Have just calculated up the ringing for the year so far and we have just reached the 3000 mark with a total of 3080.
The blog is going to be taking a break for a while, but hopefully be back some time soon.
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Sunday, 18 July 2010
18th July 2010 - 85 New Birds for the Garden
A vast change from the last month or so was a huge catch of 85 new birds in my garden today! A lot of Blue Tits and Great Tits and very few finches which is unusual for here (juvenile Goldfinch above) but did also include some highlights such as a juvenile Jackdaw (below), an amazing five juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker and six Blackbird.
But the shock bird of the morning came in the form of a migrant juvenile Grasshopper Warbler (below)! I can't imagine what it would be doing here as this is a bird more usually associated with wetlands on migration! I wasn't complaining though as this was only the second caught in the Horsham area, the first being caught at Warnham LNR in July 2008.
Also of interest was that there was only one retrap which was an adult male Blue Tit ringed here in late 2008.Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Robin - 5
Great Tit - 28
Blue Tit - 28 (1)
Chaffinch - 2
Dunnock - 5
Goldfinch - 1
Grasshopper Warbler - 1
Wren - 1
Jackdaw - 1
Greenfinch - 1
Blackbird - 6
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 5
Thursday, 15 July 2010
15th July 2010 - Another Buzzard
Still not having recovered from the Buzzard ringing on Tuesday I got a call from Louise at 8.30am to say that she had just picked one up off the road! As her and James (her housemate) were leaving the office near Box Hill in the rain they watched a Buzzard fly around the adjacent field and land on the road. They stopped and Louise got out and picked it up and it was rather damp, so phoned me at which I immediately dashed over. By the time I got there the bird had dried off a lot and immediately realised that it was again a first year bird, although quite a bit older than the last two and was already starting post juvenile moult (which can be seen in the wing photos below).
Being this much older makes it hard to determine where it is from, although it is likely that it was born in the near area, it could have also come from quite a distance away.
By the time we had assessed and processed the bird the weather was far better and the bird was released and flew away. Another happy customer. Well done Louise.
Birds ringed:
Buzzard - 1
Being this much older makes it hard to determine where it is from, although it is likely that it was born in the near area, it could have also come from quite a distance away.
By the time we had assessed and processed the bird the weather was far better and the bird was released and flew away. Another happy customer. Well done Louise.Birds ringed:
Buzzard - 1
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
13th and 14th July 2010 - Reedbed and a Selection of Nests
An evening and a morning of ringing in the reedbed at Warnham LNR, joined by Eddie and Kevin on the evening. A total of 98 birds were caught including 69 new of 16 species. Highlights of the new birds included five Reed Warbler (including an autumn migrant), a juvenile Bullfinch, two juvenile Jay, a Treecreeper, a Garden Warbler, 13 Chiffchaff and ten Blackcap. The only two highlights from the retraps was a 2007 Blue Tit and a 2008 Reed Warbler.
After finishing in the reedbed, I came back to meet up with Jake, but was stopped in my tracks with a juvenile Cuckoo flying between fence posts on the meadow, coming as close as 10ft (above by Jake). Then a quick look at the sluice noted a few unringed Mallard and a juvenile Moorhen, so donned the waders and landing net and managed to catch the two unringed Mallard, but the Moorhen managed to evade me!
Then to Horsham Park to try to catch the last Canada Goose gosling, but the birds seemed well fed on bread and uninterested in my healthy sunflower hearts! But there was a surprise addition in the form of a Woodpigeon nest only six foot high which had two well grown chicks in.
Onto the farm near my house where another brood of five Swallow (below) was ready to ring, while the second broods of the other three had three, four and four eggs. Also, excitingly the Spotted Flycatcher seem to be going for a second brood in the same nest as before.
Finally got home and a check of the Greenfinch nest in a neighbours garden was successful having five chicks (one below - note the seed store on the side of the neck - weird!).
Thinking I had a really good day, Wes texted to say he had ringed three Barn Owl chicks and seven Swift nestlings in Capel today!!!
Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Garden Warbler - 1 (1)
Reed Warbler - 5 (6)
Robin - 7 (1)
Blackcap - 10
Bullfinch - 1
Blue Tit - 9 (7)
Dunnock - 2 (1)
Great Tit - 15 (7)
Chaffinch - 1
Swallow - 5 nestlings
Chiffchaff - 13 (1)
Wren - 5 (2)
Treecreeper - 1
Jay - 2
Mallard - 2
Woodpigeon - 2 nestlings
Magpie - (1)
Greenfinch - 5 nestlings
Blackbird - 3 (1)
Great Spotted Woodpecker - (1)
Barn Owl - 3 nestlings
Swift - 7 nestlings
After finishing in the reedbed, I came back to meet up with Jake, but was stopped in my tracks with a juvenile Cuckoo flying between fence posts on the meadow, coming as close as 10ft (above by Jake). Then a quick look at the sluice noted a few unringed Mallard and a juvenile Moorhen, so donned the waders and landing net and managed to catch the two unringed Mallard, but the Moorhen managed to evade me!Then to Horsham Park to try to catch the last Canada Goose gosling, but the birds seemed well fed on bread and uninterested in my healthy sunflower hearts! But there was a surprise addition in the form of a Woodpigeon nest only six foot high which had two well grown chicks in.
Onto the farm near my house where another brood of five Swallow (below) was ready to ring, while the second broods of the other three had three, four and four eggs. Also, excitingly the Spotted Flycatcher seem to be going for a second brood in the same nest as before.
Finally got home and a check of the Greenfinch nest in a neighbours garden was successful having five chicks (one below - note the seed store on the side of the neck - weird!).
