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)