Billinge: 6th to 22nd April

I have been up to the ringing site at Billinge twelve times since 6th April but the catches have been quite small, hence the lack of blog posts about individual visits.  While the catches have been small they haven't been without interest and what you don't catch can be as important as what you do, or at least that is what I tell myself.

It looks like being another poor spring for Redpoll passage but that is hardly surprising as last autumn was very poor for Redpolls going south so a poor showing the following spring is no big surprise. Having said that you have to put the effort in to find out and I can certainly say I have put the effort in with only 18 Lesser Redpolls caught over twelve visits. One of the Redpolls caught on 10/04/2019 was a retrap that had been ringed at the site on 13/08/2017 as an adult female so perhaps a bird that breeds not too far away.

The most interesting Redpoll, for me at least, was a little adult male caught yesterday (21/04/2019). I say little as its wing length was 69mm which is fairly small or very small for a male of any race. We still don't know what to do with Redpoll species and races because they don't play by the rules as we would like to apply them. If my understanding is correct they should all be lumped at a genetic level, every last one of them, into one species because they are not distinct enough genetically despite their varying appearance. Arctic, Common, Lesser or whatever you want to call them they are all far more similar on the inside than they appear on the outside but that is what makes them even more fascinating. While they may be similar on the inside the difference on the outside largely determines where they will breed and that is why we like them so much.

A bit or quite a bit greyer than your typical Lesser and probably breeds well north of Billinge.

Broad white fringes to the greater coverts, tertials and inner webs of tail feathers.
A touch of tram lines up the mantle too.

Broad white fringes to the greater coverts and tertials.

Broad white fringes to inner webs of tail feathers.

Unstreaked under-tail coverts which is normally a feature of Arctic Redpolls.

Pure white, unstreaked, under-tail coverts, including the feather shafts. If you hadn't seen the rest of the bird you could be thinking Arctic Redpoll. I have seen Lesser types like this before so not as exceptional as it may appear.

The first Willow Warbler was noted on the 6th and it was good to find that 9 of the 20 that were caught between the 10th and 22nd were retraps. Of the retraps one was originally ringed in 2016 and eight were originally ringed in 2017. On the other hand Chiffchaffs have been thin on the ground this spring with only 3 caught but all were retraps - one from 2017 and two from 2018. Blackcaps have put in a pretty good showing so far with 12 caught - 10 new, 1 retrap and 1 control. The retrap was ringed as a first-year in August 2017 and the control was ringed 16 km away at Woolston Eyes in April 2018.

Unusual captures were a pair of Mistle Thrushes that found their way into one of the nets on the 16th and were a first to be ringed at the site. However, the highlight of the period, and what made the effort worthwhile, was the capture of six Tree Pipits with the first caught on the 13th.

Tree Pipit 19/04/2019

Tree Pipit 21/04/2019

The twelve visits yielded 54 new birds, 18 retraps and 1 control as follows (retraps in brackets): Lesser Redpoll 17 (1); Willow Warbler 11 (9); Chiffchaff  (3); Goldcrest 2 (1); Blackicap 10 (1) +1 control; Robin 3; Long-tailed Tit (1); Tree Pipit 6; Mistle Thrush 2; Bullfinch 1 (1); Dunnock 1; Yellowhammer 1; Willow Tit (1).

Quiet at Billinge but busy in the garden.

It has been very quiet at Billinge over the last week and 4 visits (22nd, 24th, 25th & 28th) only resulted in a combined total of 7 birds caught [Willow Warbler 1, Blackcap 2, Robin 1, Tree Pipit 1, Great Tit 1 (1)]. Visible migration was minimal, to say the least, and there was no significant change in the numbers of warblers present with Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap the only species on territory.

It may have been a poor week but a Tree Pipit, the 2nd to be ringed this spring, provided some consolation.

While there has not been much happening at Billinge the garden has been getting very busy. The cold spring has delayed breeding in many species but it doesn't appear to have had much of an effect on the local Starlings and most pairs are feeding nestlings now. I run a RAS project on Starlings and attract them to the garden with home made fat blocks but more about that in a future post.

The vast majority of Starlings coming to the feeders were colour-ringed in previous years and 77 individuals have been re-sighted in the last week.

