Ringing near Gifford 09/10 winter (1 Viewer)

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Oct 11, 2009

• #1

Saturday 10th October, ringing at Site 2.

This was really an exploratory session while we did some trimming. Layout has changed this year too, with the wild bird cover we rely on to draw birds being split down both sides of a strip of wood, previously down the south west side only.

Catches were
Dunnock new 2
Great tit new 1
Reed bunting new 1

We were using an assorted thrush tape lure in the hope of attracting passing migrants. A mistle thrush reacted most amusingly, eventually landing on one of the net poles and peering at the lure intently.

Other species seen / heard :
Tawny owl 3+
Buzzard
Skylark
Redwing
Blackbird
Robin
Greater spotted woodpecker
Yellowhammer
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Crossbill
Meadow pipit
Coal tit
Jay
Pied Wagtail

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Oct 25, 2009

• #2

Saturday 24th October, ringing at Site 1.

Another trimming session.

Catches were
Chaffinch new 1
Dunnock new 1
Robin new 2
retrap 1
Tree sparrow new 1
Wren new 1

Been a nice flock of sparrows, mainly tree, here recently. Maybe a slow build up from zero over recent years is bearing fruit.

Other species seen / heard :
Tawny owl
Buzzard
Skylark
Blackbird
Yellowhammer
Coal tit
Stankie
Grey partridge

We also visited the linnet feeding station. Feeding rape has not started yet but there is plenty wild bird cover. We found
6+ linnet
2+ reed bunting
4+ skylark.

Another break of wld bird cover had c.40 linnet recently.

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

Last edited: Oct 26, 2009

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Nov 5, 2009

• #3

31/10/09 Ringing at site 2. Many thanks to all concerned.

Blackbird new
retrap 1
Blue tit new 1
retrap
Dunnock new 1
retrap
Great tit new
retrap 1 (control)
Song thrush new
retrap 1
Wren new 1
retrap
TOTAL new 4
retrap 3


Also seen / heard at site 2 :
Tawny owl
Buzzard
14 Peewit
Greater spotted woodpecker
Jay
Redwing
Fieldfare
Coal tit
Long tailed tit
40-50 Starling
Skylark
Bullfinch
Chaffinch
Brambling
Redpoll
Reed bunting
and 2 roe deer

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Nov 10, 2009

• #4

7/11/09 Ringing at site 1. Many thanks to all concerned.

Mist netting at feeding station

Blackbird new 2
retrap 1
Blue tit new 4
retrap 1
Bullfinch new 1
retrap
Chaffinch new 10
retrap 2
Dunnock new 3
retrap 1
Greenfinch new 3
retrap
Robin new 1
retrap 3
Tree sparrow new 8
retrap
Wren new 2
retrap
TOTAL new 34
retrap 8


Also seen / heard near feeding station
Buzzard
30-40 pink-footed geese
Golden plover
Tawny owl
Skylark
Long-tailed tit
Brambling
Reed bunting
Yellowhammer

Small groups of fieldfare (20-30) are now moving round the farm.

We opened half a dozen or so beech seed cases - none had kernels.

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2009

• #5

21/11/09 Ringing. Many thanks to all concerned.

Mist net catches at site 3 :

Blackbird new 7
retrap 1
Blue tit new 1
retrap
Chaffinch new 2
retrap
Dunnock new 2
retrap
Great tit new 1
retrap
House sparrow new 2
retrap
Robin new 1
retrap
Tree sparrow new 2
retrap
Wren new 2
retrap
TOTALS new 20
retrap 1

Also seen / heard at site 3
Buzzard
4+ Tawny owl
Teal
Mallard
30 & 7 greylag geese
Heron
Redwing
17 Fieldfare
Greenfinch
Siskin
Redpoll
Reed bunting
Yellowhammer

At site 1, linnet feeding station
c.120 linnet

main feeding station
100-150 mixed flock largely chaffinch and sparrows (tree and house), also greenfinch and yellowhammer

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Nov 30, 2009

• #6

28/11/09 Ringing at site 2. Many thanks to all concerned.

