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.

To Anglesey and back.

I spent the last week camping on Anglesey with my youngest son, Jack and Bryn the dog. It was more of a getaway than a birding or mothing trip but we do a bit of both pretty much wherever we go. The weather was not on our side as the cold spring continued to hold its grip for most of the week; the first few days were more like early March than late May.

I had taken an actinic moth trap with me but the first night drew a blank as it was so cold. The weather was even worse the next night with strong winds and heavy rain so I didn't even bother putting it out. Things only improved marginally from there with catches in low single figures. Only 10 moths were caught over 5 nights which is a dismal total for the location at this time of year and testimony to the protracted winter and cold spring. Best of the meagre pickings were a Water Carpet and a Puss Moth neither of which I catch at home.


Water Carpet (Lampropteryx suffumata)

Puss Moth (Cerura vinula), a rather worn and weather beaten individual.

What birding we did was secondary to walks around some of our favourite parts of the coast but then you can't do one without the other. A few migrants were still in evidence with 3 Greenland Wheatears present in one of our favourite bays. Amongst the waders groups of migrant Ringed Plovers stood out in particular. Generally though birds were perhaps thinner on the ground than might be expected especially in the case of some of the breeding species, if you exclude corvids that is. Lapwings were conspicuous by their absence from all the farmland areas we drove through and visited not least the farm we camped at.
 

female Wheatear and almost certainly of the Greenland race or 
at least as certain as you can be without catching and measuring it.

 

Same female as above.



Male Wheatear but a bit more tricky as to race and not an obvious
'Greenland' type but certainly still on migration.
 

Although there are more Dunlin in this shot groups of Ringed Plover were much in evidence.

Bryn has learned that he has to be patient when we are taking photos,
 some of the time at least.

On the plus side the increase in Little Egrets is hard to overlook and doesn't seem to have been dented by the recent hard winters. On one of our walks around Red Wharf Bay 5 were feeding on the falling tide including a colour ringed bird which was probably ringed at Bangor on the mainland. I have sent the details of the sighting off and will give an update on its life history in due course.



Little Egrets, colour ringed bird on right.

Colour ringed Little Egret.

On returning home yesterday I set the moth trap in the garden out of habit rather than expectation of a good catch. On checking it this morning there were only 3 moths but all 3 were new for the year - a Lime Hawk-moth, a Flame Shoulder and a Diamond-back Moth which is a migrant to the UK. The latter being the least expected given the cold weather and wind direction. The lack of moths and insects in general over the last few weeks is likely to have a profound effect on breeding birds that normally feed their young on insects and caterpillars in particular. The effects of the long winter and cold spring are likely to be felt and reported on for a long time yet.


Lime Hawk-moth (Mimas tiliae)



Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta)

Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella)