First garden CES session in Sibthorpe on Friday resulted in 44 birds processed including a Great Spotted Woodpecker and 16 Long-tailed Tits. Targetting thrushes at Elton the follwing morning with Christian resulted in 47 birds trapped including 23 Redwing and a Fieldfare.
Jim
As I got in the car, the first droplets landed on the windscreen and I wondered if the morning might end up being written off, but despite the light drizzle never really going away properly, Alex T and I managed a very pleasant session at the Brack feeders.
It quickly began to feel like we were on the coast experiencing a fall as large flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare appeared and disappeared out of the murky sky. We put up the 3 feeder nets and then didn't hesitate to add a couple of others nearby with a Redwing lure playing. This immediately had the birds interested.
The first round at the feeders produced just Blue and Great Tits, of which one made us look twice as it had retained 5 primary coverts on both wings. Everything else about the bird looked like an adult (very fresh and glossy primaries for example) so we wondered if it was most likely to be an adult bird that, for whatever reason, had failed to complete its moult.
The majority of Redwings remained too high for the nets, but the sheer number around ensured we caught some and we finished on 7. One of these had a very lucky escape from a Sparrowhawk that we had seen patrolling the area. Alex heard a distress call coming from the net, sprinted down and manage to catch both birds - the Redwing seemingly unharmed and the Sparrowhawk a smart little male.
The morning finished with a Jay and a total of 32 birds processed.
Pete
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| The odd Blue Tit with 5 retained primary coverts on each wing (AT) |
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| Redwing (AT) |
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| Sparrowhawk (AT) |
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| Jay (AT) |
On Thursday, myself, Holly and Kev B went to Burley Top Fields in Allestree Park. We set six nets in a mixture of scrub and grassland habitats. The first ringing session at a new site is always exciting, you never know what you might get. However, none of us expected a Kestrel to be sitting in the net on the very first net round! This was a stunning adult female. After measuring a couple of biometrics and looking at the patterns and wear on the feathers to determine the age, we let her go.
There was plenty of interest in our Redwing tape from flocks overhead, but only one went into the
net. We also tried for Redpoll as we saw a group of around 20, but none went into the nets. The Long-Tailed Tit tape was more successful, which drew in two flocks totalling 15 individuals as well as some other tits. The rest of the birds caught were residents, including 3 male Goldcrests, 2 adult Dunnocks, and 1 Goldfinch. A relatively warm day meant that few birds were feeding on seedheads near the nets, but there’s enough food for some finches in the winter. There were plenty of other birds flying around, as this area of the Park always seems busy with birds.
Ringing data from this site will not just help inform nationwide distribution and success of birds. By
providing our findings to stakeholders at Allestree Park, ringing data can be used to inform the management of Allestree Park and monitor population changes as the rewilding progresses. Huge thanks to Sandra Horner from Derby City Council for all the help and guidance which has allowed me to set up this site for ringing.
Totals for the day were: 13 Blue Tits, 2 Great Tits, 2 Dunnocks, 3 Goldcrests, 1 Goldfinch, 15 Long-
tailed Tits, 2 Robins, 1 Redwing, 1 Wren, and 1 Kestrel.
Josh
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| Kestrel wing, with 2 retained secondaries (HJ) |
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| Kestrel (JP) |
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| Redwing (JP) |
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| Part of the Long-tailed Tit flock (JP) |
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| Robin (HJ) |
On our latest session in Calverton, a lovely sunny morning was enjoyed by all, though the conditions were not always ideal for ringing. Nevertheless, we finished with a total of 36 birds, including 2 re-traps (birds previously ringed by SNRG), with 11 seperate species in all, comprising: 14 Redpoll, 9 Redwing, 3 Goldfinch, 2 Robin, 2 Blue Tit, and single Wren, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Dunnock and Song Thrush.
Kev B
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| A Great Tit with suspended moult (JP) |
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| Autumn netting (HJ) |
This weekend felt very autumnal, with perfect conditions for our mist netting trip to the golf club. Whilst there, we tried to attract finches and autumn migrants with tape lures. These attempts were successful, which led to a busy morning of ringing. 42 birds were caught, including 3 retraps.
We caught three Redwings and two Redpolls (as pictured) – our first encounters this year with these species after their migration over to our shores. All three Redwings were aged as adults; notable as juveniles are more frequently caught. We are hoping that this was just because of the timing this year, instead of being indicative of a poor breeding year for them.