Thinking I had a really good day, Wes texted to say he had ringed three Barn Owl chicks and seven Swift nestlings in Capel today!!!Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Garden Warbler - 1 (1)
Reed Warbler - 5 (6)
Robin - 7 (1)
Blackcap - 10
Bullfinch - 1
Blue Tit - 9 (7)
Dunnock - 2 (1)
Great Tit - 15 (7)
Chaffinch - 1
Swallow - 5 nestlings
Chiffchaff - 13 (1)
Wren - 5 (2)
Treecreeper - 1
Jay - 2
Mallard - 2
Woodpigeon - 2 nestlings
Magpie - (1)
Greenfinch - 5 nestlings
Blackbird - 3 (1)
Great Spotted Woodpecker - (1)
Barn Owl - 3 nestlings
Swift - 7 nestlings
Saturday, 10 July 2010
9th and 10th July 2010 - What a Way to Start a New Job
Day seven of my new job at Leith Hill began with my first weekly team meeting and by the time it ended it was a well deserved lunch break by all which very quickly changed to another rescue!
We were quickly approached by Jim Curtis who had been walking across the grounds of Leith Hill Place and found a BUZZARD trapped inside a tree protector! So Graham, Catherine, Sarah and myself jumped into a vehicle and headed off (rings at the ready of course). When we got there there were actually two BUZZARDS trapped inside! On approach they very quickly huddled down into a 'you can't see me' posture (below) and I was able to pick them up very easily.
It was immediately obvious that they were juveniles with the parents soaring and calling overhead and the wing feathers on inspection hadn't finished growing. But Jim then found the reason why they were inside the fencing in the form of half a dead rabbit that assumably the parents had caught and dropped in. The birds were then very quickly ringed and released. Photo above with Graham and Catherine and behind the offending tree protector!
Then this morning Eddie and I ringed at Chesworth Farm in near perfect conditions with grey cloud and no wind, but a relatively poor result in numbers although quality was very evident. Just 54 birds caught of 18 species including 39 with highlights being the first Swallow (above) roosting in the pond (autumn is here!), a Bullfinch, two newly fledged Reed Bunting (below), seven Whitethroat, a juvenile Reed Warbler, two juvenile Goldcrest (below) and an adult female Blackbird showing continental plumage.
But the two highlights of the day came in the form of retraps, first was a juvenile Chiffchaff that I had ringed at Warnham LNR just seven days ago which still hadn't started post juvenile moult. This is 3.5km as the crow flies straight through Horsham town centre, but more likely 5.5km following the river round the western and southern edge of the town. If this wasn't enough a juvenile Willow Warbler (below) was caught that had just started post juvenile moult that Wes had ringed in a nest of six at the Capel reserve on 10th June. This being a distance of 11km due south in exactly one month, although this bird probably still had at least a week in the nest to go and a sibling being retrapped there on 25th June could imply that the whole of the family was still in the area. Both very interesting signs of juvenile dispersal (see map below).
Interesting butterfly sightings included the first White Admiral and only the second Purple Hairstreak for the site.
Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Buzzard - 2
Reed Bunting - 2
Blackcap - 4
Bullfinch - 1
Robin - 2 (1)
Great Tit - 3
Blue Tit - 2 (4)
Dunnock - 2 (1)
Whitethroat - 7
Reed Warbler - 1 (3)
Chaffinch - 1
Goldfinch - (1)
Wren - 3
Chiffchaff - 2 (1)
Goldcrest - 2
Willow Warbler - (1)
House Sparrow - 4 (2)
Blackbird - 1 (1)
We were quickly approached by Jim Curtis who had been walking across the grounds of Leith Hill Place and found a BUZZARD trapped inside a tree protector! So Graham, Catherine, Sarah and myself jumped into a vehicle and headed off (rings at the ready of course). When we got there there were actually two BUZZARDS trapped inside! On approach they very quickly huddled down into a 'you can't see me' posture (below) and I was able to pick them up very easily.
It was immediately obvious that they were juveniles with the parents soaring and calling overhead and the wing feathers on inspection hadn't finished growing. But Jim then found the reason why they were inside the fencing in the form of half a dead rabbit that assumably the parents had caught and dropped in. The birds were then very quickly ringed and released. Photo above with Graham and Catherine and behind the offending tree protector!
Then this morning Eddie and I ringed at Chesworth Farm in near perfect conditions with grey cloud and no wind, but a relatively poor result in numbers although quality was very evident. Just 54 birds caught of 18 species including 39 with highlights being the first Swallow (above) roosting in the pond (autumn is here!), a Bullfinch, two newly fledged Reed Bunting (below), seven Whitethroat, a juvenile Reed Warbler, two juvenile Goldcrest (below) and an adult female Blackbird showing continental plumage.
But the two highlights of the day came in the form of retraps, first was a juvenile Chiffchaff that I had ringed at Warnham LNR just seven days ago which still hadn't started post juvenile moult. This is 3.5km as the crow flies straight through Horsham town centre, but more likely 5.5km following the river round the western and southern edge of the town. If this wasn't enough a juvenile Willow Warbler (below) was caught that had just started post juvenile moult that Wes had ringed in a nest of six at the Capel reserve on 10th June. This being a distance of 11km due south in exactly one month, although this bird probably still had at least a week in the nest to go and a sibling being retrapped there on 25th June could imply that the whole of the family was still in the area. Both very interesting signs of juvenile dispersal (see map below).
Interesting butterfly sightings included the first White Admiral and only the second Purple Hairstreak for the site.Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Buzzard - 2
Reed Bunting - 2
Blackcap - 4
Bullfinch - 1
Robin - 2 (1)
Great Tit - 3
Blue Tit - 2 (4)
Dunnock - 2 (1)
Whitethroat - 7
Reed Warbler - 1 (3)
Chaffinch - 1
Goldfinch - (1)
Wren - 3
Chiffchaff - 2 (1)
Goldcrest - 2
Willow Warbler - (1)
House Sparrow - 4 (2)
Blackbird - 1 (1)
Thursday, 8 July 2010
6th and 7th July 2010 - Owls, Reeds and Waterfowl
On Tuesday, I went out with Barrie Watson round my local area to recheck the Barn Owl boxes, but first was to check a new box that I had found near Rowhook and on inspection a new female was present with two small chicks. This was a good find and is a new breeding species for this tetrad.
Then onto the others although the Dawes Farm pair still only had very small young and the Kingsfold pair which had had a single chick (pictured before) and three unhatched eggs now only had three eggs which were being brooded! This was a weird scenario as is was too short a time for the single chick to have fledged but they were still brooding the other three eggs, unless they were all new eggs!! Who knows! The only consolation was that we managed to catch the both adults with the male ringed on the last visit and the female being one of Barrie's that was ringed as a chick in 2005 just north-west of Crawley, so not far at all.
