A Garden Full of Blue Tits

Since earning my C permit in August of this year, I have been ringing in my garden to see just how
many birds eat the food. This week marked the 200th bird ringed, of 16 species.

By far the most numerous of all the birds has been Blue Tit. I have ringed 93 Blue Tits in just 20 foot
of net. Out of these, only 31 have been EURING age code 3 (born this year). This means 2/3 have
been adults, which is a concerning statistic for this year’s breeding success and the future numbers
of the population. Numbers can bounce back after a poor breeding season, but this relies on better
weather and abundant food. 

In addition to retrap Blue Tits (ones which I have previously ringed), I have also caught a control (one that someone else ringed). Ringed by Sorby Breck Ringing Group. This had travelled 41km down to me in South Derbyshire.

Earlier on in the year, I managed to catch 2 Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler. As the weather has
become colder, there have been more Goldfinch (3) and Chaffinch (10). I have been trying to catch
other visitors to the garden, including Redwing, Fieldfare, Greenfinch, and Pied Wagtail, but no luck
so far. 

Some nice surprises have included 7 Coal Tits, 5 Nuthatch, and 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers.
By far the biggest surprise was to catch an adult Jackdaw in the net!

One of my favourite birds to ring is the Blackbird, but I had a hard time catching any for the first
month. It was only when I moved the net that I finally caught a female. Just recently, I caught 5 in
one day, though putting apples out during the snow may have helped.

Josh

Nuthatch

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jackdaw

Blackbird

Goldfinch

Blue Tit

 

Gedling Country Park, Saturday 15 November

After a few sessions attempting to catch Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings on the open habitat near the solar farm, I returned to the western side of the park to try for Redwing and Redpoll. School run duties meant that a later start was made, so I was surprised that I managed to catch a few Redwing on the first round, and it looked promising with lots of birds around, but unfortunately no more found the net. It was a similar story with the Redpoll, an extended net ride from the summer set-up had Redpoll calls playing but failed to attract anything. In a bid of desperation, I put the trusty Lotti/Phyllosc/Crest tape on and was rewarded with a few Long-tailed Tit and Goldcrest, along with a Coal Tit - a new species for the site.

I had thought it unusual no Blue Tits had been caught. I was just thinking of packing up when the net playing Goldcrest call attracted a flock of 20 birds, 12 of which were Blue Tit. That made my session a little longer than I'd planned!

A shame the target species weren't more numerous (only 4 Redpoll were noted during the morning), but it was pleasant to end on 39 birds, made up of the following (New/Retrap): Long-tailed Tit 10/5, Blue Tit 12/0, Great Tit 2/2, Goldcrest 4/0, Redwing 3/0, Coal Tit 1/0.

Tom

Redwing

Goldcrest

Coal Tit

 

Allestree Park Ringing Demo – Saturday 16 November

For the second ringing session at Allestree Park, I had managed to organise a demo for members of the local organisations. We set up eight nets across the site, and put out a mix of bird food to attract some resident species. This certainly helped with numbers, as we caught over 60 Blue Tits, Great Tits and Coal Tits in the nets near the food. The birds remained steady all morning, with highlights being 3 Redpoll, 1 Redwing, and 1 Treecreeper – birds that many people don’t get to see regularly.

Over the morning, we had over 30 visitors arrive, finding out a bit more about bird ringing. Feedback was very positive, and everyone had a great time. It was a fantastic day to bring together a range of people associated with the park. Huge thanks to Sandra from Derby City Council, Ben from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Vic and Steve from Derbyshire Ornithological Society, and members from Friends of Allestree Park.

Totals for the day were: 2 Blackbirds, 34 Blue Tits, 4 Coal Tits, 3 Dunnocks, 2 Goldfinches, 25 Great Tits, 3 Redpoll, 1 Redwing, 2 Robin, and 1 Treecreeper.

Josh

Some of our visitors (HJ)

Lesser Redpoll (HJ)

Releasing a Blackbird (SH)

Blue Tit comparison (SH)

Broomfield Winter CES Visit 2 - Sunday 17 November

On Sunday, we visited Broomfield College for our second Winter CES session. We set up our
usual nets in a copse baited with seed and fat balls. Outside the copse, we set up two areas
for Redwing and one net in an orchard for Fieldfare and other thrushes.

After the success of the first visit where we caught 40 Redwing, this week was rather
underwhelming with a total catch of only 20 birds of 8 species, including 8 retraps. The highlight
was an adult female Kestrel. One positive was the orchard site and mixed thrush tape seemed
to be working well to attract Blackbirds, with 4 caught and many more flushed from the bushes
each net round, it looks promising for future visits in colder weather.

In an effort to pass the time, an additional net was set up along a hedgerow to target finches, as
were four spring traps, but these only produced a single Robin. Overall the morning was
extremely quiet with very little sign of any birds around at all, including on the feeders.