Blackbird new 4
retrap
Blue tit new 4
retrap
Bullfinch new 5
retrap
Chaffinch new 12
retrap
Coal tit new 2
retrap
Dunnock new 6
retrap 3
Goldfinch new 2
retrap
Great tit new
retrap 2
Linnet new 1
retrap
Reed bunting new 1
retrap
TOTAL new 37
retrap 5



Also seen / heard at site 2 :
Tawny owl
Buzzard
Heron
80-100 Pink footed geese
Robin
Greenfinch
Redpoll
Siskin

and 3 roe deer

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Dec 7, 2009

• #7

5/12/09 Ringing at site 1. Many thanks to all concerned.

Mist netting at feeding station

Blackbird new 10
retrap 1
Blue tit new
retrap 1
Chaffinch new 10
retrap 2
Dunnock new 4
retrap 5
Greenfinch new 4
retrap
Redwing new 2
retrap
Reed bunting new 2
retrap
Robin new
retrap 3
Tree sparrow new 4
retrap 1
Yellowhammer new 1
retrap
TOTAL new 37
retrap 13


Also seen / heard near feeding station
Golden plover
Grey partridge
Tawny owl
Skylark
Fieldfare
Long-tailed tit
6 Siskin

A goshawk was at the feeding station on 6/12.

On 5/12 at rape feeding station
Merlin
c.300 linnet

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Dec 14, 2009

• #8

12/12/09 Ringing. Many thanks to all concerned.

Mist net catches at site 3 :

Blackbird new 6
retrap 2
Blue tit new 1
retrap
Chaffinch new 2
retrap 1
Coal tit new 2
retrap 1
Dunnock new 2
retrap
Great tit new 1
retrap
Robin new 2
retrap 2
Tree sparrow new 1
retrap 1
TOTALS new 17
retrap 7


Also seen / heard at site 3
Buzzard
Tawny owl
Mallard
Greenfinch
Siskin

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Dec 16, 2009

• #9

Ringing at site 1.

Whoosh netting on rape bait (12/12/09)
Linnet new 19
retrap 0

sparrowhawk disturbed flock

Also on the 12th
Linnet new 128
retrap 12

200 + linnets present on 11th; 20+ fieldfare, 10 yellowhammer, 5 bullfinch, 1 buzzard in vicinity

Ringing in Haddington, at pied wagtail roost on 15th December
Pied wagtail new 8

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits. Many thanks to all concerned.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Jan 1, 2010

• #10

Happy New Year everybody.

3 sessions, apologies for the delay due to computer problems

Many thanks to all concerned.

19/12/09 Ringing at site 2.

Mist netting at wild bird cover

Blackbird new 16
retrap 3
Blue tit new 1
retrap
Bullfinch new 9
retrap 1
Chaffinch new 4
retrap
Dunnock new
retrap 4
Goldfinch new 2
retrap
Reed bunting new 1
retrap
TOTAL new 32
retrap 9

Also seen heard around catching site
Tawny owl
Buzzard
Sparrowhawk
Redwing
Brambling
60+ linnet
40+ goldfinch
The farmer has subsequently commented that he has never seen so many birds on his wild bird cover.


20/12/09 Whoosh neeting at rape bait at site 1.

Linnet new 5

During recent snow we found
3 Buzzard in the vicinity
and near the feed station
Kestrel
25+ skylark
12+ greenfinch
2-300 linnet
3 reed bunting
5+ yellowhammer
but after one heavy fall the linnet disappeared ! We will see ...

28/12/09 Mist netting at feed station at site 1.