Wednesday after work I went to Warnham LNR to check the last two Reed Warbler nests with Eddie and although unfortunately too late for one which had already fledged, the second held quite well grown chicks (above) which were ringed. Then just further on the Reed Bunting nest fond last time with eggs now had three perfect sized chicks (below).
We then went to check the sluice and were pleased to find a few young Mallard and two juvenile Coot feeding at the bottom, so donned the waders and climbed in further down stream and flushed them all up to the plunge pool where I managed to net four birds including both Coot (below) and two of the Mallard.
As I got home, started watering the garden and noticed something flapping around in the greenhouse and on inspection found an unringed juvenile Blackbird unable to find its way to the open door!
Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Barn Owl - 1 (1)
Reed Warbler - 4 nestlings
Reed Bunting - 3 nestlings
Coot - 2
Mallard - 2
Blackbird - 1
Then onto the others although the Dawes Farm pair still only had very small young and the Kingsfold pair which had had a single chick (pictured before) and three unhatched eggs now only had three eggs which were being brooded! This was a weird scenario as is was too short a time for the single chick to have fledged but they were still brooding the other three eggs, unless they were all new eggs!! Who knows! The only consolation was that we managed to catch the both adults with the male ringed on the last visit and the female being one of Barrie's that was ringed as a chick in 2005 just north-west of Crawley, so not far at all.
Wednesday after work I went to Warnham LNR to check the last two Reed Warbler nests with Eddie and although unfortunately too late for one which had already fledged, the second held quite well grown chicks (above) which were ringed. Then just further on the Reed Bunting nest fond last time with eggs now had three perfect sized chicks (below).
We then went to check the sluice and were pleased to find a few young Mallard and two juvenile Coot feeding at the bottom, so donned the waders and climbed in further down stream and flushed them all up to the plunge pool where I managed to net four birds including both Coot (below) and two of the Mallard.
As I got home, started watering the garden and noticed something flapping around in the greenhouse and on inspection found an unringed juvenile Blackbird unable to find its way to the open door!Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Barn Owl - 1 (1)
Reed Warbler - 4 nestlings
Reed Bunting - 3 nestlings
Coot - 2
Mallard - 2
Blackbird - 1
Monday, 5 July 2010
2nd to 4th July - Finally a Bullfinch!
On 3rd, I ringed in the reedbed and Feeding Station at Warnham LNR catching 78 birds of which 64 were new. Apart from the Blue Tit and Great Tit flocks highlights of the new birds included another juvenile Coal Tit (below), 9 Robin, 3 Chaffinch, six Chiffchaff, a Nuthatch, two juvenile Reed Warbler and a pair of Bullfinch (male above). After catching nearly 100 new Bullfinchs in 2009 this year has been awful with Wes catching about a dozen and including these two I have caught just five!
The highlights of the retraps were a Robin and a Jay ringed in 2007.The 4th was a morning of ringing at home catching 20 birds of which 18 were new including two more Jackdaw and a juvenile Wren (not many caught here). Afterwards I popped over to a couple of neighbours to ring the nine Swallow chicks from the two pairs they have nesting.
Wes managed to ring a nest of three Blackbird and a nest of six Pied Wagtail on 2nd as well.
Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Blackcap - 3
Robin - 11 (2)
Reed Warbler - 2 (5)
Great Tit - 22
Blue Tit - 20 (1)
Dunnock - 1 (3)
Chaffinch - 3
Bullfinch - 2
Coal Tit - 1
Goldfinch - 1
Swallow - 9 nestlings
Pied Wagtail - 6 nestlings
Wren - 5 (1)
Chiffchaff - 6
Jackdaw - 2
Blackbird - 3 + 3 nestlings
Nuthatch - 1
Garden Warbler - (2)
Sunday, 4 July 2010
June Monthly Totals
A great month with 47 species ringed with highlights being the first Mandarin, the first Stock Dove, the third Coot, the second Collared Dove, the second Kestrel. While nests were ringed of 14 species including a nest of Common Tern, two nests of Spotted Flycatcher and a nest of Barn Owl.
Birds ringed:
Whitethroat - 13
Chiffchaff - 39
Wren - 8
Willow Warbler - 4 + 8 nestlings
Long-tailed Tit - 14
Treecreeper - 5
Goldcrest - 4 nestlings
Song Thrush - 4 + 3 nestlings
Blackbird - 25 + 12 nestlings
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 6
House Sparrow - 24
Greenfinch - 51
Nuthatch - 1
Blackcap - 32 + 6 nestlings
Great Tit - 69 + 11 nestlings
Reed Bunting - 4
Robin - 34
Bullfinch - 5
Swallow - 3 +21
Blue Tit - 110 + 11
Nightingale - 1
Reed Warbler - 10 + 3 nestlings
Goldfinch - 19
Garden Warbler - 10
Barn Owl - 2 + 5 nestlings
Canada Goose - 8
Stock Dove - 1
Woodpigeon - 2
Mallard - 12
Jay - 4
Jackdaw - 2
Coot - 1
Kestrel - 1
Mandarin - 1
Magpie - 2
Common Tern - 3 nestlings
Kingfisher - 1
Collared Dove - 1
Marsh Tit - 2
Chaffinch - 14
Linnet - 2
Pied Wagtail - 10 nestlings
Dunnock - 14
Yellowhammer - 2
Coal Tit - 1
Spotted Flycatcher - 6 nestlings
Grey Wagtail - 1 nestling
Birds ringed:
Whitethroat - 13
Chiffchaff - 39
Wren - 8
Willow Warbler - 4 + 8 nestlings
Long-tailed Tit - 14
Treecreeper - 5
Goldcrest - 4 nestlings
Song Thrush - 4 + 3 nestlings
Blackbird - 25 + 12 nestlings
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 6
House Sparrow - 24
Greenfinch - 51
Nuthatch - 1
Blackcap - 32 + 6 nestlings
Great Tit - 69 + 11 nestlings
Reed Bunting - 4
Robin - 34
Bullfinch - 5
Swallow - 3 +21
Blue Tit - 110 + 11
Nightingale - 1
Reed Warbler - 10 + 3 nestlings
Goldfinch - 19
Garden Warbler - 10
Barn Owl - 2 + 5 nestlings
Canada Goose - 8
Stock Dove - 1
Woodpigeon - 2
Mallard - 12
Jay - 4
Jackdaw - 2
Coot - 1
Kestrel - 1
Mandarin - 1
Magpie - 2
Common Tern - 3 nestlings
Kingfisher - 1
Collared Dove - 1
Marsh Tit - 2
Chaffinch - 14
Linnet - 2
Pied Wagtail - 10 nestlings
Dunnock - 14
Yellowhammer - 2
Coal Tit - 1
Spotted Flycatcher - 6 nestlings
Grey Wagtail - 1 nestling
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
28th and 29th June 2010 - Monday Morning, Nests and My Last Day
Another successful session by Eddie and I at Chesworth Farm on Monday morning produced 101 birds of which 58 were new. Highlights of the new birds included a breeding female Yellowhammer (above), a juvenile Whitethroat (below), a juvenile Treecreeper (only the fourth for the site), two adult Song Thrush and two adult and two juvenile Blackcap.