Four Greenfinch and seven Goldfinch were also caught in the nets. The proportion of feathers moulted by the juvenile Goldfinch were on average less than the populations our group catches in more urban areas. This may be because of food availability at artificial feeders giving them more energy and allowing a greater extent of post-juvenile moult.
Additionally, one of the juvenile Great Tits appeared to have moulted more feathers than we would usually expect. As shown in the photos, the outermost primary covert and innermost secondary feather were a different generation to any others. Something to look out for in the future.
The totals for the day were: 3 Goldcrest, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Blue Tits, 8 Great Tits, 7 Goldfinch, 4 Robins, 2 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Dunnocks, 4 Greenfinch, and 3 Redwing.
Josh
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| Redpolls (JP) |
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| Great Tit moult (JP) |
In September, Kev H, Gary and I travelled to Vilamoura on the south coast of Portugal for 10 days. We joined ringers from the West Midlands, Leicestershire and Greater Manchester to monitor birds on passage migration before they cross the Mediterranean over to Africa. Our ringing site acted as a refuelling station, with new birds continuing to filter through each day to feed up.
After a very wet start setting up the nets, the weather for the rest of the trip was a sunny 25 degrees, and at times quite breezy. Our catches were quite variable, with 27 on the slowest day and 144 on the best. Our trip coincided with extensive storms across Northern Europe which will no doubt have affected birds' ability and willingness to travel.
There were large numbers of Reed Warblers, Blackcaps and Garden Warblers moving through. The Garden Warblers were notable for their weight! Low-to-mid 20g with fat scores of 5-7 were not uncommon. To put that into context, the majority of Garden Warblers I’d ringed just before I went away were 16-18g.
On a couple of nights we tried for roosts of Red-rumped Swallow and Spotless Starling (which were largely unsuccessful) and Red-Necked Nightjar with a mega catch of 6 in one evening.
There were some highlights sprinkled throughout the week such as Iberian Grey Shrike, Iberian Green Woodpecker, Woodchat Shrike, Little Bittern and Common Sandpiper.
We caught a number of Reed Warblers that had been ringed in France, Belgium, Poland, plus a Whitethroat and Bluethroat both from France.
I confess to spending some of the time trying to catch the Portuguese subspecies of Goldfinch to look at the extent of their post-juvenile moult in the field of teasels by the ringing base. I didn’t manage to catch any juveniles that appeared to be undergoing a complete moult, but we did get a handful of Greenfinch that had moulted a few inner primaries.
Huge thank you to Colin McShane from Belvide Ringing Group for organising the trip, as well as our fellow ringers Kate, Craig and Mike. Special thanks to expats Carl and Julie for clearing rides and bringing coffee, and also to Christine for scribing.
Holly
In addition to these common species, I have recorded several notable and unusual captures, including Grasshopper Warblers (3) and a Redstart (1). Moreover, some of the birds I have ringed at the reserve have been controlled further south along the British coast, and even in France, as they migrate southwards for the winter. This emphasises the importance of Manor Floods as a stopover site for migratory species. Every bird I ring contributes to valuable data on migration and population health, crucial for the wider conservation effort. The diversity of habitats makes Manor Floods an incredible site for both birds and people. As I continue my work here, I’m excited by the discoveries that lie ahead, knowing that this site has so much more to reveal.
Alex P
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The future of ringing at this site is uncertain, as the land has just been listed for sale. We made our final visit of the year (and potentially forever) to Skylarks, hoping to catch the last of the summer migrants. We managed to catch some Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Reed Warblers, but the rest were resident species. Three new Cetti’s Warblers also ended up in the net; pictured below is an adult male (left) and juvenile female (right).
Holly brought a rhubarb and custard pie, and Seth brought homemade chocolate cake. Both were delicious – it’s beginning to get like Bake Off!
Totals were: 14 Chiffchaffs, 13 Blackcaps, 3 Reed Warblers, 3 Cetti’s Warblers, 5 Blue Tits, 2 Wrens, 1 Great Tit, 1 Robin, and 1 Dunnock.
