Billinge: 9th to 23rd April 2017

Apologies for the lack of updates recently but other things have just got in the way. I put in quite a bit of effort at Billinge in the two weeks following my last post but the results were mixed to say the least. A couple of ringing sessions were reasonably productive while others saw only a handful of birds caught or drew a blank. The cumulative totals for the period were 59 new birds, 15 retraps and 4 controls, although 2 of the controls are likely to have been ringed at sites nearby.

Lesser Redpolls were the most numerous species with 37 new birds and 1 control being caught. The control Lesser Redpoll had been ringed at Clow Bridge in Lancashire last autumn, 41 km to the NE of Billinge. Willow Warbler was next in terms of numbers with 9 new birds and 6 retraps captured. It has been a good spring for Willow Warblers with 23 (15 new birds and 8 retraps from previous years) caught so far this month. Of these 21 were males and only 2 were females with the first male being caught on the 1st and the first female just over 3 weeks later, on the 23rd.

Other captures and sightings of note were as follows:

14th - 2 Siskins were ringed including a female with a wrinkled brood patch which indicates she had already made an early breeding attempt somewhere. I am not aware of any breeding sites near Billinge which makes this record all the more interesting. Is it a failed breeder on the move or could it be breeding nearby?

17th - A short, rain restricted ringing session didn't produce single bird but a late Fieldfare was seen flying east.

19th - A very quiet ringing session produced just 2 Lesser Redpolls but this was offset by a Woodlark seen flying north first thing followed by a couple of Tree Pipits later in the morning. Woodlark is a county rarity and this record, assuming it is accepted, will only be the 3rd record for the county.

23rd - The first Whitethroat of the spring was ringed and a female Blackcap was controlled. I have received the ringing details for the control Blackcap and it had been ringed at Stanford Reservoir in Northamptonshire, 162 km SE of Billinge, on 24th September last year.

The Whitethroat was carrying a passenger in the form of a tick under its left eye.

The control female Blackcap.

Hopefully I will be back to posting on the blog at least once a week from now on.

Billinge: 3rd November 2016

A short ringing session at Billinge got off to a great start when the first bird out of the nets turned out to be a control Goldcrest. I could hear there were a few around and the next couple of hours produced another 14 new birds and a retrap, making 16 Goldcrests in total. That is a decent number for early November and shows some are still on the move.

This is the 4th Goldcrest to be controlled at the site this autumn. I am still waiting for information on when and where two of the previous controls were ringed so I will have details of 3 to post when they eventually come through.

There weren't many thrushes moving and only a few were caught but they included a Fieldfare so that also added value to the session as I don't catch many. The next net round produced another good bird in the form of a female Blackcap. It wasn't carrying much fat so could be a bird that has migrated here for the winter but there is also a chance of it being a tardy summer visitor; either way a good record as November Blackcaps are few and far between in this area.

Adult male Fieldfare

Only the 16th ringed at the site this autumn.

Today's female Blackcap.

I was already very happy with the session when a Woodlark flew over and made it even better. I first picked it up on call and then watched it fly over me as it headed south and was lost to view. It must have u-turned soon after as I heard it come back over the west side of the site but I didn't manage to see it again as it was on the other side of the hill from me. It is probably the first record for the site and it was certainly the first there for me. I had been in two minds about going out this morning as I had a meeting to go to at 10am so wouldn't have much more than a couple of hours with the nets up but I am certainly glad I made the effort now.

Ringing totals (retraps and controls in brackets) for 03/11/16 were: Goldcrest 14 (2); Blue Tit 1; Blackcap 1; Wren 1; Blackbird 1; Fieldfare 1; Redwing 5. 24 new birds, 1 retrap and 1 control.