30th January 2011 - Yet Another Great Spot For The Garden

A fairly quiet week in my garden, partly due to windy conditions, with just 33 new birds caught. The highlight being the 16th new Great Spotted Woodpecker for my garden in just over six months (below)!

After catching three retrap Treecreepers last week, a new bird was caught on Friday. I am looking into the ageing of Treecreepers after post juvenile moult and the size of the buff tips to the primary coverts are a great guide. Large tips are juvenile feathers while small tips are adult feathers, meaning that any retained large tips represent a first year. This said wholly small tips don't rule out juvenile as the primary coverts could have all been moulted. Photos below:

First year - Clear moult limit in the primary coverts with large tips having an extension up the shaft (also with an abberrant feather lacking any buff tip)

Unaged - uniform small tips to the primary coverts

Unaged - Gradual increase in size of tips, but interestingly no extension up the shaft. Future evidence may prove this to be an adult in a similar way to Robin.
Birds ringed:
Great Tit - 6
Blue Tit - 18
Robin - 1
Goldfinch - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 3
Treecreeper - 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1

23rd January 2011 - Seven New Species for the Year

I did three netting sessions this week with very mixed results catching a total of 38 new birds. A session in my garden was the most numerous with 28 new birds with highlights being the first Woodpigeon (below), Blackbird and Great-spotted Woodpecker, while four new Coal Tits was a day record here. Retraps included three Treecreepers (two from 2010 and one from 2009).

A two hour session before work in the Rhodi Wood at Leith Hill was disappointing producing just two birds, a Long-tailed Tit (new for the year - below) and a Blue Tit!

The last session was before work this morning on Duke's Warren at Leith Hill and although only eight birds were caught this included six Redpoll of which one was a fantastic Meally Redpoll (below).

The day finished with a quick visit to a new site, Willow Green pond at Holmwood Common, where I managed to catch the seventh new species, a pair of Mallard coming to bread.
Birds ringed:
Blue Tit - 13
Great Tit - 4
Chaffinch - 1
Coal Tit - 4
Goldfinch - 1
Robin - 1
Lesser Redpoll - 5
Meally Redpoll - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 1
Goldcest - 1
Blackbird - 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Woodpigeon - 1
Mallard - 2

16th January 2011 - One Bird Week

After a brilliant two hour session on Leith Hill on 31st December in which I caught 38 Redpoll and 14 Goldcrest in one net, including a control of both species (details hopefully to come soon), I felt that it was worth a second go.  So on Monday 10th I spent another two hours there, but with dire return, to be honest just one Goldcrest!  Oh well, that's ringing!

A visit was also made to Coot Pond, but with the huge amount of water elsewhere at the moment there were only a couple of Mallard present and they weren't interested in the bread I had!  The rain and high winds then continued to the end of the week preventing any more netting opportunity, but next week is looking better.

Birds ringed:
Goldcrest - 1

1st and 9th January 2011 - Garden Start to 2011

Two sessions in my garden started me off for in 2011 produced just 48 new birds which is very few compared with the norm, probably a result of the excessive cold weather during last month!

Birds ringed:
Dunnock - 1
Goldfinch - 8
Chaffinch - 4
Blue Tit - 15
Great Tit - 9
Robin - 1
Coal Tit - 3
Greenfinch - 5
Redwing - 2

2010 Round Up - Horsham Ringers is back!

After over 5 months off the air, ringing has still continued although to a varying degree.  I still managed to outdo my annual total from 2009 of 3995 to 4875!  The full list follows:

Mute Swan - 5

Canada Goose - 10

Mallard - 30

Tufted Duck - 1

Mandarin - 1

Grey Heron - 35 nestlings

Sparrowhawk - 1

Buzzard - 3

Kestrel - 2

Moorhen - 8

Coot - 5

Common Sandpiper - 1

Herring Gull - 2

Common Tern - 3 nestlings

Stock Dove - 1

Woodpigeon - 15 + 4 nestlings

Collared Dove - 2

Barn Owl - 3 + 7 nestlings

Tawny Owl - 1

Nightjar - 1

Kingfisher - 4

Green Woodpecker - 1

Great-spotted Woodpecker - 22

Swallow - 1 + 51 nestlings

Meadow Pipit - 16

Grey Wagtail - 2 + 9 nestlings

Pied Wagtail - 15 nestlings

Wren - 55 + 6 nestlings

Dunnock - 80 + 3 nestlings

Robin - 120 + 11 nestlings

Blackbird - 121

Fieldfare - 1

Song Thrush - 27 + 3 nestlings

Redwing - 30

Grasshopper Warbler - 1

Reed Warbler - 44 + 7 nestlings

Blackcap - 95 + 6 nestlings

Garden Warbler - 14 + 1 nestling

Whitethroat - 14

Chiffchaff - 107 + 5 nestlings

Willow Warbler - 8 + 5 nestlings

Goldcrest - 66 + 4 nestlings

Firecrest - 1

Spotted Flycatcher - 9 nestlings

Long-tailed Tit - 65 + 6 nestlings

Blue Tit - 1553 + 226 nestlings

Great Tit - 599 + 93 nestlings

Coal Tit - 31

Marsh Tit - 6

Nuthatch - 12

Treecreeper - 20 + 5 nestlings

Jay - 7

Magpie - 6

Jackdaw - 5

Rook - 2 nestlings

Starling - 12

House Sparrow - 62 + 5 nestlings

Chaffinch - 259

Greenfinch - 401 + 5 nestlings

Goldfinch - 280

Siskin - 5

Linnet - 3

Lesser Redpoll - 70

Bullfinch - 8

Yellowhammer - 5

Reed Bunting - 29 + 3 nestlings

Roll on 2011!