Josh
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| Cetti's Warblers (JP) |
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| Cake! (SH) |
This year’s swans at Rushcliffe were very successful, the pair raising 8 chicks. Some members of the group went down on Wednesday in an attempt to ring them. We lured them in with food, encircled them, and knelt over them to keep them calm. In total, all 8 chicks were ringed, as well as the adult female. Hopefully these rings will tell us where the swans travel to and how long they live.
Joshua
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| swan ringing (SL) |
We have just returned from Kent, having spent a week ringing at the Dungeness Bird Observatory.
While we were there, things were busy with the Autumn migration; many birds and butterflies were
passing through on their way to France and beyond. Numbers of birds in the net began fairly quiet,
with a trickle of Blackcaps and Willow Warblers. We kept busy by setting spring traps for Whinchat
and Stonechat, in which we were successful. On Wednesday, conditions for mist netting were
perfect, and we were treated to 60 birds of a range of species, including Pied Flycatcher, Sedge
Warbler, and Whitethroat. This was their best day for ringing so far this year! Dungeness is lucky to
get one Grasshopper Warbler a year, but we managed to catch 3 while we were down there.
Perhaps this is an indication of a good breeding year for certain species. Results like these indicate
how important the work of observatories are for monitoring the fortunes of both common and rarer
birds.
A personal highlight for Holly was ringing a Firecrest, a species that is hardly recorded in
Nottinghamshire and a fairly rare catch for the Bird Observatory too. It was a striking male with a
vivid fluorescent orange crest.
There was also a Wryneck in the scrub of the desert area where we were spring trapping. On this
occasion, seen but not caught, though it certainly lured in the birdwatchers.
Two days were totally rained off with persistent high winds and storms. Although it wasn’t mist
netting weather, we made the most of seawatching and making time to research other projects.
Upon arrival, the area seemed very quiet for nature, seemingly with little habitat. However, our
experiences through the week proved this to be incorrect: whether it was the full moth traps each
night, the migrating birds, or the friendly foxes, wildlife was everywhere on this part of the coast. It
was a pleasure to stay here for a great week. Thanks to David, Tom and Jill for all their help and
enthusiasm.
Holly and Josh
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| Dungeness (HJ) |
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| Firecrest (JP) |
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| Whinchat (HJ) |
It was a surprise to travel into drizzle on my way to Ramsdale early on Sunday as it was forecast to be dry until midday!
By the time we had the nets set, the drizzle had stopped. We put out 5 sound lures including Tree Pipit. We started to catch fairly steadily but then at about 0950, just after a net round and before we had finished processing, the heavens opened. We quickly decided to put the bagged birds we had under cover and headed out to close the nets. About 45 mins later the downpour stopped and we started to open the nets again but with drenched vegetation the birds seemed reluctant to move and we caught little else.
We took down and headed home with our wet kit, having caught 32 birds, comprising: Blackbird 1, Blackcap 14, Blue Tit 4, Chiffchaff 9, Goldcrest 1, Goldfinch 1, Great Tit 1, Willow Warbler 1.
Having travelled just a couple of miles from Ramsdale I noticed everywhere was dry. Once home I was informed there had not been any rain at all in Toton!
Kev
It is recognised that all European passerines have 10 primary feathers, which are often numbered for reference, but confusingly this can be done in both directions. Here I am using the system which numbers descendently - meaning the innermost is #1 and the outermost #10.
In some passerine families, such as Alaudidae (larks), Hirundinidae (swallows), Motacillidae (pipits & wagtails), Bombycillidae (waxwings), Fringillidae (finches) and Emberizidae (buntings), the outermost primary (#10) is sometimes very small and difficult to detect (Svensson - Identification Guide to European Passerines).
This is also recognised in Moult and Ageing of European Passerines by Jenni & Winkler: “In some passerine species, the outermost primary is about half as long as the adjacent one (e.g., Wren Troglodytes troglodytes), but in most species P10 is very much reduced. In the Alaudidae, Hirundinidae, Motacillidae, Passcridae, Fringillidae and Emberizidae, P10 is extremely small and difficult to detect under the primary coverts.”
In the guide Moult in Birds by Ginn & Melville, they go one step further and describe the relative length of P10 and give it a description, e.g. for Wren it is P:10 o.r.