Blackbird new 7
retrap 1
Brambling new 1
retrap
Chaffinch new 26
retrap 14
Dunnock new 2
retrap 5
Fieldfare new 3
retrap
Greenfinch new 2
retrap
Long tailed tit new
retrap 2
Reed bunting new 1
retrap
Robin new 4
retrap 4
Tree sparrow new 1
retrap
Wren new 1
retrap
Yellowhammer new 24
retrap 2
TOTAL new 72
retrap 28


Also seen / heard near feeding station
Pink-footed geese
Greylag goose
11 grey partridge
Kestrel
2 female sparrowhawk
Tawny owl
Skylark
Redwing

Fieldfare are now spread right across the farm, up to c.200 in one area. Redwing are perhaps as

numerous as I have ever seen with a few flocks up to c.15.

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Jan 11, 2010

• #11

Two sessions ...

9/01/10 Ringing. Many thanks to all concerned.

Mist net catches at site 3 :

Blackbird new 15
retrap 6
Chaffinch new 5
retrap
Dunnock new 1
retrap 3
Reed bunting new 3
retrap
Robin new 3
retrap 5
Tree sparrow new 1
retrap
Wren new 1
retrap
Yellowhammer new 17
retrap 3
TOTALS new 46
retrap 17

Catching was stopped for a snow shower, and curtailed to minimize disturbance to birds.

Also seen / heard at site 3
Golden plover
Tawny owl
Barn owl
Greater spotted woodpecker (short bursts of drumming)
Bullfinch when on the way out

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

4/01/10 Ringing at site 2. Many thanks to all concerned.

Blackbird new 1
retrap
Bullfinch new 1
retrap 1
Dunnock new 1
retrap
Robin new 4
retrap 3
TOTAL new 7
retrap 4

Also seen / heard at site 2 :
Pink footed geese
Buzzard
Kestrel
Barn owl
Tawny owl
Redwing
Long tailed tit
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Siskin
12 Linnet
Reed bunting
Yellowhammer

However, the "hundreds of birds" that had been feeding on the wild bird cover have dispersed as the snow has buried the feed.

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

S

stonechat1

New member

• Jan 12, 2010

• #12

I´m very astonished Mike that you even catch them at winter time!?

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Jan 14, 2010

• #13

stonechat1 said:

I´m very astonished Mike that you even catch them at winter time!?

Click to expand...

Remember our climate is much more temperate than yours. Lots of winter ringing goes on in Britain. It is a very important tool for informing conservation. We did give consideration as to whether we should ring at all on this occasion due to the amount and duration of lying snow, but decided that it was reasonable to proceed as the birds here are very well fed - I have been feeding 15kg/day at this site throughout the snowy weather. Temperatures have generally not been particularly cold here, -3 minimum commonly. We decided to proceed cautiously, monitoring bird welfare closely. We did decide in advance to reduce the amount of net erected, to ensure birds could be removed quickly, and to shorten the session, to minimize the time feeding was disrupted. Birds were able to, and did, continue feeding during the snow shower when we had the nets furled.

This is part of a long term study, so we were influenced by that. Information on bird condition in the current weather would be especially valuable to compare with sites which are not fed so well. In the event we were surprised at how good condition was overall. We had a handful of birds in very poor condition, but the majority were good, or even very good. As examples, while we had one male blackbird at 86g and one female fractionally under 90g, 11 were over 100g of which 3 were in the 120s (one being female) and one male managed over 146g. This last was a retrap from this site, ringed two years ago so perhaps not a migrant from the continent. General perception is that continental migrants tend to be larger birds. However we seem to have had a surge in blackbird numbers over the last couple of months, and sizes before the recent bad weather were not large.

Other species showed a similar generally good condition with only a few birds in total in markedly poor condition.

Weather has been milder this week, with a steady thaw, so we hope to carry on with our project.

Mike.

 

S

stonechat1

New member

• Jan 18, 2010

• #14

Thank you very much for your detailed post. I´m sure you do everything what is necessary and examine the birds carefully! Just wondering about the fact because the birding camps which I visited where in spring or automn.
All the best,

Roman

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Jan 19, 2010

• #15

17/1/10 Ringing at site 1. Many thanks to all concerned.