Retraps produced a large number of juvenile Great Tits that were ringed on the previous session, but also an adult male Blackbird that was originally ringed on 20th October 2007 as an adult.Afterwards I went to Horsham Park again and managed to get another of the juvenile Canada Geese, leaving just one more to get and then returning home set the potter traps and managed to catch just one bird, but only the second ever Collared Dove (below). Hopefully this one will live a bit longer than the previous one!
Then on Tuesday, 29th, my last day of working for Horsham District Council, a slightly earlier start saw Jake and I venture out for my first Goldcrest nest that I had spotted on Sunday (poor shot of the nest with chicks just visible above). This was not for the faint-hearted and definitely not to try at home as the nest was about 20ft up and suspended from the end of a Douglas Fir limb at Warnham LNR. The nest held six chicks, but only four were ringable with the other two too small, but I am glad my day long ladder training course came in handy (below)!
Wes also ringed two nests today at the Capel Reserve being four Blackbird chicks and a nest of Willow Warbler which was unusually small having just two chicks and an unhatched egg.I am now moving to a new job as Head Ranger of Leith Hill and Holmwood Common with the National Trust just into Surrey, so not too far away and although I plan to continue my ringing at the Horsham sites, the scale will be less and maybe some new ringing possibilities will be found at my new work place. Wish me luck!
Birds ringed: (retraps in brackets)
Robin - 2 (2)
Blackcap - 4 (1)
Whitethroat - 1
Blue Tit - 10 (3)
Great Tit - 9 (15)
Dunnock - 3 (2)
Yellowhammer - 1
Chaffinch - 5
Goldfinch - 1
Chiffchaff - 3 (1)
Treecreeper - 1
Willow Warbler - 2 nestlings
Golcrest - 4 nestlings
Song Thrush - 2 (1)
Canada Goose - 1
Collared Dove - 1
Blackbird - 2 + 4 nestlings (2)
Great Spotted Woodpecker - (3)
Reed Warbler - (5)
Greenfinch - 5
House Sparrow - 7 (7)
Sunday, 27 June 2010
25th June 2010 - Capel Reserve and Nests
Wes did a late session at the Capel Reserve on Friday evening and managed to catch 58 new birds of 16 species with highlights being four adult Bullfinch, 13 Chiffchaff, seven Whitethroat, a Treecreeper, a Reed Warbler, a Garden Warbler and the first juvenile Nightingale! Not bad for a couple of hours!!! The Bullfinch are quite interesting as last year we ringed just under 90 in total, whereas this year so far we are only just into double figures, did they suffer a lot due to the cold winter?
The highlight from the retraps was a Jay originally ringed on 23rd June 2006. Another species that rarely gets retrapped.
Wes also managed to ring a couple of nests this week being five Blackbird and four Swallow, but also managed to catch the parent Swallows as well.
Birds ringed:
Blue Tit - 14
Chiffchaff - 13
Whitethroat - 7
Bullfinch - 4
Blackcap - 3
Robin - 3
Wren - 3
Great Tit - 2
Greenfinch - 2
Blackbird - 1 + 5 nestlings
Nightingale - 1
Treecreeper - 1
Garden Warbler - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Reed Bunting - 1
Goldfinch - 1
Swallow - 2 + 4 nestlings
The highlight from the retraps was a Jay originally ringed on 23rd June 2006. Another species that rarely gets retrapped.
Wes also managed to ring a couple of nests this week being five Blackbird and four Swallow, but also managed to catch the parent Swallows as well.
Birds ringed:
Blue Tit - 14
Chiffchaff - 13
Whitethroat - 7
Bullfinch - 4
Blackcap - 3
Robin - 3
Wren - 3
Great Tit - 2
Greenfinch - 2
Blackbird - 1 + 5 nestlings
Nightingale - 1
Treecreeper - 1
Garden Warbler - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Reed Bunting - 1
Goldfinch - 1
Swallow - 2 + 4 nestlings
Saturday, 26 June 2010
25th and 26th June 2010 - Reedbed and Another Rescue
Today I visited the Swallow nests again and chanced upon a Pied Wagtail nest with five young and although there were no Swallow nests ready a further nest with five eggs was found in a grand chicken shed and some noise from an unused stable produced an adult female that seemed to have got trapped (below). Thank goodness I check everyone each time I visit, but still unsure how or why she got in there!
Yesterday, 25th, was a solo session in the reedbed at Warnham LNR produced 62 birds with 48 new. Highlights of the new birds were a Jay, a juvenile Garden Warbler, an adult and five juvenile Blackcap, a juvenile Treecreeper and a juvenile and adult Reed Warbler. The adult Reed Warbler was interesting in that it displayed no breeding signs, but wasn't a failed breeder as there was no sign of any moult either. But, it did have a certain amount of fat, so must be assumed that it is a late arriving migrant that has just arrived! Another interesting catch was a juvenile Great Tit which had the dark parts of the bill replaced with a pink colouration, although the yellow fringe was still evident (below). It would be interesting to see how this bird fares in years to come!