This means that Wrens have 10 primary feathers but the Outermost is Reduced (o.r.). But what do these descriptions look like and how do they affect our ability to accurately score moult?
o.r. - outermost reduced
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| Wren - P:10 o.r. = outermost reduced |
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| Blackcap - P:10 o.r. = outermost reduced |
o.m.r. - outermost much reduced
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| Robin - P:10 o.m.r. - outermost much reduced |
v.r. - very reduced
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| Dunnock - P9+1 v.r. |
So, for these families, it should be relatively easy to identify P10, or if it is missing, and therefore accurately determine a primary moult score for all 10 primaries.
But what about those families whose outer primary is tiny and difficult to detect?
For these species, Ginn & Melville describe P10 as m. 'minute' or v. 'vestigial'. Like this example for Bullfinch - P:9+1 m.
m. - minute
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| Bullfinch - P9+1 m. |
The only passerines with a vestigial outer primary (P:9+1 v.) I can find in Ginn & Melville are Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin and Bearded Tit.
Vestigial “is most often used in biology to describe something that either didn’t finish developing or has become, through evolution, pretty much useless”.
So, it’s pretty difficult to allocate a moult score to a feather we may not even be able to find.
Fortunately, guidance from the BTO, as found in A Field Reference Guide for Ringing and Nest Recording allows that for passerines with P10 which cannot be accurately scored, X, small outer feather not scored, can be added to the primary moult score, e.g. 555555432X.
However, with some knowledge of the length of the outermost primary and the expected moult sequence of passerines, some judgement should be used here. For example, if P9 is still an old feather then in all probability P10 will also still be an old feather. Likewise, if P9 is a new, fully grown feather, it is highly likely that primary 10 is also a new, or very nearly, fully grown feather. In these instances, the appropriate score can be added.
Mick P
What else would we do on a bank holiday Monday but go to Skylarks NR? The weather was mostly
calm and sunny, though the breeze picked up a little as the morning progressed. There appeared to be
a lot of birds flitting around the bushes as we set up, and the first couple of net rounds produced
a surprising number of birds (considering the total birds for last week was 12, we weren’t sure
what to expect this week).
We finished up with a total of 69 birds including 8 retraps: Chiffchaff 28, Blackcap 13, Reed
Warbler 10, Lesser Whitethroat 7, Garden Warbler 5, Willow Warbler 3, Wren 1, Song Thrush 1,
Blackbird 1.
Although the numbers of passage warblers was good, it was overall a limited species list with
hardly any resident species. Notably, we didn’t catch any Robins, Dunnocks or tits.
It was lovely to have two new people, Adele and Rebecca, come along for the morning to
experience bird ringing. They asked really good questions and were so keen to learn more
about each bird species and what we look for when ageing and sexing them.
Josh shared his homemade cinnamon spice cake which was absolutely delicious, and the
blackberries remain plentiful.
Holly
I'd not visited Gedling Country Park since January, having decided to wait autumn passage to start, as I didn't think there would be much to catch in spring and during the breeding season. I had my first visit on 21 July, and just put up the nets in the positions I had used previously, in the scrubby area to the west of the park. One net was reasonably productive, but the other only caught a handful of birds - its position being less than ideal against a backdrop of thick birch woodland.
I visited about a week later to cut out a couple of new rides in the more sparsely vegetated scrub nearby, just two areas - one enough for a 12m net the other only a 9m. These looked much more suitable for catching migrant warblers, with low hawthorn and birch scrub within a mix of more open areas.
A couple of days later I returned and got the nets up. One net had a tape playing mixed warblers, and the other the phyllosc/lotti/crest mix that I've found to be very effective so far.
I was pleasantly surprised to catch a total of 51 birds, and it was one of those days where I think I could have stayed and caught steadily all day, but obviously this has implications in the welfare of the birds, and with time restraints of my own I packed up around 1130, having had nets up for around 4 hrs.
It was a pleasure to handle a few species I haven't really had experience of in the hand since acquiring my C permit, particularly Whitethroat, but also having numerous Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers, rather than catching the odd 1 or 2 a year in the garden. A few Linnet also came to tape at the end of the session.
Totals for the day were 9 Willow Warbler, 9 Blue Tit, 8 Great Tit, 8 Chiffchaff, 3 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Linnet, 3 Robin, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Dunnock and singles of Goldcrest, Blackcap and Goldfinch. There was also one retrap Blue Tit.
Hopefully I'll manage a couple more sessions before turning my attention to Meadow Pipits in September.
Tom