Billinge: 21st April 2018

There was a general lack of birds and in many respects it was very disappointing morning but there were a few bits of interest that were topped off in fine style by an Osprey that flew directly over me towards the end of the session. Only 9 birds were caught over the best part of 5 hours but they did include a Tree Pipit and a couple of interesting retraps. Once again visible migration was virtually none existent with 3 Tree Pipits, 5 Lesser Redpolls and the aforementioned Osprey being the only birds seen moving north.

You can't complain about only catching 9 birds when one of them is a Tree Pipit. 

The first of the interesting retraps was a female Blackcap which was originally ringed as a first-year bird in August 2014 and hadn't been recaptured during the intervening period.

At nearly 4 years old this Blackcap has reached quite a good age.

The other interesting retrap was a Willow Warbler that, at first glance, looked more like a Chiffchaff than your typical spring Willow Warbler. 

You can make your own mind up from the photos but the supercillium is quite dull and indistinct, especially behind the eye.

There was no doubt about it being a Willow Warbler albeit a rather drab looking one. It had been ringed as an adult in August 2015 and retrapped in May & August 2016 and again in May 2017 and was sexed as a male. The wing formula was as it should be for Willow Warbler and the wing length was 69mm. 

Interestingly, the legs were quite dark too.

There has been a distinct lack of Lesser Redpolls moving through so far this month and the 5 seen on this visit is the largest count. They have been absent on most days and on the few occasions any have been recorded it has only been ones and twos.

Only 3 Lesser Redpolls have been ringed so far this month compared with 66 from a similar amount of effort in the same period last year. Numbers and timing do vary from year to year but this April looks like being an exceptionally poor one for this species.

Ringing totals (retraps in brackets) for 21st April 2018 were: Willow Warbler 1 (2); Blackcap 1 (2); Dunnock 1; Tree Pipit 1; Lesser Redpoll 1.

A few morsels of interest.

Lots of sunshine but not many birds just about sums up the visit to Billinge this morning. I had thought the clear conditions would prompt some vis mig and that there could be a few warblers working their way through the bushes but the birds clearly had other plans. There was virtually nothing moving overhead save for the merest trickle of Meadow Pipits and that soon petered out. There wasn't much happening in the bushes either, apart from a couple of singing Chiffchaffs that were sorting out their territories, and the nets only produced 1 Blackbird in the first couple of hours.

It did look like it was going to be a complete write-off of a morning but then a fine male Brambling was caught and lifted my spirits. Shortly after a Willow Warbler uttered a few subdued snippets of song and while I was trying to locate it a Tree Pipit called as it flew over; both were firsts for the year and helped give the morning a whole new feel. I didn't manage to get any views of the Willow Warbler where it had been singing but that didn't matter as it turned up in one of the nets a little while later.

Male Brambling. There are still a few around in the area and I even had one on the feeders in the garden yesterday.

Willow Warbler.

Things slowed down after that little flurry of activity but another morsel of interest came when a ringed Chiffchaff was caught in the last net round. It was a retrap from last year and had been ringed as a juvenile on 5th August. It is always good to retrap returning migrants and hopefully there will be many more in the coming weeks.

Returning Chiffchaff  KJX121 was ringed as a juvenile on 5th August last year.

It may have been a very slow morning for the most part but it was an interesting one nevertheless.

Ringing totals (retraps in brackets) for 5th April 2018 were: Blue Tit (1); Great Tit 1; Chiffchaff (1); Willow Warbler 1, Blackbird 1; Brambling 1.

Billinge 22nd - 30th August 2017

I have managed to get out nearly every morning since my last post although some of the sessions were affected by fog, delayed and/or curtailed by showers or a strengthening breeze. A total of 200 birds were ringed and another 13 were retrapped over the period which is reasonable number given the mixed weather conditions and the limited number of nets used. There were no major surprises although sylvia warblers were in short supply throughout. Chiffchaffs took over from Willow Warblers as the most numerous warbler species as is usual in late August and all the less frequently caught species were what could be termed the usual suspects.

Species	New	Retrap	Species	New	Retrap
Goldcrest	18	1	Blackbird	2	0
Blue Tit	11	1	Song Thrush	2	0
Great Tit	15	2	Robin	5	0
Coal Tit	2	0	Redstart	3	0
Long-tailed Tit	0	3	Dunnock	1	0
Chiffchaff	54	3	Tree Sparrow	1	0
Willow Warbler	20	1	Grey Wagtail	2	0
Blackcap	8	0	Tree Pipit	9	0
Garden Warbler	0	1	Chaffinch	21	0
Grasshopper Warbler	1	0	Bullfinch	6	0
Reed Warbler	1	0	Greenfinch	3	0
Nuthatch	1	0	Linnet	3	0
Treecreeper	2	0	Goldfinch	5	0
Wren	1	1	Yellowhammer	3	0
Total for the period: 200 new birds and 13 retraps

Ringing highlights and noteworthy sightings were as follows:

22/08/17 - At least 12 Tree Pipits were on the move despite early fog and generally poor visibility but only 1 was ringed.

