Late September

The last few days of the month saw no significant change at Billinge and, like the month as a whole, can be summed up as disappointing. The ringing totals below tell the story with the only highlight, although it is not much of one, being the 15 Goldcrests caught on the 27th; their highest day total in what has been an exceptionally poor month for that species. I know I have gone on about the low numbers of Goldcrests in recent posts but that is because their numbers have been very low compared to previous years. The total for this September ended up at 71 which is very poor when compared with previous September totals of 258 in 2015, 237 in 2016 and 269 in 2017. They will bounce back in time but how quickly will depend on the severity of winter weather going forward.

September	26th	27th	28th	30th	Total
Goldcrest	12	15	4	7	38
Blue Tit	4	2	5	3	14
Great Tit	2	2	3	3	10
Long-tailed Tit	12	-	-	2 (1)	14 (1)
Chiffchaff	4 (1)	2	4	2	12 (1)
Blackcap	3	3	3	-	9
Treecreeper	-	-	-	1	1
Wren	-	-	-	1	1
Song Thrush	-	-	-	1	1
Dunnock	-	1	-	-	1
Chaffinch	3	1	-	-	4
Lesser Redpoll	-	1	-	-	1
Reed Bunting	1	-	1	-	2
Total	42	27	20	21	110

Lets hope we get some easterly winds to help improve things in October and looking at some of the long range pressure charts there is a chance, and it is only a chance, that there will be a brief spell of easterlies this coming Saturday and a longer period around the middle of the month.

October 2017

A session at Billinge on the last day of the month produced a catch of 38 birds and was made up of 36 new birds, a retrap and a control. There were a few Goldcrests in every net round and they easily took top slot with 24 ringed. There weren't many thrushes moving but a Fieldfare found its way into a net and was the first to be ringed this autumn. Just a couple of Lesser Redpolls were caught but I was pleased to discover that one of them was a control (a bird ringed elsewhere) so it will be interesting to find out where that one has come from.

The control Lesser Redpoll was an adult female with ring number S341203.

Ringing totals (retraps/controls in brackets) for 31/10/17 were; Great Spotted Woodpecker 1; Goldcrest 24; Blue Tit 1; Great Tit 1 (1); Fieldfare 1; Redwing 7; Lesser Redpoll 1 (1).

A total of 746 birds were ringed at Billinge during October which is disappointing by that site's standards and is roughly half the total achieved in previous years. The main reason for this has been the lack of easterly winds which has resulted in much lower numbers of Redwings and Goldcrests passing through the site. However, Redwing and Goldcrest were still the most numerous species ringed by far and they topped the totals for the month with 292 and 259 respectively. Song Thrush came in third with 50 followed by Lesser Redpoll with 29 and Blackbird with 21. At the other end of the scale a Tawny Owl was only the second to be ringed at the site and a Firecrest was only the third ringing and sighting record of that species.

Weekend highlights including more yellow delights

It has been just over a month since I last did any ringing at Crawford so I was pleased to be able to get out there yesterday morning. I had tailed off the supply of feed towards the end of January due to the wet and windy weather and a lack of birds but I decided to give it another go as it can be a good site for finches in spring. The weather was near perfect and provided the first opportunity for a ringing session since the resumption of feeding so I was there at dawn and set the usual 3 nets (a total of 36m) near the feeders.

The were more Blackbirds and Song Thrushes around than expected although that was probably due to the large crop of berries on the ivy that almost covers large parts of the hedges. The Goldcrest was interesting in that it looked like a continental bird and it may already be starting to edge its way back towards the breeding grounds. Otherwise the catch was pretty much as expected given I've only been putting out food for a little over a week.

Ringing totals (retraps in brackets) were: Blackbird 6 (4); Song Thrush 2 (1); Dunnock 1; Greenfinch 1; Goldfinch 10; Chaffinch 3; Tree Sparrow 2; Great Tit 1 (1); Blue Tit 1 (1); Coal Tit 1; Goldcrest 1. A total of 29 new birds and 7 retraps.

Adult female Blackbird

Song Thrush, also an adult.

On getting home I was greeted by a soundscape of Siskins. There were at least a dozen in the garden and many more chattering in the trees across the road. After making some lunch (or dinner as us northerners call the midday meal) I spent much of the afternoon watching the birds in the garden with the camera at the ready. The garden was buzzing with Siskins and it doesn't seem to matter how many feeders you provide there will still be some scrapping over one particular feeder, even when others are available.

Scrapping Siskins.
The female on the left was the bird that flew in and sparked the interaction with the two males.

Such a large and noisy gathering was bound to attract the interest of a predator sooner or later and a sudden silence with birds darting off in all directions or diving into the privet hedge was a sure sign that a Sparrowhawk had just made an attack. I couldn't see it at first but then is flew across the garden and landed on the privet hedge although my view was obscured by branches from the rowan tree. It had obviously failed to catch anything with the first attack and had gone to the privet hedge to see if any of the hiding birds would break cover.

