Ahhhh... Babies!

Todays bird ringing session - CES visit 5 at Priory Country Park - was dominated by juvenile birds.

41 birds of 13 species, 32 new & 9 retraps (retraps in brackets).

Chiffchaff 4 (2) - 5 of these were juveniles
Great Tit 4 (0) - all 4 juveniles
Wren 1 (1)
Blue Tit 7 (0) - all 7 juveniles
Long Tailed Tit 1 (0) - a juvenile
Bullfinch 1 (0) - a juvenile
Dunnock 1 (2) - of these 2 were juveniles (the other being a retrap adult)
Blackbird 4 (0) - 4 new juveniles
Robin 2 (1) - including 1 new juvenile
Blackcap 4 (2) - including 1 new juvenile
Greenfinch 1 (0)
Chaffinch 1 (0)
Song Thrush 1 (0) - a juvenile

That's a total of 27 juveniles. If you are interested in totals from our other CES visits, please click here.

Here are some of the cast from today:

Above: A juvenile Blackbird on the left and an adult female on the right for comparison.

Above: A juvenile Song Thrush - note all the thorn shaped markings on the wing.



Above: A juvenile Chiffchaff.

Above: A juvenile Robin (left) and adult Robin (right) for comparison. It will be a while yet before the baby Robin gets its own red breast - it has to replace and grow more feathers before that happens.

Above: A juvenile Bullfinch

Last weekend, we made a visit to 'the crescent' where we caught 20 different adult Reed Warblers moving between the reed bed and surrounding vegetation. Of the other 10 birds we caught, of note was our first juvenile Blackcap of the year.

Bird Ringing: Totals for CES Visits 6 & 7

CES Visit 6 (26/06/11)

Totals: 29 birds of 10 species: (retraps in brackets)

Robin 6 (0) = 6 [all juveniles]
Wren 3 (1) = 4 [2 juveniles]
Reed Warbler 6 (0) = 6 [5 juveniles]
Garden Warbler 2 (0) = 2 [1 juvenile]
Blackbird 2 (1) = 3
Dunnock 3 (0) = 3 [all juveniles]
Whitethroat 2 (0) = 2 [all juveniles]
Blue Tit 1 (0) = 1 [a juvenile]
Song Thrusth 1 (0) = 1 [a juvenile]
Blackcap 1 (0) = 1

A ringing demonstration was held during the morning - the highlight of which was a Song Thrush.

CES Visit 7 (03/07/11)

Today, the new CES period started so I decided to squeeze in Visit 7 of 12. I had high hopes after my success at Sandy Smith Nature Reserve yesterday (click here for more details).

The wind was virtually non existant for once. It was very sunny to start with the second half of the session very cloudy.

In order of appearance, the totals were: 35 birds of 11 species: (reptraps in brackets)

Great Tit 1 (0) = 1 [a juvenile]
Dunnock 8 (3) = 11 [8 juveniles]
Wren 1 (1) = 1
Blackcap 5 (1) = 6 [5 juveniles]
Robin 3 (1) = 4 [all juveniles]
Chiff Chaff 4 (0) = 4 [3 juveniles]
Reed Warbler 1 (0) = 1 [a juvenile]
Whitethroat 2 (0) = 2 [1 juvenile]
Chaffinch 1 (0) = 1
Blackbird 1 (1) = 2
Bullfinch 1 (0) = 1 [a juvenile]



Above: A juvenile Bullfinch.

My high hopes didn't get realised but I have no grounds for complaint! Thanks to David Howes for helping and to DK & DB and JM (ranger) for stopping by for a chat.

Being all at sixes and sevens for the last couple of weeks, we'll be have to wait a while before we're after eight!

Bird Ringing - CES Visit 4 - 05/06/11

CES VISIT 4 today 05/06/11: 47 birds of 14 species (retraps in brackets)

Robin 4 (0) - all juveniles
Blackbird 0 (1) - fledged last year and a regular
Whitethroat 4 (0) - 3 juveniles and an adult
Chiff Chaff 5 (0) - 3 juveniles, 2 adults
Garden Warbler 1 (1) - adults of both sexes
Blackcap 5 (0) - 3 juveniles, 2 adult males
Great Tit 2 (0) - both juveniles
Blue Tit 13 (0) - 9 juveniles, 4 adults (including one in moult)
Chaffinch 2 (0) - 1 juvenile and one adult male
Dunnock 1 (2) - one juvenile and the retraps were adults
Wren 0 (1) - fledged last year
Long Tailed Tits 3 (0) - 3 juveniles
Coal Tit 1 (0) - a juvenile and only the second of this species ringed at Priory
Green Woodpecker 1 (0) - an adult male

Very good totals for this site.



Above: This juvenile Coal Tit is only the 2nd bird of this species ringed here (the first being in September 2010).