Retraps were fairly few for here, but the highlights were two new Reed Warblers for the year, ringed in August 2009 and August 2008, and a moulting adult female Willow Warbler with a brood patch which was ringed as a juvenile in July 2009. This Willow Warbler is very interesting as it is the first retrap of this species for the Horsham sites and could be one half of a second breeding pair on the reserve and could also be a bird born on or new the reserve last year...!
Birds ringed: (retraps in brackets)
Swallow - 1 + 4 nestlings
Blackbird - 1 + 5 nestlings
Reed Warbler - 2 (6)
Blackcap - 6 (1)
Blue Tit - 16
Great Tit - 9 (5)
Dunnock - 4
Robin - 2 (1)
Garden Warbler - 1
Pied Wagtail - 5 nestlings
Wren - 2
Chiffchaff - 3 (1)
Treecreeper - 1
Jay - 1
Yesterday, 25th, was a solo session in the reedbed at Warnham LNR produced 62 birds with 48 new. Highlights of the new birds were a Jay, a juvenile Garden Warbler, an adult and five juvenile Blackcap, a juvenile Treecreeper and a juvenile and adult Reed Warbler. The adult Reed Warbler was interesting in that it displayed no breeding signs, but wasn't a failed breeder as there was no sign of any moult either. But, it did have a certain amount of fat, so must be assumed that it is a late arriving migrant that has just arrived! Another interesting catch was a juvenile Great Tit which had the dark parts of the bill replaced with a pink colouration, although the yellow fringe was still evident (below). It would be interesting to see how this bird fares in years to come!
Retraps were fairly few for here, but the highlights were two new Reed Warblers for the year, ringed in August 2009 and August 2008, and a moulting adult female Willow Warbler with a brood patch which was ringed as a juvenile in July 2009. This Willow Warbler is very interesting as it is the first retrap of this species for the Horsham sites and could be one half of a second breeding pair on the reserve and could also be a bird born on or new the reserve last year...!Birds ringed: (retraps in brackets)
Swallow - 1 + 4 nestlings
Blackbird - 1 + 5 nestlings
Reed Warbler - 2 (6)
Blackcap - 6 (1)
Blue Tit - 16
Great Tit - 9 (5)
Dunnock - 4
Robin - 2 (1)
Garden Warbler - 1
Pied Wagtail - 5 nestlings
Wren - 2
Chiffchaff - 3 (1)
Treecreeper - 1
Jay - 1
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
19th to 23rd June 2010 - Flies, Pies, Terns and a Fish
The last five days have turned into a bit of a Ringathon with me having a good amount of time off to run around catching up on nests, a rescue and a ringing demonstration as follows:
19th - Only four birds ringed on this day. A walk with my inlaws around my home patch was rewarded with a Spotted Flycatcher calling on a wire with food which disappeared into an old wooden barn and then came out without it. A quick turn of pace to get back home rustle up a gooseberry crumble for dinner (keep the family happy!) and a drive round with rings and a knock on the owner's door. Very happy to oblige, the owner allowed me access to the barn and on entering immediately spotted the nest with four ringable chicks. Shame I forgot my camera!! Also three yearling Mute Swans turned up at Warnham LNR today and Sue managed to read the ring that was on one and was one of the cygnets that was born here last year. Good to know that it has survived.
20th - A brief morning ringing in the garden was back on form after very little recently catching 28 birds with 18 new including ten Greenfinch and two juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker.
21st - RINGATHON
Part 1 - Louise and I started at 3.15am at Chesworth Farm setting the nets and was later joined by Eddie with nets down by 11am. A total of 103 birds with 83 new including a juvenile Treecreeper, 11 Greenfinch, ten House Sparrow and a Jackdaw (first caught here - above). The only interesting retrap was a Blue Tit ringed in October 2007.
Part 2 - Louise and I then went to Horsham Hospital to collect a female Mallard that had nested in one of the enclosed courtyards having seven ducklings and were unable to get out. Between us and the help of Linda from the hospital Mum and all were gathered up, ringed and taken to Warnham LNR to be released.
Part 3 - Then we made a quick visit to Horsham Park where Louise managed to bag one of the Canada Goose goslings.
Part 4 - Returning to Warnham LNR a newly fledged Magpie (above) was walking around the courtyard and I very quickly managed to pick it up, Louise ringed it and then released it out of harms way with parents nearby. Unfortunately, five minutes later a Crow came down and carried it away!
Part 5 - The main reason for returning to Warnham LNR was to then venture out onto the Millpond to ring the three Common Terns on one of the rafts (above and below), for which we were joined by Jake. The second raft wasn't so lucky with the female found dead on the raft completely emaciated leaving three unhatched eggs - possibly not being fed enough by the male?
Part 6 - A quick trip to Rudgwick by Louise, Kevin and I to meet Aston and Chris to ring another Spotted Flycatcher nest in Aston's garden which held just two young and three unhatched eggs. I remembered my camera this time (below).
Part 7 - The only unsuccessful part, was a trip to the Heronry back at Warnham LNR where there has been a lot of late breeding activity. Joined again by climber Gary we checked a nest that should have been ready for ringing, but had been predated and then found another new nest that when climbed the chicks were too old! A further new nest was also found but again just too old! A bit frustrating, but the Heronry here is now realised to be much larger than ever thought with an estimation last year of 17 nests with this year holding at least 28 nests making it the biggest in the county!
22nd - In the morning I ringed the last of the Warnham LNR nest boxes resulting in five Great Tit chicks. In the early evening Wes, Jake and I ran a public ringing demonstration at Warnham LNR which was hosted by the Friends group mainly focused on the reedbed area and with a good attendance and near perfect weather caught 25 retraps and 19 new birds of 14 species. Highlights of new birds included another Magpie, two Garden Warbler, three Blackcap and two Reed Warbler (including the first juveniles of the year) and a juvenile Kingfisher which was a real spectacle. Another amazing find was of a Golden-ringed Dragonfly in one of the nets which was the first record of this heathland species for this very non-heathland reserve (below) bringing the site odonata total to 25 species.