Totals for the morning were: Blackbird 4, Robin 4, Dunnock 3, Blue Tit 3, Great Tit 2, Redwing
2, Chaffinch 1, Kestrel 1.

Christine made Anzac biscuits and they certainly set the bar high on the biscuit front. If I only
ever eat one biscuit ever again I would like it to be these.

Holly

Blackbirds

Kestrel

 

Sibthorpe & Elton, 8/9 November

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

Elton ringing (CB)

Broomfield Hall College – Saturday 9 November

The second visit was made to the feeding site at Broomfield Hall today. Apart from the feeder nets we put up a few satellite nets again, using sound lures on these (Redwing, Hawfinch, mixed finch and Long-tailed Tit/Goldcrest mix). Only the Redwing and Goldcrest calls were successful in attracting birds to the nets. The feeding area was quiet again and generally the whole site seemed quieter than last week. The conditions for mist-netting were again ideal being very calm and overcast. We had a reasonable catch of Redwing away from the feeders. The nets at the feeders produced a small catch of 24 birds, mostly tits. Josh set a few spring traps for Pied Wagtails but only managed to catch a robin. We ended the day with 50 birds captured of 10 species. The catch comprised of Wren 1, Goldcrest 2, Blue Tit 4, Great Tit 4, Long-tailed Tit 7, Robin 5, Chaffinch 3, Dunnock 4, Redwing 19, Blackbird 1.

Other observations on site were reasonable numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare passing over, a Sparrowhawk that did not ‘stick’ in the net and a calling Nuthatch.

Kev

Broomfield Hall College – Sunday 3 November

The feeding site at Broomfield Hall is now enrolled into the BTO’s Winter Ringing Project and we made the first netting visit of the season today. We had started to bait up there two weeks ago and today set the standard nets at the feeders which are counted in the BTO project, plus a couple in the sports field adjacent to the feeders and three more over by the orchard and horticultural area. These additional nets had a number of sound lures playing various calls but mainly Redwing. The conditions for mist netting were ideal - being very calm and overcast. These conditions no doubt helped in achieving a very respectable catch of Redwing away from the feeders. The nets at the feeders produced a small catch of 25 birds, mostly tits, but we were not surprised given the run of mild nights and days we have been experiencing. We ended the day with 76 birds captured of 13 species, including 10 birds recaptured from last winter's ringing effort. The most interesting of these was the recapture of the only Green Woodpecker ringed last winter. The catch comprised: Wren 1, Goldcrest 1, Blue Tit 15, Great Tit 7, Coal Tit 1, Robin 2, Chaffinch 3, Goldfinch 1, Dunnock 2, Redwing 40, Song Thrush 1, Blackbird 1, Green Woodpecker 1.

Other observations on site were lots Redwing passing over and a small party of Ring-necked Parakeets.

Kev

Brackenhurst - Saturday 2 November

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

The odd Blue Tit with 5 retained primary coverts on each wing (AT)

Redwing (AT)

Sparrowhawk (AT)

Jay (AT)

Allestree Park – Thursday 31 October

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

Kestrel wing, with 2 retained secondaries (HJ)

Kestrel (JP)

Redwing (JP)

Part of the Long-tailed Tit flock (JP)

Robin (HJ)

 

Ramsdale Park Golf Club – Sunday 27 October

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

A Great Tit with suspended moult (JP)

Autumn netting (HJ)

 

Ramsdale Park Golf Club – Sunday 13 October

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

Redpolls (JP)

Great Tit moult (JP)

 

 

Vilamoura, Portugal - September 2024

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

 

Over 1,000 Birds Ringed at Manor Floods Nature Reserve

Since I started ringing at Manor Floods Nature Reserve in 2018, I have been using just 36m of mist nets to monitor the bird populations on this huge site. Recently, I reached a significant milestone: over 1,000 birds ringed, with the 1,000th bird being a Blackcap. To date, I have ringed a total of 1,034 birds at the site.

Manor Floods is an exceptional location, characterised by a diverse mosaic of habitats. The reserve’s scrubland, interspersed with wetlands and bordered by woodland, provides an ideal environment for both resident and migratory species. The scrub habitat, in particular, has proven invaluable for species such as the Willow Warbler, with 72 individuals ringed so far. This dense growth of shrubs and young trees offers essential cover and breeding grounds for many birds.

The five most commonly ringed species at the reserve are:

• Blackcap – 161 individuals
• Willow Warbler – 72 individuals
• Blue Tit – 120 individuals
• Chiffchaff – 105 individuals
• Reed Warbler – 66 individuals

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

Holme Pierrepont – Saturday 14 September

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 

Cetti's Warblers (JP)

Cake! (SH)