Above: A Green Woodpecker (my bird of the day).

For more info (including more photographs) of these birds and other sessions, please click here.

Ringing results

From 'The Rough'

Sunday 15th May: 21 birds of 14 species (retraps in brackets)

Blackbird 0 (2)
Wren 0 (1)
Whitethroat 1 (0)
Great Tit 0 (2)
Dunnock 0 (2)
Sedge Warbler 1 (0)
Blue Tit 0 (1)
Robin 1 (0) - our first juvenile of the year
Blackcap 3 (0)
Bullfinch 1 (0)
Chiff Chaff 1 (0)
Garden Warbler 3 (0)
Song Thrush 1 (0)
Cetti's Warbler 0 (1)

Sunday 22nd May: 26 birds of 9 species (retraps in brackets)

Blackcap 5 (1) - the retrap being first ringed in 2004!
Dunnock 2 (3) - including 1 juvenile
Wren 0 (1)
Robin 2 (0) - both juveniles
Garden Warbler 3 (0)
Reed Warbler 1 (0)
Great Tit 1 (2)
Bullfinch 1 (1)
Blue Tit 3 (0) - all 3 juveniles

Sat 28th Aug

Main Lake and area - 15 Shoveler, 1 Wigeon, 15 C.Swift, c.20 House Martin, 8 Cormorant
Fingers - 2 Shoveler, 4 Gadwall, Kingfisher

Long Hedge - ringing totals were: Chiffchaff 2, Blackcap 6, C.Whitethroat 3, Blackbird 3, Song Thrush 4, Robin 1, Dunnock 4, Chaffinch 1, Goldfinch 1.
Birds seen whilst ringing - Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, ~8 Goldfinch, juv Gt. Spot.Woodpecker, Greenfinch, party of Long-tailed and other Tits. No sign of last weekend's Spotted Flycatcher(s).

Total number of individual birds caught during the CES (Constant Effort) period (May-August) was 370, made up of 115 adults and 195 juveniles plus an extra 60 pulli ringed in local nest boxes that have not been recaptured to date. So far, 56 Blackcaps have been ringed this year (with 5 recaptures from previous years - 1 female & 4 males) but the season has not ended. We hope to be catching them for another 6 weeks yet.

CES ringing

Sunday 15th - another "slow" day with a change of numbers across the species, Notable absentees were Willow Warbler (expected) and Chiffchaff (youngsters moved on but some calling from the bushes).

16 new birds (& 8 retraps)
Wren (1)
Robin (1)
Blackbird 1 (3) - several young birds re-caught
Reed Warbler 2
Les. Whitethroat 1
C. Whitethroat 1
Garden Warbler 4 - today's special!
Blackcap 4
Blue Tit 2 (1)
Gt. Tit (2)
Bullfinch 1

Other birds about: - male Sparrowhawk (twice), a few Swallows, Common Terns (youngsters calling for food), Gt. Spot and Green Woodpecker, COMMON SANDPIPER. No Swifts seen.

Latest ringing results

We went on the Sunday, the first day of the month and the new period.

A tad on the slow side this morning, although conditions were about right - light breeze and plenty of cloud cover. However, this is the time of year when most of the birds are beginning to moult and the juveniles disperse to pastures new.

So here are the totals for new birds (and retraps):
Great Tit (3)
Chiffchaff 3 (1, a moulting adult female)
Willow Warbler 1, only our 3rd bird of the year
Blackcap 2 (1, an adult moulting male from 2007)
C. Whitethroat 2 (1)
Reed Warbler 1
TREECREEPER 1, a fresh juvenile, our 1st of the year
Wren 2
Blackbird 1, an adult male!!
Robin 1, getting its red breast, (1)
Dunnock 2
Chaffinch (1)
Goldfinch 1, our 1st juvenile of the year.

Overhead we watched c.14 C.Swifts, the terns toing and froing from the Willington or further east. EG had a Little Egbert while EN spotted a Sparrowhawk. The woodpeckers were a little quiescent, giving a funny squeeky sound and the most half-hearted of drummings.
On the ground we had a Hedgehog and a Weasel, both out in broad daylight. The 'piggy' looked healthy and the mustelid was harassing the rabbits with good effect.

Smoke without fire

Today, Tuesday, the wardens and the ringers tried to light a fire. Three times there were flames, three times there were crackles, three times there was smoke. But, alas, no bonfire. Every thing was very wet - and that was before the afternoon sleet and rain began for yet another day.

The object of today's task was to reduce some more of the Hawthorn scrub in the 'Rough' to assist in catching the birds during the study period this summer. This 'constant effort' study has been going on along the same net rides for 20 years. If the vegetation is too high, the birds will not be caught, If the vegetation becomes too 'overgrown', the numbers and types of birds will alter.