23/08/17 - This session was also affected by fog, some light drizzle and stayed quite murky once the fog cleared. It went so dark at one point birds went very quiet and some seemed to go to roost. However, this visit produce the first Redstart of the autumn, a 1cy female, amongst a catch of only 15 birds. At least 7 Tree Pipits headed south despite the conditions and 2 of them were caught. As the light drizzle stopped there was an unexpected sighting of a flock of 11 Dunlin flying low over the site and heading NNE, they may have been disorientated in the very murky conditions or simply been forced down by the very low cloud.

25/08/17 - Chiffchaffs really took over from Willow Warblers with ringing totals of 14 and 1 respectively. Another 2 Tree Pipits were ringed from a total of 6 recorded.

27/08/17 - Grey Wagtail passage got going with at least 4 passing over the site and 1 was ringed. Interestingly, similar movements were reported from sites across the country. Another 2 Tree Pipits were ringed from a total of 9 recorded. A juvenile Tree Sparrow was an unusual capture although a few had been recorded flying high over the site on the previous 2 days.

The first Grey Wagtail ringed this autumn

28/08/17 - A 1cy Reed Warbler was well away from its usual habitat and was only the 2nd to be ringed this autumn. This species is a scarce but regular autumn passage migrant at the site and 9 of the previous 13 records have been in the narrow period 23rd to 31st July with the remainder being on widespread dates in August. This session was also noteworthy for being the first of the autumn without a Willow Warbler being ringed or recorded.

1cy Reed Warbler

29/08/17 - A short, rain delayed session produced a Blackbird with an interesting plumage and not much else.

This 1cy male Blackbird is similar to what is sometimes referred to as the 'Stockamsel' variety. Had this bird been seen later in the autumn or during the winter it may have been thought to be of continental origin but there is virtually no chance of that in late August.

Its post-juvenile moult was almost complete.

It had a wing length of 131 mm which is towards the longer end of the range for locally bred birds but is not exceptional by any means.

1cy male Blackbird. A locally bred 'Stockamsel' type.

30/08/17 - Highlights were a Grasshopper Warbler and 2 Redstarts. At least 9 Tree Pipits were recorded 2 of which were caught. A few Grey Wagtails were on the move but only 1 was caught. There was a little flurry of Willow Warblers with 8 being ringed and this was more noteworthy as it followed a total absence of the species on the previous two days and was the only day that they outnumbered Chiffchaffs during the period.

1cy female Redstart 30/08/17

1cy male Redstart 30/08/17

S881488 adult Tree Pipit. This adult had retained 2 old lesser coverts. Apparently it is not uncommon to see this in adult Tree Pipits. There is certainly no doubt about the age of such birds. 

S881488 adult Tree Pipit. The tail feathers were much more rounded than those of the adults shown in my last post.

S881489 1cy Tree Pipit

S881489 1cy Tree Pipit. The 2nd outermost tail feather was missing on the right side of the tail. The shape of the tail is similar to the adult above but the contrast between the light and dark areas on the tail feathers isn't quite as strong. This difference in contrast can be a useful feature when ageing, according to some guides, although it isn't an easy difference to get to grips with and reportedly takes plenty of practice.

S881489 1cy Tree Pipit

Tree Pipits come to the fore

The last couple of days have seen a marked increase in the number of Tree Pipits on the move at Billinge with a minimum of 10 recorded yesterday and 30+ today. It is not easy to keep track of numbers when you are busy ringing and it doesn't help that many don't call when flying over so I am sure I will have missed a few on both days. The increase in numbers on the move was also reflected in the ringing totals with 5 ringed yesterday and another 12 today.

Today's total of 12 ringed is the 2nd highest day total for the site and has only been bettered twice; on 14/08/14 and 17/08/15 with 13 ringed on both of those dates. Half of today's Tree Pipits were adults which is quite unusual but it gave me an opportunity to photograph some of the plumage features used when ageing birds in autumn. More information on ageing Tree Pipits can be found here, here and here (the latter being the best in my opinion) They are fairly straightforward to age once you get your eye in and fully understand their moult, especially if you get to handle quite a few, but I would say they are not as easy to age as Meadow Pipits.