This adult male Sparrowhawk has probably learned that there is little chance of getting a bird to break cover from such a dense hedge but it probably couldn't help having a little look on the off chance. I have seen young male Sparrowhawks waste time and energy running up and down the hedge and flipping from one side to the other in an attempt to flush hiding birds.

It knows there is something in there and it could have been the Belgian-ringed Blackcap as it often comes out to feed from that part of the hedge.

The Belgian-ringed Blackcap photographed earlier in the afternoon. It has been recorded nearly every day since the first sighting on 17th January.

Seeing so many Siskins in the garden yesterday tempted me to try another short ringing session this morning although I thought there may be a fair proportion of retraps judging by the number of ringed birds I had seen. I set the usual 6m net at first light and waited for the first birds to arrive. At least 30 Siskins gathered in the trees across the road before any came down to the feeders. The first net round produced 8 Siskins and a Robin and there wasn't a retrap amongst them. The final totals (retraps in brackets) for a session that lasted a little more than an hour were: Robin 2; Great Tit (1); Siskin 14 (3). The low proportion of retrap Siskins was a bit of a surprise and the total number of Siskins ringed in the garden since late January now stands at 72 with 37 of them having been ringed in the past 5 days. Not bad for a small front garden and on a par with previous good Siskin years.

A cracking adult male Siskin but then is there any other kind.

Interestingly the number of Goldfinches has decreased even though there is no shortage of food or feeders in the garden. It may indicate that some have started to disperse or migrate and or they could have shifted their diet and be spending more time feeding on alder seeds and the developing flower buds of trees and bushes.

All in all not a bad weekend.

Early November ringing update

The weather has been less than ideal at Billinge so far this month with fog affecting the first few days followed by increasingly unsettled conditions with bands of showers or rain and a strengthening wind. I have been out whenever possible and ringed a good few Redwings and Goldcrests despite the weather but far fewer than would have been the case without the fog in particular.

The total of 205 birds ringed so far this month is made up as follows: Redwing 122; Fieldfare 8; Song Thrush 4; Blackbird 3; Wren 4; Robin 2; Goldcrest 47; Blackcap 2; Chiffchaff 1; Chaffinch 3; Goldfinch 1; Lesser Redpoll 6; Reed Bunting 1. A good proportion of the Redwings were caught during the worst of the foggy conditions (1st to 3rd) and I was surprised that any thrushes pushed through at the site given the very poor visibility. The fog had a much bigger impact on Goldcrests and very few were ringed until visibility improved on the 4th when 20 were caught (19 new and only 1 retrap). Another 13 were ringed the following day but numbers then tailed off as the weather became increasingly wet and windy.

Any warblers caught at the site in November are noteworthy so a male Blackcap (1st), an adult Chiffchaff (3rd) and a female Blackcap (5th) deserve specific mention. Neither of the Blackcaps were carrying much fat so could well be arriving winter visitors and the Chiffchaff may also be a bird that will winter somewhere in the UK rather than migrating to warmer climes.

It looks like the unsettled weather is set to continue for the rest of the month so opportunities to get out could be at a premium to say the least; however, I still think there could be a few more birds to come down from further north and there is certainly only one way to find out. 

There were some big movements of Fieldfares during the first few days of November but only a few passed over Billinge because of the persistent fog that affected the area.

Redwing, a speciality of the Billinge site with close to a thousand ringed so far this autumn.

13th to 18th September

The current run of fine weather has allowed me to get out to Billinge each morning although the slightly stronger breeze and other commitments have restricted some visits. Getting out every day has allowed me to see how much migratory activity there has been from the fluctuation in the number of nocturnal migrants present and by watching migration in action with the passage of diurnal migrants flying overhead. Each day has produced something of interest and made getting up at 5:00 am or shortly after worthwhile.

The number of Grey Wagtails seen moving has reduced from last Friday's high of 34 with 12 on 13th, 5 on 14th, 10 on 15th and just 4 each on 16th, 17th and 18th. There has been a steady trickle of Meadow Pipits flying over each day involving around 200 at most although I haven't had time to do any proper counts. Reed Buntings have been on the move in small numbers with birds seen flying in from the north or north east and then seen leaving to the south. A Whinchat was noted on the 17th and was a first for the site this autumn but hopefully won't be the last. I hadn't seen or heard a Tree Pipit since the 12th so the one caught and ringed this morning (18th) was a pleasant surprise and could well be my last of the autumn. Similarly a Willow Warbler caught and ringed this morning was the first for 9 days.

It is not surprising that some none birdwatchers think Grey Wagtails are Yellow Wagatils. Perhaps they should have been called Grey-backed Wagtails or Yellow-vented Wagtails.