23rd - Another Blackbird nest of four in my garden was ready to ring this morning and a post breeding check of the nest boxes at Warnham LNR, unexpected turned up a second brood of six Great Tit and of the 40+ occupied boxes on the reserve just a single dead chick was found making this by far the most successful year!
Birds ringed: (retraps in brackets)
Spotted Flycatcher - 6 nestlings
Dunnock - 5 (4)
Goldfinch - 3 (2)
Blue Tit - 17 (7)
Robin - 4 (3)
Great Tit - 32 + 11 nestlings (6)
Chaffinch - 3 (1)
Blackcap - 3 (4)
Garden Warbler - 2 (2)
Reed Warbler - 2 (6)
Treecreeper - 1
Chiffchaff - 6 (2)
Wren - 1 (1)
Jackdaw - 1
Magpie - 2
Mallard - 8
Canada Goose - 1
Common Tern - 3 nestlings
Kingfisher - 1
Greenfinch - 21 (3)
House Sparrow - 10 (2)
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 2 (2)
Blackbird - 5 + 4 nestlings (6)
Mute Swan - (1)
Long-tailed Tit - (3)
19th - Only four birds ringed on this day. A walk with my inlaws around my home patch was rewarded with a Spotted Flycatcher calling on a wire with food which disappeared into an old wooden barn and then came out without it. A quick turn of pace to get back home rustle up a gooseberry crumble for dinner (keep the family happy!) and a drive round with rings and a knock on the owner's door. Very happy to oblige, the owner allowed me access to the barn and on entering immediately spotted the nest with four ringable chicks. Shame I forgot my camera!! Also three yearling Mute Swans turned up at Warnham LNR today and Sue managed to read the ring that was on one and was one of the cygnets that was born here last year. Good to know that it has survived.
20th - A brief morning ringing in the garden was back on form after very little recently catching 28 birds with 18 new including ten Greenfinch and two juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker.
21st - RINGATHON
Part 1 - Louise and I started at 3.15am at Chesworth Farm setting the nets and was later joined by Eddie with nets down by 11am. A total of 103 birds with 83 new including a juvenile Treecreeper, 11 Greenfinch, ten House Sparrow and a Jackdaw (first caught here - above). The only interesting retrap was a Blue Tit ringed in October 2007.Part 2 - Louise and I then went to Horsham Hospital to collect a female Mallard that had nested in one of the enclosed courtyards having seven ducklings and were unable to get out. Between us and the help of Linda from the hospital Mum and all were gathered up, ringed and taken to Warnham LNR to be released.
Part 3 - Then we made a quick visit to Horsham Park where Louise managed to bag one of the Canada Goose goslings.
Part 4 - Returning to Warnham LNR a newly fledged Magpie (above) was walking around the courtyard and I very quickly managed to pick it up, Louise ringed it and then released it out of harms way with parents nearby. Unfortunately, five minutes later a Crow came down and carried it away!
Part 5 - The main reason for returning to Warnham LNR was to then venture out onto the Millpond to ring the three Common Terns on one of the rafts (above and below), for which we were joined by Jake. The second raft wasn't so lucky with the female found dead on the raft completely emaciated leaving three unhatched eggs - possibly not being fed enough by the male?
Part 6 - A quick trip to Rudgwick by Louise, Kevin and I to meet Aston and Chris to ring another Spotted Flycatcher nest in Aston's garden which held just two young and three unhatched eggs. I remembered my camera this time (below).
Part 7 - The only unsuccessful part, was a trip to the Heronry back at Warnham LNR where there has been a lot of late breeding activity. Joined again by climber Gary we checked a nest that should have been ready for ringing, but had been predated and then found another new nest that when climbed the chicks were too old! A further new nest was also found but again just too old! A bit frustrating, but the Heronry here is now realised to be much larger than ever thought with an estimation last year of 17 nests with this year holding at least 28 nests making it the biggest in the county!22nd - In the morning I ringed the last of the Warnham LNR nest boxes resulting in five Great Tit chicks. In the early evening Wes, Jake and I ran a public ringing demonstration at Warnham LNR which was hosted by the Friends group mainly focused on the reedbed area and with a good attendance and near perfect weather caught 25 retraps and 19 new birds of 14 species. Highlights of new birds included another Magpie, two Garden Warbler, three Blackcap and two Reed Warbler (including the first juveniles of the year) and a juvenile Kingfisher which was a real spectacle. Another amazing find was of a Golden-ringed Dragonfly in one of the nets which was the first record of this heathland species for this very non-heathland reserve (below) bringing the site odonata total to 25 species.
23rd - Another Blackbird nest of four in my garden was ready to ring this morning and a post breeding check of the nest boxes at Warnham LNR, unexpected turned up a second brood of six Great Tit and of the 40+ occupied boxes on the reserve just a single dead chick was found making this by far the most successful year!Birds ringed: (retraps in brackets)
Spotted Flycatcher - 6 nestlings
Dunnock - 5 (4)
Goldfinch - 3 (2)
Blue Tit - 17 (7)
Robin - 4 (3)
Great Tit - 32 + 11 nestlings (6)
Chaffinch - 3 (1)
Blackcap - 3 (4)
Garden Warbler - 2 (2)
Reed Warbler - 2 (6)
Treecreeper - 1
Chiffchaff - 6 (2)
Wren - 1 (1)
Jackdaw - 1
Magpie - 2
Mallard - 8
Canada Goose - 1
Common Tern - 3 nestlings
Kingfisher - 1
Greenfinch - 21 (3)
House Sparrow - 10 (2)
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 2 (2)
Blackbird - 5 + 4 nestlings (6)
Mute Swan - (1)
Long-tailed Tit - (3)
Saturday, 19 June 2010
17th and 18th June 2010 - MANDARIN!
A brief visit to the Farm locally where I have been ringing Swallow chicks on 17th produced five chicks ringed from the third pair nesting here.