S881408 1cy Tree Pipit. The fringes of the unmoulted median and greater coverts are quite worn and very pale (a cold bleached straw colour) when compared with those of the adult below and is probably from an early brood. It should be noted that the margins of median coverts and greater coverts of juveniles from later brood are less worn and can be more olive-buff like adults.

S881401 Adult (2cy+) Tree Pipit. Adults have fresher and more olive-buff fringed median and greater coverts.

S881401 2cy+ Tree Pipit. This adult was interesting in that it hadn't replaced 2 lesser coverts which stand out as being very worn and bleached.

S881401 2cy Tree Pipit. A closer look at those retained lesser coverts. They are very worn and have a narrow and bleached white fringe and shouldn't be mistaken for retained juvenile feathers. Birds like this can easily trap the inexperienced and unwary.

S881401 2cy+ Tree Pipit tail. Fresher and generally more pointed than the typical juvenile tail except for the central pair which are usually a bit more rounded when fresh compared to the central pair of a worn juvenile (see tail of S881408 below) but be aware some juveniles replace the central pair of tail feathers.

S881408 1cy Tree Pipit wing. This bird hasn't replaced any of the median coverts, greater coverts or tertials so there are no obvious moult limits to make ageing easy. Even the outer row of lesser coverts are all old. You just have to rely on wear and colour with birds like this.

S881408 1cy Tree Pipit tail

S881410 2cy+ Tree Pipit tail.

S881410 2cy+ Tree Pipit wing.

Ringing totals for 20/08/17 were: Sparrowhawk 1; Goldcrest 3; Blue Tit 9; Chiffchaff 6; Willow Warbler 15 (1); Blackcap 1; Whitethroat 2; Treecreeper 1; Wren 1; Tree Pipit 5; Chaffinch 1; Linnet 2; Goldfinch 2.

Ringing totals for 21/08/17 were: Chiffchaff 2 (1); Willow Warbler 6 (1); Whitethroat 1; Nuthatch 1; Tree Pipit 12; Chaffinch 4; Bullfinch 2.

Juvenile male Sparrowhawk 20/08/17

Juvenile male Sparrowhawk 20/08/17

Nuthatch 21/08/17

Billinge 13th & 16th August: mixed weather and mixed results.

Decent weather has been at a premium this August so it has been a case of trying to get out ringing whenever conditions and circumstances allow. The 13th provided one of those opportunities and produced a catch of 50 new birds with Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs making up half the total. Willow Warblers topped the totals with 18 ringed, their highest total of the month, but the juvenile:adult ratio remained quite low at 2.6:1 (13 juveniles to 5 adults). At the other end of the scale only 1 Tree Pipit was ringed which was very disappointing as we are approaching peak passage for that species and only 4 were seen all morning, on the other hand the capture of a Spotted Flycatcher was a very nice surprise as they are a very scarce passage migrant these days and it's even rarer for one to find its way into a net.

Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher 13/08/17 - the only record of the autumn so far.

Ringing totals for 13/08/17 were: Goldcrest 2; Blue Tit 5; Great Tit 2; Coal Tit 1; Chiffchaff 7; Willow Warbler 18; Blackcap 3; Whitethroat 1; Blackbird 1; Spotted Flycatcher 1; Robin 1; Tree Pipit 1; Chaffinch 3; Bullfinch 3; Lesser Redpoll 1.

The 16th turned out to be a fairly quiet day with many birds having departed since my previous visit and precious little coming through to replace them. Only 25 birds were ringed which is below the average for mid-August. There was a bit of movement overhead with a party of 5 Snipe flying high to the north (the first record of the autumn) and a total of 9 Tree Pipits flying south (the second highest total recorded this autumn) being the best of what little there was. Warblers were in short supply and only 5 Willow Warblers were ringed which suggests they have passed their peak. The proportion of juvenile Willow Warblers continues to be unusually low with just 3 of the 5 ringed being youngsters. Two of the Chiffchaffs ringed were interesting in that they had completed their post juvenile moult and this should signal an increase in the numbers migrating through the site from now on.

Chiffchaffs can start migrating in earnest once they have completed their pj moult.