Meadow Pipit 16/09/14. There haven't been any really big movements over the site yet but there is still time. Passage should continue into October.

Tree Pipit 18/09/14. It is getting late for these now but there is still a chance of one or two more coming through before the end of the month.

Willow Warbler 18/09/14. Possibly the last one I will see this year.

A few Snipe and Song Thrush have also been on the move and a Hobby was seen 13th. Hirundines have been relatively scarce with only a few passing through but there was a notable rush of Swallows at one point on the 16th involving more than 60 birds in one loose flock. A Redwing heard calling at first light on the 17th was my first of the autumn and is quite early for this side of the country. Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Jays have been seen flying over at height on several mornings but directions have varied so local movements or dispersal can't be ruled out. It continues to look like being a bumper autumn for Goldcrests with another 14 ringed this morning to add to the 23 ringed in the past few days. This brings the number ringed so far this month to 87.

Male Goldcrest 15/09/14

Male Goldcrests are not all created equal. The orange crown feathers of the bird on the left are by far the richest I have ever seen.

However, the best and most unusual sighting of the past six days came in the form of a Great Crested Grebe seen flying very high to the east on the 16th. This is the first time I have ever seen a Great Crested Grebe flying over land and at such height. It is almost certainly the first record of the species at the site and is one that may never be repeated. It is not that Grebes don't fly over land very often, just that they mainly do so at night and are very rarely seen doing so as a result.

Combined Ringing Totals 13th to 18th September (retraps in brackets):
Grey Wagtail 13
Meadow Pipit 83
Tree Pipit 1
Goldcrest 37 (1)
Chiffchaff 14 (2)
Willow Warbler 1
Blackcap 10
Robin 1
Chaffinch 2
Goldfinch 3. 
Coal Tit 2 (1)
Reed Bunting 7
Total 174 (+4 retraps)

There was one other unusual thing that happened since my last post and it ranks as one of the more bizarre ringing related experiences. I was driving to the ringing site with my son, Jack, at about 05:40 on the 13th and we had just passed a drunken late night reveller who was walking home when I had to stop at some traffic lights. The dog was in the back of the car and suddenly started barking like mad which is not that unusual if he takes a real dislike to a pedestrian. The commotion increased and we looked round to find the reveller had opened the back door and was getting in the back of the car at the side of the dog, no wonder the dog was going mental. I yelled at him to get out and he responded by demanding a lift home. A bit of yelling a pushing later and the idiot was out. That was a new experience for me and I may just lock the car doors if passing drunken idiots in future.

Ringing totals update

It has been months since I updated the ringing totals on the right but I have finally got round to doing it. We are making good progress with 2110 birds ringed to date and Swallows have really boosted the totals this month with 806 ringed in the last two and a half weeks. There have been more Sand Martins in the roost than we usually see on some nights and this has resulted in 71 being ringed so far. Reed Warbler totals have also picked up as the month has progressed after a slow start and a very disappointing June and July. We have ringed 176 Reed Warblers this year and 90 of those have been this month. The ringing total for August currently stands at 1056 which is just over half the total for the year and there is still a week of the month to go.

I hope to get out to the Swallow roost this evening but it is a little breezier than I would like at the moment. Hopefully the wind will drop but if it doesn't the forecast is looking good for the next couple of days.

Three men in a reedbed

Just a very quick update and sorry no pictures.
The result of this evening's ringing effort was:
Swallow 145 (+1)
Sand Martin 5
Reed Warbler 9 (+2)
Sedge Warbler 1
Willow Warbler 1
Reed Bunting 1
Total 162 (+3 retraps)

Ringing Totals Update

November has been a month dominated by finches. Although Greenfinch topped the totals Brambling came second with Chaffinch a close third. The Waxwing ringed was the only new species added for the year.
 
November Ringing Totals
Collared Dove 2
Great-spotted Woodpecker 1
Waxwing 1
Wren 2
Dunnock 3
Robin 4
Blackbird 9
Goldcrest 21
Coal Tit 5
Blue Tit 31
Great Tit 18
Starling 1
Chaffinch 92
Brambling 108
Greenfinch 134
Goldfinch 24
Lesser Redpoll 5
Bullfinch 1
Reed Bunting 1
Total 463

The group totals for the year to date (right) have also been updated with the top 5 being:

1^st – Swallow 930 and unlikely to be moved from top spot

2^nd – Greenfinch 410 and with a good chance of staying in that position
3^rd – Blue Tit 365 but could be overtaken as the winter progresses
4^th – Chaffinch 318 but with a chance of moving up
5^th – Goldfinch 316 could also move up and overtake Chaffinch

Whilst Goldcrest is not in the top 5 it came in at an impressive 8^th with our highest ever total of 135 ringed to date.