Sprong

The British obsession with the weather has certainly been reinforced by the recent cold snaps and the meteorological tug of war that has been going on between winter and spring is not over yet. We certainly haven't seen much in the way of springlike weather so far this month and it has made for a stuttering start to the season for breeding birds and migrants alike. Undaunted by the weather I have been up to Billinge on each of the last 3 mornings (20th to 22nd) and while it felt far more like winter than spring there was just enough of interest to make each of the early starts worthwhile.

The 20th produced my first Wheatear and Stonechat of the spring with a second Stonechat joining the first later on in the morning. The nets only produced a handful of birds but a new Goldcrest will have been a migrant as they don't breed at the site and nearby breeders are already holding territory and singing with increasing frequency. An adult male Chaffinch with a long wing length of 93mm will also have been a migrant and should be heading back to Scandinavia fairly soon.

There were a few more species around on the 21st but it was one of those mornings where you have to work really hard to convince yourself that it was actually worth getting up before 5am. A solitary Brambling was an unconvincing highlight of the 42 species recorded, none of which were new for the year. Again the nets didn't produce much but another adult male Chaffinch of continental origin was caught, this one had a wing length of 94mm and was carrying quite a lot of fat, weighing in at 29.3g. That may not sound very heavy but it is when you compare it to a lean local male Chaffinch that was caught the same morning and only weighed 21.4g. It may have been an uninspiring morning in many respects but better that than staying in bed and wondering what could have been missed.

This Chaffinch was as fat as it looks.

The 22nd saw an improvement with a Jack Snipe being the standout highlight as it was a new species for the site. It was also another sign of migration albeit not the arriving Chiffchaff I had been expecting and hoping for. A Woodcock was seen and was likely to have been a passage migrant as I haven't seen any of the wintering birds recently. There was a bit more movement overhead with a few Meadow Pipits and Linnets heading north and a total of 17 Redwings heading south or south-east. Two Grey-lag Geese also made their way north in their typically noisy fashion but the pick of the visible migration was a female Merlin which sped north over the adjacent farmland and I considered myself lucky not to have missed it such was its rate of progress.

The nets weren't much busier than they had been on the previous two mornings but a Redwing was caught at first light and, interestingly, it only weighed 53.2g which is quite light and almost certainly a consequence of the recent severe weather. Two male Goldcrests were caught as they worked their way north through the bushes and it will be interesting to see how the Goldcrest population is judged to have have fared given the recent hard weather. If it turns out that they haven't done too badly it is probably because the cold snaps came at the end of the winter, when the days are much longer, which will have given them more time to find food. Yet another continental Chaffinch was caught, although at 90mm not quite as long-winged as the previous two, but judging by its weight and the fat deposits that could be seen under its skin it was obviously getting ready for a long journey.

Redwings had a really tough time during the recent cold spells and those that survived will have lost a lot of condition.

I don't catch many Goldcrests in spring but the fact that I have already caught a few suggests they may not have been hit as hard as they could have been had the cold snaps come earlier in the winter.

It may be the wrong type of spring at the moment, and it certainly doesn't look like it is going to get much better anytime soon, but I will keep plugging away to see what is moving despite the generally unfavourable weather patterns.

Anglesey 23rd - 30th April 2016

A week long break on Anglesey coincided with an unkind jet stream that resulted in a blast of cold arctic air. Fortunately the worst of the heavy and occasionally wintry showers missed us and the chill from moderate to strong north-westerly wind was partially offset by plenty of glorious sunshine. It wasn't a birding trip as such but I still got quite a few hours in, especially first thing in the morning, and you always have to carry bins or camera with you, don't you.

The breakwater at Holyhead certainly served its purpose in the face of a strong north-westerly.

The sea didn't seem to be particularly rough so it would be interesting to see what it is like during a big storm.

This is one of two Black Guillemots that were taking advantage of calmer conditions behind the breakwater

An Oystercatcher viewed from the living room window. This was one of a pair holding territory by the cottage that we stayed in, near Church Bay.

There were good numbers of Whimbrel around. Up to 39 commuted between the fields and the shore near the cottage.

Up to 70 did the same just a couple of kilometers down the coast .

There was a good scattering of Rock Pipits as you would expect.

Back near the cottage a pair of Stonechats were busily feeding young in the nest.

There were a few Wheatears passing through (mostly large Greenland birds).

Another Wheatear gets a bit of shelter from that cold north-westerly wind.
The barbed wire fence makes this photo for me.

While your not guaranteed to get good weather on Anglesey you would be unlucky not to see Choughs along any suitable stretch of coast.

This pair frequented the cliffs and clifftop pasture close to the cottage and coastal footpath. The male displays with quivering outstretched wings to a rather disinterested looking female.