The object of the whole exercise is to try and maintain 'standardisation' as near as is possible. This is achieved by 'rotational cutting'. This allows four differing heights and density of habitat to be available to the birds each year, maintaining the 'status quo' - more or less.

Last of the summer wine?

Thursday 27th Aug.
Last session of the 2009 season for Constant Effort ringing. Now we go back to ringing for ourselves. A decent day to round off the summer with 27 birds of which 26 were juvvies & 19 were new. The only adult bird was a male Goldfinch in moult.

(Retraps in brackets). Wren (1), Dunnock 2 (1), Blackbird (3), Reed Warbler 4, Lesser 'throat 1, Whitethroat 1 (1), Blackcap 5 (2), Treecreeper 1 - our 2nd in a week, Greenfinch 1, Goldfinch 3, Bullfinch 1.

An adult male Sprawk came down the 'dark' (north) side of the Long Hedge and hit the net by a pole as I was walking up. Even though I was quite close, it wriggled and got out. Half an hour later, it came back over. There has been a noticeable increase in 'feathers' on the ground recently, presumable from his (or his like) attacks. Also a male Kestrel.

This year has been not been the best for adults - I suspect they have had it relatively easy and have been breeding "non-stop". The juveniles have excelled themselves; it has been the best year since 1992-1994! It was the best productivity ever for Dunnock, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, & Goldfinch - and 2nd best for Blackbird & Great Tit.

Statistics:- 372 individual birds caught, 99 adults (51 birds from previous years), 273 juveniles.

CES 22nd August

A CES session, either the last visit or possibly an additional; this will depend on whether we ring here next weekend and how well we do.
21 birds today, 7 retraps, just 2 adults - a 2005 Dunnock & a 2006 Blackbird.

Wren 1, Dunnock (1), Robin (1), Blackbird 4 (4), Song Thrush 1, Whitethroat (1), Blackcap 5, Chiffchaff 1, Willow Warbler 1, Treecreeper 1. This seems a low catch but the weather was bright and sunny and migrant species may have left earlier in the week.

CES v.11 - Another good day!

A cracking mornings ringing for the 11th session of this year's CES programme. It was a shame that all bar 5 birds came in the first 3 hours - we would have liked it to have carried on right through. [By contrast - it got better in the second half last week at The Thorns]. The weather wasn't '3-bad', but it would have been nicer if the wind had been lighter. On the other hand, perhaps the wind helped today, because it did drop off somewhat in the second half.

Top birds - Blackcap, Goldfinch & Song Thrush.

Totals were: Wren 2, Dunnock 1 (1), Robin 4 (1), Blackbird 2 (2), Song Thrush 4, Reed W. 1, Whitethroat 1, Garden W 3, Blackcap 8, Chiff 2, Willow W. 4, Blue Tit 1, Great Tit 2, Goldfinch 6.
Of the 45 birds, 41 were juveniles (2 r/t) and the other 4 were obviously adults with 2 r/t.

A Blackbird was first ringed as a 1CY in 2004 and a male Dunnock in 2005

CES v.10 - A Good day's work

Undertook visit 10 of the CES programme on 8th August in fine weather with light winds. 42 birds of 15 species trapped, all bar 6 were newbies.
Wood Pig 1, Wren 2, Dunnock 2, Robin 2, Blacky 4, Mavis 1, Reed Warbler, 3, Lesserthroat 1, Whitethroat 5, Garden Warbler 5, Blackcap 8, Chiffy 1, Blue Tit 5, Greenfinch 1, Goldfinch 1.
A juvvy Green Woody and one of its parents was bombing about noisily all morning. The surprise of the day was a singing Willow Warbler.

CES v.9 - 25th July

Another CES visit on Saturday - but this time open to the public.
A very good catch of 43 birds, only 6 of which were adults (inc. 3 Blackcaps).
Summary - Wren 7, Dunnock 4, Robin 3, Blackbird 4, Song Thrush 1, Reed Warbler 4, Whitethroat 3, Blackcap 8, Chiffchaff 3, Blue Tit 1, Great Tit 2, Goldfinch 3.

A german ringer joined Ed and I for the morning and we were visited by about 10 people, one of whom was a potential recruit.

CES ringing 11/07

Visit No.8 of 12. Drizzle for much of the time made for a damp session with frequent visits to the nets.

Tally for the day is: Wren 3 juvs, Dunnock 2 adults & 5 juvs, Robin 3 juvs, Reed Warbler 2 adults & 2 juvs, Garden Warbler 1 adult & 1 juv, Blackcap 4 juvs, Chiff 7 juvs, Gt. Tit 2 juvs, Treecreeper 1 ,juv, Bullfinch 2 adults & 1 juv. We also picked up an adult breeding female Reed Bunting from the 'crescent' which had been taken by an avian predator.

A male Dunnock and a male Reed Warbler were from 2006 (ringed as young birds) and the male Bullfinch from October 2007 was with its mate, a bird from last year.

