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