3rd,ringing report for week ending 24th August (1 Viewer)

Hi All ( A busy Week)

Sat.evening went to a small finca which has a nice mixed orchard,just about got any Med fruit you can think of!!.

Anyway ,can only ring there at weekends when the owners are there but the good news is they are interested in the birds.

Set up 3 net lanes,1 42 foot Jap net,2 x 18 metres in tandem and an 18 metre with a 12metre also in tandem.Furled them and got back next morning to open by 06.45 hrs.

Once again had to close by 11.00 hrs.,ringing 44 new birds in all including 8 juv.House Sparrows,1 adult Nightingale ( On Passage),1 adult male moulting Great Tit,4 juv.Blackcaps,1 Willow Warbler ( Passage migrant),2 juv.Sardinian Warblers,1 juv.Short Toed Treecreeper,1 juv.Blackbird,and 25,yes yes yes,25 juv.Blue Tits,(they are just as viscious as in UK!!!!!).

This site is fairly close to the Rio Hozgarganta and this summer have trapped Kingfisher in this garden!!!!

Have a couple of nice pix to post of Nightingale and Short Toed Treecreeper.

Well thats all for this week and next time will talk a bit about the moult of birds down here compared with the UK.

" Your Spanish Correspondent"

I was at a (very good) ringing demonstration at Cotswold Water Park on Sunday and one of the ringers there referred to Blue Tit as vicious there too. He showed us that the bird would consistently peck at his finger if it got a chance, but it seemed to unable to draw blood. Are they likely to do damage if you aren't careful, or are their efforts spiteful but pointless?

Hi Tchagra

Interesting report, you certainly got amongst the juvenile Blue tits, look forward to your next bulletin.

re blue tits

Hi mcdowella

Blue Tits are just painful ,dont draw blood but up on Fair Isle in 1990 a Fulmar took a lump from my stomach,through the tee shirt I was wearing,not pleasant,Puffins get you from both ends,Claws and Bill,and dont mess with any raptor talons.

And dont get too close to the bill of a Purle Heron or Cormorant,nasty!!

All in All,ringing can damage your health!!!!

Un Salud

Ricardo

A couple of interesting reports, Ricardo, sounds like a successful day. Do you have to set up your nets from scratch every time, or are they in place and just need unfurling? The former sounds like a big task, then surely you have you have a team with you?

Dave

Others I've heard about from ringers . . .

Hawfinches - raise lovely blood blisters
Shrikes - regard fingers as an invitation 'Dinner Is Served'
Woodpeckers - start drumming
Herons - as well as stabbing an eye out, they also empty their backsides, in your face if they can

And the ideal ringers' bird - Swallows. Calm, docile, don't peck or bite or anything

Michael

Re ringing hazards

Hi Michael

Only ringed 1 Hawfinch in Spain and fortunately very docile

Watch out for Starlings bottoms too,extremely versatile!!

As for Woodchat Shrikes,lost many a finger to them for their breakfast.

And dont put your finger in the bill of a Lesser Black Back and then try to pull it away,will defintitely end up in the nirds stomach!!!

G.S.Woodpeckers think they are crawling up a tree trunk and leave the appropraite scratch marks to prove it !!!

Jays also have particularly "keen " bills

And yes I agree with you,in fact the hirundines are a real friendly docile bunch.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,The joys of ringing !!!!

Un Salud

Ricardo

re help etc

Hi Dave

Cannot leave any nets up here for more than overnight for several reasons,

Many of the sites are public and too risky

From June-Sept the sun is too strong and rapidly bleaches the nets and then they tear easily and become useless even if you try to dye them

I have too many ringing sites to be able to have luxury of leaving nets up.

As for help: Once in a while my wife helps me to put up the nets and is sometimes around for a session so helps to take down too,but normally I do everything solo,and yes it is B----Y hard work.At this time of year try putting 2 sets of 3 x 18metre nets up solo,30 degrees + with a fresh wind!!!

Still Its makes for great exercise,burns up the calories and keeps the weight down,prob why I am lighter now than 20 years ago,66 kilos!!!!!

A couple of my sites I now have permission to leave guys in place so that helps a lot.

On a couple of other private sites,I have A brit trainee and another keen to start so they assist in all the usual activites of ringing.Those 2 sites are part.good as normally we all have a B.B.Q. afterwards.

When you get the Autumn issues of BTO news and Ringers Bulletin take a read of the help needed section,and you will see my advert for Spanish ringing programme for 2004.

I started it this year and was a good start,had 7 ringers over for 8 weeks in the spring and have got 3 ringers covering nearly 3 weeks in this autumn.

Gibraltar is a different story,at Jews gate Bird OBs.19 nets up from about this time and elft up till end of Nov/start of Dec.as we have ringers there from UK during the whole of this period this autumn.

In the spring all nets up from Feb to May too.

Un Salud

Richard