CES ringing - 04/07

Now into the second half with Visit No.7. A good total today and a new species for the year.

Green Woodpecker 1, Wren3, Dunnock 8, Robin 6, Blackbird 1, Song Thrush 1 (a female from 2003), Reed Warbler 2, Whitethroat 2, Blackcap 9, Chiffchaff 5, Gt.Tit 2.

The Gt Crested's have at least 1 "humbug" at long last (prob. hatched Thurs.). I noticed 2 large terrapins on 'lilypads' the other day that, together with the Coot, are the cause of the delay in 'production' and also the likely cause of low success for the GCG's.

Gull passage has started but no Common Gulls yet.

CES ringing on 26/06

A dull day, but only the weather! So far this year, we are having an excellent CES season, which may prove to be one of the best (numbers wise) for a good few years. Certainly makes up for the low numbers of the last two years.

"Strange birds" for us here were Woodpigeon, a fat one, & Magpie, a fully grown youngster.

All told, 44, with 32 of them juveniles.
The other 42 consisted of: Wren 5, Dunnock 5, Robin 6, Blackbird 5, Garden Warbler 1, Blackcap 7, Chiffchaff 8 (today's star bird), Blue Tit 1, Gt. Tit 2, Chaffinch 2.

In 6 sessions so far this year, we have caught 166 individuals of 18 species. We are now half way through the CES programme for 2009, our 18th year.

CES ringing - 13/06

Late news, I'm afraid.

Thanks to Guy and Ed for doing this one for me - while I enjoyed the sunshine in SW Scotland! Total of 40 birds, of which only 2 were retraps.

(Adults then juveniles) : Wren 1/2, Dunnock 1/4, Robin 0/3, Blackbird 2/0 (both breeding females), Reed Warbler 1/0, Whitethroat 0/4, Blackcap 1/8, Chiffchaff 2/6, Blue Tit 0/1, Great Tit 0/3, Chaffinch 0/1.

So, some later broods of Wren, Dunnock and Robin plus the main broods of Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Whitethroat. Finches and Garden Warblers to come, eh, plus more Blackbirds?

CES ringing 29/05

A very sunny day that kept most of the adult male birds in the treetops, strutting their stuff, if they weren't already ferrying morsels to their offspring.

Out of the 21 birds that we caught, 8 were juvenile Robins (1 a retrap from last week at a different sub-site). We have now caught 18 birds from a guesstimate of 6 different broods/nests.


Others included 3 young Chiffchaffs, a juv Chaffinch, 2 fledged Dunnocks + 3 adults, a pair of Balckbirds a cock Wren and a female Garden Warbler that was born in this patch in 2007.

We now have a wait of two weeks before the next session, our 5th of 12.

CES ringing 23/05

A better day's ringing with 33 birds of 12 species caught.
9 of these were new adults and we caught 14 new juveniles, including a brood of 7 Gt. Tits, plus 'mum & dad', all in the same net.

Birds of interest seen whilst working were pair of Cuckoo (very noisy), several Swifts (maybe 20), a pair of Sparrowhawks, a pair of Gt. Spots., Collared Doves and several Starlings busy with their imminent offspring. Highlight was a passing 2CY Hen Harrier.

Wren 5 (1 juv), Dunnock 4 (1 juv), Robin 3 (2 juvs), Blackbird 2 (1 juv), Reed Warbler 1, Whitethroat 1, Garden Warbler 3, Blackcap 1, Chiffchaff 1 juv, Blue Tit 2, Gt. Tit 9, Chaffinch 2 ( 1 juv).

One of the Garden Warblers was first ringed in early spring 2003 (as an adult male). The retrap Blackbird, a male, was ringed in 2005, caught again several times in 2007 and now; all these records have been during the breeding season - so where does it go to in the winter? [We (Ivel Ringing Group) work the site all year].

CES ringing - 11/05

A very windy day compared to yesterday; on the limit for mist-netting passerines. All birds were caught in the bottom two panel, needless to say.

5 new adults, 7 juveniles & 4 retraps - Wren 1, Dunnock 3 (1 juv), Robin 4 juvs, Blackbird 1 juv, Song thrush 1 juv, Reed warbler 1, Garden warbler 2, Chiffchaff 1, Bullf 2 (a pair); 17 birds in all.
The 2 retrap Dunnocks were from Nov'05 & June'03, the new (female) Garden Warbler carried fat3 and bp1 so was most likely fresh in (or stopping over) and the Bullies were a pair of 'teenagers' (he had no PJ ogc's)

Other birds - Hobby, 15+ Swifts early, plus a party of 9 'screamers' mid-morning, and the Swans on the main lake hatched off 6 cygnets (yesterday?) while 'she of Fingers' is still sitting, ignoring 'himself' chasing the Canadas [which gives us pleasure].