She continued to feed and he continued to work those wings as they made their way along the bank. This was followed by a bit of an aerial display.

So the island wasn't lifting with migrants, as it could have been in late April, but it was still a good a week and a change of scenery that has set me up for several weeks of watching Starlings for my RAS project. In fact I started as soon as I got home and logged sightings of 34 colour-ringed Starlings coming to the fat cakes; I also caught and colour-ringed another three.

Sprung

It has been fairly quiet since my last post and the much anticipated arrival of early summer migrants has yet to happen in my neck of the woods. Having said that there have been a few Stonechats moving through the area in common with many coastal sites. A friend saw a party of 4 not far from my site at Billinge on the 8th and I came across a nice male there this afternoon.

I had my ringing gear with me including a couple of spring traps and a fresh supply of Waxworms. I set up one of the traps and baited it with a Waxworm and the Stonechat came to it almost immediately. Unfortunately the Stonechat managed to remove and eat the Waxworm without triggering the trap. The bird stayed feeding nearby so I decided to give it another go and I baited the trap again.

While I was waiting for the Stonechat to make its way down the fence line towards the trap I could see there were 3 Robins feeding on the ground in the same area. This looked a bit unusual as most Robins are in pairs now and not very tolerant of others in their territory so it made me wonder if these 3 could be migrants. They certainly weren't behaving like local breeding birds and were clearly intent on feeding up like the Stonechat. I thought one of the Robins may trigger the trap first but the Stonechat beat them to it and this time it was safely caught.

The 2 outermost greater coverts were slightly paler and browner than the remainder making it a first year bird.

Stonechats are fairly regular passage migrants in very small numbers at Billinge especially when the population is high. They had a really good breeding season in common with many birds last year and it looks like overwinter survival has been pretty good too.

Redwings, Redwings and more Redwings.

Redwings continued to pour over Billinge following the first big arrival on the 14th (post here) and a total of around 4,500 birds were estimated to have moved through during the period 15th to 18th. The biggest movement was on the 15th when upwards of 1500 were recorded during the morning with most going south. Counts were hampered by fog on the 16th and mist the next day but the weather didn't stop the Redwings from moving through in force on both days. Passage was almost as strong on the 18th despite a stiff southwesterly with 600+ heading south.The total number of birds involved will have been far higher as counts or estimates were only made during morning ringing sessions and some birds continued to move through in the afternoons and overnight.

Redwing, the bird of the week.

One Redwing had an unusual tail that looked like it had been dipped in white paint.

Some Redwings were well marked like this bird.

In direct contrast very few Redwings were recorded this morning with around 50 going south in the 2 hours from first light. This limited movement seemed to have stopped by 9am when the westerly wind became even stronger. Anyway I can't complain as it has been an impressive and memorable movement of Redwings and the ringing totals aren't bad either.

While the Redwings stole the show there were some notable numbers of Pink-footed Geese crossing the site on feeding flights. Skeins numbering in the low hundreds were seen on several days and at least 700 moved back and forth for a time on the 17th. The 17th also saw the first 2 Fieldfares go south. Small numbers of Song Thrush were also noted amongst the Redwings with around 10 to 15 being the most seen on any one day and few Mistle Thrush were also recorded going southeast. The Stonechats have continued to favour the same area and at least 5 were still present this morning and feeding just as voraciously.

Pink-footed Geese

The largest group of skeins couldn't be captured in one photo but this shot gives a flavour of the numbers of geese involved.

Normal Song Thrush (continental bird)

Not so normal Song Thrush. The face looks a bit Mistle Thrush like. Is it just a pigment abnormality or could it be a possible hybrid. Size wise it was typical of Song Thrush so I presume the former.

The Stonechats spent a lot of time fly catching as some good sized flies were on offer.

....and here is one in action, homing in on one of those big flies.

Male Stonechat, they are stunning little birds.

Chat Snaps

I was leaving the Billinge ringing site after another productive ringing session this morning when I noticed a Stonechat by the track. I stopped the car to have a look at it and then quickly realised there were another 2 along the overgrown fence line. As I was watching them more Stonechats appeared from the other side of the bracken and brambles and I soon had 6 in front of me. I had checked that area earlier and hadn't seen any so it seems likely that these birds were migrating together and had dropped in at some point during the morning. I watched them for a while and they were feeding almost continuously; it was warm and sunny by then and they were fly catching a lot of the time but they also took insects from the ground. I phoned a local birder, Chris D, to let him know they were there as it is probably a record number for the site and then made my way home.

Chris text me in the afternoon to say they were still there and that he had counted 7 so I went back with the camera to see if I could get a few shots. When I arrived they were all in the same place and still feeding very actively. The following snaps are the best I could do.

Spot the Stonechats, There are 3 in this photograph

. A ringing update will follow in the next day or two.