch movement has all but stopped with just a few Chaffinches and Goldfinches going south. Lesser Redpolls have never really got going this autumn and are still very scarce with none seen yesterday and only one today. Goldcrest numbers have also dropped off with only one or two now being encountered.

Fieldfares and Woodpigeon
I tried getting some shots of birds flying across the face of the moon this morning but I always seemed to be ringing a bird when the best opportunities came or at least that is my excuse.

Woodpigeon.

The number of birds ringed has reduced, as would be expected with fewer birds passing through, but the first Fieldfare of the autumn was caught yesterday and followed by another two today. It is always good to catch a Sparrowhawk as they don't find their way into the nets all that often so I was pleased to catch a male yesterday and doubly so to catch a different male today. The combined ringing totals for yesterday and today were: Redwing 15; Fieldfare 3; Goldcrest 2; Sparrowhawk 2; Lesser Redpoll 1.

Although Fieldfare are more numerous at the moment they are much more difficult to catch than Redwings.

Sparrowhawk number 1

Sparrowhawk number 2, a much more richly coloured bird.

It is that time of year when I start to check out the gulls on the local park to see if any are wearing rings. I didn't see any ringed gulls there yesterday but a fine drake Mandarin seems to have taken up residence.

Mandarin

The weather for next week looks quite interesting and there could still be a few more thrushes to come on the back of the south easterly winds that have been forecast. I may be being too optimistic about the forecast and the birds but I will be out and about now and again to find out.

Back to black

On my way home from work I stopped off  to see how the Blackbird nest was doing that I mentioned in my last post. I was hardly dressed for the occasion but I thought I would give it a go. I managed to make my way down the bank and along the edge of the river to the nest without ruining my shoes so that was a good start. To my delight the Blackbird nest was still there and contained 4 healthy young; this was despite some recent heavy rain that could have caused a further bank collapse.

The young Blackbirds were the ideal size for ringing with their primary feathers just emerging from their sheaths. Based on the initial assessment they are now 7 days old but they won't fledge for another 7 days. It is a fairly exposed nest so they have done well to get to this stage. I will try and check on the nest again to see if they fledge successfully.

 

Feed me now.

During the visit a duck and drake Mandarin flew down the river which was nice to see. I haven't seen them on this stretch for a while so it is good to know they are still around.