On the 18th, Louise and I ringed in the reedbed and a net in Woodpecker Hide (the newly named Feeding Station) at Warnham LNR during the morning, catching 75 birds of 17 species including 48 new birds. Highlights of the new birds included two Garden Warbler, a Reed Warbler, a juvenile Coal Tit, two juvenile Treecreeper (above), a Jay and a juvenile male Mandarin (below). The latter was one of two caught in the Woodpecker Hide net, although the second managed to escape the net. You can see it is a male as it has just started moulting into adult plumage with orange 'go-faster' stripes on the head and a few adult feathers on the side of the breast. They are almost certainly the produce of one of the pairs that has bred here and it is the first to have been caught at the sites and considering only 18 got ringed in all of Britain in 2009 it is a very good catch!
The highlight of the retraps was a breeding adult female Blue Tit that was ringed here as a juvenile on 5th Sep 2006. The Grey Wagtail pair thats nest was ringed at the beginning of May had relocated to another outlet pipe in the sluice here and on inspection had just a single well grown chick which I ringed. Unusual just to have one and no sign of any unhatched eggs!
A late visit to Leechpool and Owlbeech Woods involved a bit of nest finding with a pair of Blackcap feeding six nestlings (above) and a pair of Yellowhammer feeding, but although I spent some time looking, could not locate the nest. Very frustrating!!!
Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Swallow - 5 nestlings
Blackcap - 6 + 6 nestlings (1)
Garden Warbler - 2 (2)
Blue Tit - 6 (5)
Dunnock - 1 (1)
Robin - 2 (1)
Chaffinch - 2
Great Tit - 6 (11)
Reed Warbler - 1 (2)
Coal Tit - 1
Grey Wagtail - 1 nestling
Treecreeper - 2
Chiffchaff - 3 (2)
Wren - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 11
Jay - 1
Blackbird - 2
Song Thrush - (1)
Mandarin - 1
On the 18th, Louise and I ringed in the reedbed and a net in Woodpecker Hide (the newly named Feeding Station) at Warnham LNR during the morning, catching 75 birds of 17 species including 48 new birds. Highlights of the new birds included two Garden Warbler, a Reed Warbler, a juvenile Coal Tit, two juvenile Treecreeper (above), a Jay and a juvenile male Mandarin (below). The latter was one of two caught in the Woodpecker Hide net, although the second managed to escape the net. You can see it is a male as it has just started moulting into adult plumage with orange 'go-faster' stripes on the head and a few adult feathers on the side of the breast. They are almost certainly the produce of one of the pairs that has bred here and it is the first to have been caught at the sites and considering only 18 got ringed in all of Britain in 2009 it is a very good catch!
The highlight of the retraps was a breeding adult female Blue Tit that was ringed here as a juvenile on 5th Sep 2006. The Grey Wagtail pair thats nest was ringed at the beginning of May had relocated to another outlet pipe in the sluice here and on inspection had just a single well grown chick which I ringed. Unusual just to have one and no sign of any unhatched eggs!
A late visit to Leechpool and Owlbeech Woods involved a bit of nest finding with a pair of Blackcap feeding six nestlings (above) and a pair of Yellowhammer feeding, but although I spent some time looking, could not locate the nest. Very frustrating!!!Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Swallow - 5 nestlings
Blackcap - 6 + 6 nestlings (1)
Garden Warbler - 2 (2)
Blue Tit - 6 (5)
Dunnock - 1 (1)
Robin - 2 (1)
Chaffinch - 2
Great Tit - 6 (11)
Reed Warbler - 1 (2)
Coal Tit - 1
Grey Wagtail - 1 nestling
Treecreeper - 2
Chiffchaff - 3 (2)
Wren - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 11
Jay - 1
Blackbird - 2
Song Thrush - (1)
Mandarin - 1
Monday, 14 June 2010
14th June 2010 - A New Species and a New Nest
Although the forecast for today was of showers and heavy wind I risked getting up early to go to Chesworth Farm this morning and was very glad to have done as there was no rain and the wind didn't pick up until after 9am! It also turned out to be a very productive session for Eddie and I.
Although only 44 birds were caught the 27 which were new included some real quality starting with an adult male Yellowhammer (above) and the tenth Reed Warbler for the pond this year, an adult female.
Then two juvenile Blackbird (above), which was really good as all of the nests that we have found here have been predated, so glad at least one survived. Another new juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker which was probably from a different family to the ones last week as I caught them again as well and the new bird was in active wing moult while the other two not.
The last three new birds of the day were the highlights with a Woodpigeon, a Jay and a smashing adult male Kestrel (above). This is the first Kestrel to be caught at the Horsham DC sites and a real beauty having watched it hunting for the prior 30 minutes.
After Chesworth I popped back to Horsham Park and managed to catch two of the five Canada Goose goslings and then onto Warnham LNR where the first pair of Common Terns have hatched three chicks (to be ringed soon). I then spent an hour walking through the reedbed on the edge of the meadow looking for Reed Warbler nests as this is a nest that we have never ringed before and I managed to find six of which one had three ringable chicks and an unhatched egg (above). The other nests were one with four eggs, one with five eggs (below), one with one egg, one empty, and one that had been predated.
Birds ringed: (retraps in brackets)
Blue Tit - 8 (2)
Yellowhammer - 1
Robin - 2 (2)
Chaffinch - 1
Goldfinch - 2
Reed Warbler - 1 + 3 nestlings (1)
Blackbird - 2 (1)
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1 (3)
House Sparrow - 1 (6)
Greenfinch - 4
Great Tit - (2)
Jay - 1
Woodpigeon - 1
Kestrel - 1
Canada Goose - 2
Although only 44 birds were caught the 27 which were new included some real quality starting with an adult male Yellowhammer (above) and the tenth Reed Warbler for the pond this year, an adult female.
Then two juvenile Blackbird (above), which was really good as all of the nests that we have found here have been predated, so glad at least one survived. Another new juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker which was probably from a different family to the ones last week as I caught them again as well and the new bird was in active wing moult while the other two not.