Ringing totals for 16/08/17 were: Goldcrest 2; Blue Tit 2; Chiffchaff 5; Willow Warbler 5; Blackcap 2; Whitethroat 2; Tree Pipit 4; Chaffinch 2; Linnet 1.

Tree Pipit - one of four ringed on the 16th.

Billinge 10th August 2017 - more on Willow Warblers

Well, buy me a flat cap and call me Victor because I am bringing up the subject of Willow Warblers and age ratios again. Another ringing session at Billinge on the 10th resulted in a catch of 42 birds that included 11 Willow Warblers, 7 of which were adults. I didn't know what to expect given the complete absence of juvenile Willow Warblers in the previous day's catch but I didn't think adults would outnumber juveniles by almost 2:1. It increasingly looks like Willow Warblers have had a very poor breeding season and I can't see the situation improving unless there have been a lot of successful late broods and those juveniles have yet to come through.

Eye colour can be used to help age Willow Warblers in autumn. Adults have a brown eye approaching chestnut colour like the bird on the right whilst the eye colour of juveniles is much duller and greyer like the bird on the left. I have not used this feature prior to this autumn but it appears to be very reliable from what I have seen so far and is well worth using in conjunction with the usual plumage features. It wasn't easy to photograph but is fairly easy to see in the hand with the naked eye, although some may find use of a low magnification hand lens helpful.

Willow Warblers are generally single brooded and although they are amongst the first of the summer visitors to arrive they have a pretty tight schedule as autumn migration peaks towards the middle of August and the adults also have to fit in a complete moult. The schedule is so tight adult Willow Warblers may start to moult before they have completed breeding, they also moult quite quickly and they often start migrating before the moult is complete. That tight schedule limits the opportunity for late broods (be they second broods or repeat nesting attempts following earlier failures) which means the chances of there being a surge in juvenile numbers from them is really quite low.

While there is evidence that climate change is causing some summer visitors to arrive a little earlier and depart a bit later than they used to it doesn't mean the duration of stay of individuals is getting significantly longer nor does it mean the timing of migration has changed significantly for the bulk of the population. Willow Warblers that arrive a little earlier may simply be amongst the first to leave and those that stay later are more likely to be juveniles and they may also be compromising their survival chances by a later departure. It certainly doesn't look like climate change is extending the breeding season for Willow Warblers or likely to lead to an increased occurence of second or late broods.

Whilst climate change may be extending the spring and autumn periods the major impact on Willow Warbler productivity is caused by the weather during the breeding season, and the levels of rainfall in particular. It is not just the amount of rainfall that matters but also its intensity that can make all the difference when it comes to breeding outcomes and more intense rain is one of the consequences of a warming climate. Met Office statistics show June 2017 has been amongst the wettest on record, with the UK as a whole having 50% more rainfall than average. Whilst North Merseyside wasn't one of the worst affected areas in terms of increased rainfall it did experience some intense downpours that could have led to increased nest failures and increased mortality of recently fledged young. Parts of northern England and southern Scotland have received more than twice the normal June rainfall and that could have had an even bigger impact on productivity in those regions. 

Juvenile Willow Warbler 10/08/17.
This recently fledged juvenile had only just started its post-juvenile moult and must have come from a late nesting attempt. Their fluffy juvenile plumage probably doesn't provide much protection from prolonged or intense periods of rain.

So it seems to have been a wash out for Willow Warblers this year and while there may be some regional differences I suspect the overall picture will show productivity is below average and well below that of last year. The higher number of adults caught in July may have been due to a high incidence of failure late in the nestling stage as that wouldn't have left enough time for those adults to make another breeding attempt. Such failed breeders may have started migrating a little earlier as a result.

Other ringing highlights from the 10th were: a young male Sparrowhawk, the first of the autumn; another 5 new Goldcrests bringing their August total to 14 and autumn total to 33 which is well up on last year; 2 Tree Pipits from at least 12 seen which is the first double figure movement of the autumn and fairly typical for the date.

This young male Sparrowhawk had the odd remnant of down on the tips of  some of the feathers of the mantle.

I love Tree Pipits.

Ringing totals for 10/08/17 were: Sparrowhawk 1; Goldcrest 5 (1); Blue Tit 4; Great Tit 2; Coal Tit 1; Long-tailed Tit 4; Chiffchaff 3; Willow Warbler 11; Blackcap 1; Whitethroat 2; Wren 1; Song Thrush 1; Tree Pipit 2; Goldfinch 1; Yellowhammer 1; Reed Bunting (1).