Mist netting at feeding station

Blackbird new
retrap 1
Brambling new 1
retrap
Chaffinch new 6
retrap 4
Dunnock new
retrap 4
Reed bunting new 1
retrap 1
Robin new
retrap 4
Tree sparrow new 3
retrap 1
Woodpigeon new 1
retrap
Yellowhammer new 7
retrap 2
TOTAL new 19
retrap 17


Whoosh netting on rape bait
Linnet new 78
retrap 8


Also seen / heard near feeding station
Pink footed goose
Grey partridge
Kestrel
Tawny owl
Long-tailed tit
Linnet

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

Expiry

Well-known member

• Jan 19, 2010

• #16

Hi, Mike.

Bird ringing is something I've been interested in and i've today sent my 5th email to the BTO in the last year in response to them asking for volunteers, but I've had no reply.

I'm in Dunbar, so not far from you. I wonder if you can give me some advice on how to get started.

Many thanks,

Jamie.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Jan 20, 2010

• #17

Expiry said:

Hi, Mike.

Bird ringing is something I've been interested in and i've today sent my 5th email to the BTO in the last year in response to them asking for volunteers, but I've had no reply.

I'm in Dunbar, so not far from you. I wonder if you can give me some advice on how to get started.

Many thanks,

Jamie.

Click to expand...

PM sent.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Feb 5, 2010

• #18

3 sessions, apologies for the delay

Many thanks to all concerned.

30/1 Ringing at site 2.

Mist netting at feed station

Blackbird new 4
retrap 8
Chaffinch new 3
retrap
Coal tit new 1
retrap
Dunnock new 2
retrap 1
Robin new 3
retrap 4
Sparrowhawk new 1
retrap
Tree sparrow new 4
retrap 1
Yellowhammer new 15
retrap 2
TOTALS new 33
retrap 16

One of the blackbirds was the same Helgoland ringed bird that we have caught in the last two winters. The sparrowhawk was the first female that has ever stayed long enough in my trainer's nets to get caught. It took a while for him to convince himself that he really had a female after all these years.

Also seen/heard around site 2 -
Buzzard
Tawny owl
Mistle thrush (singing)
Greater spotted woodpecker (drumming)
Starling
Pied wagtail
Bullfinch
Reed bunting

23/1 Whoosh neeting at rape bait at site 1.

Linnet new 55
retrap 8

23/1 Ringing at site 2.

Mist netting at wild bird cover

Blue tit new 1
retrap
Bullfinch new 1
retrap 1
Dunnock new
retrap 1
Robin new
retrap 1

TOTAL new 2
retrap 3


Also seen heard around catching site
Barb owl
Tawny owl
Blackbird
Greater spotted woodpecker (drumming)
Greenfinch
Chaffinch
80+ linnet
Twite
Reed bunting
The farmer reported finding several dead redwing.

At the feeding station at site 1 recently
11 grey partridge
an ermine

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Feb 9, 2010

• #19

Mist netting session 30/1 should have been at site 3.

Mike.

 

C

citrinella

Well-known member

• Feb 16, 2010

• #20

13/2/10 Ringing at site 1. Many thanks to all concerned.

Mist netting at feeding station

Blackbird new 1
retrap
Chaffinch new 16
retrap 2
Reed bunting new 8
retrap 2
Yellowhammer new 4
retrap
TOTAL new 29
retrap 4


Whoosh netting on rape bait continues but my information is getting behind


Also seen / heard near feeding station
Greylag geese
Golden plover
Buzzard
2+ Tawny owl
2 Barn owl
Skylark
Fieldfare
Dunnock
Robin
Long-tailed tit
House sparrow
Tree sparrow
Greenfinch

Mainly forgetting corvids, game birds, gulls, pigeons and tits.

Mike.