The last three new birds of the day were the highlights with a Woodpigeon, a Jay and a smashing adult male Kestrel (above). This is the first Kestrel to be caught at the Horsham DC sites and a real beauty having watched it hunting for the prior 30 minutes.
After Chesworth I popped back to Horsham Park and managed to catch two of the five Canada Goose goslings and then onto Warnham LNR where the first pair of Common Terns have hatched three chicks (to be ringed soon). I then spent an hour walking through the reedbed on the edge of the meadow looking for Reed Warbler nests as this is a nest that we have never ringed before and I managed to find six of which one had three ringable chicks and an unhatched egg (above). The other nests were one with four eggs, one with five eggs (below), one with one egg, one empty, and one that had been predated.
Birds ringed: (retraps in brackets)Blue Tit - 8 (2)
Yellowhammer - 1
Robin - 2 (2)
Chaffinch - 1
Goldfinch - 2
Reed Warbler - 1 + 3 nestlings (1)
Blackbird - 2 (1)
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1 (3)
House Sparrow - 1 (6)
Greenfinch - 4
Great Tit - (2)
Jay - 1
Woodpigeon - 1
Kestrel - 1
Canada Goose - 2
Saturday, 12 June 2010
5th - 13th June 2010 - A Busy Week
A very busy week with a combination of some netting and nesting.
Wes started with a session at the Capel reserve on Saturday 5th, briefly joined by me, catching 20 new birds of ten species with highlights being four Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting and four new breeding Blackbird.
Wednesday 9th was a windy day but the potter traps in my garden produced three juvenile Chaffinch (above) and a juvenile and adult Greenfinch.
On Thursday 10th Jake and myself netted the reedbed at Warnham LNR catching 77 birds of twelve species including 43 new birds with highlights being a Reed Bunting, a newly fledged juvenile Garden Warbler (above), five Blackcap and seven Chiffchaff. But the best catch was a female Willow Warbler with a brood patch and a male singing nearby which is the first confirmed breeding of this species at this site. There was also an interestingly plumaged juvenle Great Tit which was very dark and lacking any yellow (below). Also on this day, Wes managed to ring a nest of six Willow Warbler and a nest of five Garden Warbler at the Capel reserve and I ringed the second to last nest box at Warnham LNR of Blue Tits.
On Friday 11th, Wes checked two Barn Owl boxes in a farm building near Capel and found an unringed male in one and an unringed female in the other with young chicks.
Finally, today I ringed at home in the morning and late afternoon catching 13 new birds highlighting in a juvenile and adult female Linnet (never caught here before - above), a juvenile Nuthatch (below) and another adult Jackdaw. In the field behind the house I also managed to find a nest of five Pied Wagtail in a log pile on a trailer which I ringed and a Linnet nest with one egg.
In a brief trip out at lunch today, 13th, to Horsham Park I managed to catch a Coot (below) in true Kane Brides fashion. Then a detour home via the Swallow nests that were at egg stage last week to find the nest with three eggs had three ringable chicks and the nest of five eggs with only day old chicks.
Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)
Blackbird - 5 (2)
Whitethroat - 4
Chiffchaff - 10 (3)
Great Tit - 8
Robin - 7 (1)
Greenfinch - 4
House Sparrow - 1
Willow Warbler - 2 + 6 nestlings
Reed Bunting - 2 (1)
Bullfinch - 1
Garden Warbler - 1 + 5 nestlings (1)
Reed Warbler - (1)
Blue Tit - 20 + 6 nestlings (20)
Chaffinch - 3
Dunnock - 2
Linnet - 2
Goldfinch - 6 (1)
Pied Wagtail - 5 nestlings
Swallow - 3 nestlings
Barn Owl - 2
Jackdaw - 1
Coot - 1
Nuthatch - 1
Wes started with a session at the Capel reserve on Saturday 5th, briefly joined by me, catching 20 new birds of ten species with highlights being four Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting and four new breeding Blackbird.
Wednesday 9th was a windy day but the potter traps in my garden produced three juvenile Chaffinch (above) and a juvenile and adult Greenfinch.
On Thursday 10th Jake and myself netted the reedbed at Warnham LNR catching 77 birds of twelve species including 43 new birds with highlights being a Reed Bunting, a newly fledged juvenile Garden Warbler (above), five Blackcap and seven Chiffchaff. But the best catch was a female Willow Warbler with a brood patch and a male singing nearby which is the first confirmed breeding of this species at this site. There was also an interestingly plumaged juvenle Great Tit which was very dark and lacking any yellow (below). Also on this day, Wes managed to ring a nest of six Willow Warbler and a nest of five Garden Warbler at the Capel reserve and I ringed the second to last nest box at Warnham LNR of Blue Tits.
On Friday 11th, Wes checked two Barn Owl boxes in a farm building near Capel and found an unringed male in one and an unringed female in the other with young chicks.
Finally, today I ringed at home in the morning and late afternoon catching 13 new birds highlighting in a juvenile and adult female Linnet (never caught here before - above), a juvenile Nuthatch (below) and another adult Jackdaw. In the field behind the house I also managed to find a nest of five Pied Wagtail in a log pile on a trailer which I ringed and a Linnet nest with one egg.
In a brief trip out at lunch today, 13th, to Horsham Park I managed to catch a Coot (below) in true Kane Brides fashion. Then a detour home via the Swallow nests that were at egg stage last week to find the nest with three eggs had three ringable chicks and the nest of five eggs with only day old chicks.
Birds ringed: (Retraps in brackets)Blackbird - 5 (2)
Whitethroat - 4
Chiffchaff - 10 (3)
Great Tit - 8
Robin - 7 (1)
Greenfinch - 4
House Sparrow - 1
Willow Warbler - 2 + 6 nestlings
Reed Bunting - 2 (1)
Bullfinch - 1
Garden Warbler - 1 + 5 nestlings (1)
Reed Warbler - (1)
Blue Tit - 20 + 6 nestlings (20)
Chaffinch - 3
Dunnock - 2
Linnet - 2
Goldfinch - 6 (1)
Pied Wagtail - 5 nestlings
Swallow - 3 nestlings
Barn Owl - 2
Jackdaw - 1
Coot - 1
Nuthatch - 1
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