Chobham Common 4 & 5 March 2014

Taking the opportunity presented by the low wind and sunshine forecast for both mornings, these two days were utilised in doing a survey of the Common for Dartford Warbler and Wood Lark, and through ringing trying to establish the population levels with un-rung birds v re-traps, which is actually throwing up more un-rung birds than those with rings, suggesting the population level is fairly good.

The first day was spent with Eleanor and Bill when we checked the south side and second with Gavin and Paul on the north. The first day seven male and one female Dartfords were seen, together with two Wood Lark, one or two males. The second day four male Dartfords were seen and a single male Wood Lark.

At total of six birds were rung, four new Dartfords, males except one female and two Wood Lark

Wood Lark

 Dartford Warbler

Totals: 6

Wood Lark - 2
Dartford Warbler - 4

Delta de l' Ebre, Spain - reprise for colour ringed birds 03 March 2014

So it's nearly 6 months since our stint at the ringing station but some interesting emails received over the weekend provided the perfect excuse to refer back to that time. While there, we did our best to record the codes on darvic rings seen on a couple of Audouin's Gulls and several Glossy Ibis. This self set task brought its own difficulties, firstly in that all birds are nervous in the extreme due to regular and extensive hunting (in so much as just stopping a vehicle can be sufficient cause for entire flocks to take to the air) and secondly because the rice paddyfields although great for all manner of food for birds are filled with a thick, gloopy ooze that definitely obscures the markings and, we suspected probably stains the plastic as there were several shades of buff to ochre rings that we thought may have been white when originally fitted.


Our records are all at Canal Vell.

Audouin's Gull 

     

 Audouin's Gull on rehabilitation cage

ALXS PVC Ring White Black (Niger). Ringed 24/06/2003 in the Ebro Delta.

seen on
11/08/2010 Playa de Matalascanas (Huelva)
01/08/2011 Costa Donana (Huelva)
10/08/2013 Salinas Decerrillos (Almeria)
seen by us on
26/10/2013 Canal Vell, Tarragona

AY2F PVC Ring White Black (Niger) ringed on 17/6/2007

seen by us on
26/10/2013 Canal Vell, Tarragonad 

Glossy Ibis

All of the following are on white PVC although the actual colour is just discernable in the following image.

Feeding Glossy Ibises, two on the right with darvics

CAN  ringed on 19/05/2008 in the Donana National Park, Spain.

seen on
15/11/2010 & 21/11/2010 Brazo del Este Sevilla

seen by us on
30/10/2013 Canal Vell, Tarragona

TAX ringed on 18/05/2010 in the Donana National Park, Spain.

seen on
18/03/2012 Carmargue, FRANCE

seen by us on
30/10/2013 Canal Vell, Tarragona

 Reports for Glossy Ibis TAX

RV3  ringed on 27/05/2010in the Carmargue FRANCE

seen on
04/06/2010 Buisson Gros-Marais, Petit Carmargue, FRANCE

20/03/2011 Els Montells Tarragona

seen by us on seen by us on
30/10/2013 Canal Vell, Tarragona

RV9 ringed on 27/05/2010 in the Carmargue, FRANCE.

seen on
31/05/2010 Buisson Gros-Marais, Petit Carmargue, FRANCE

04/06/2010 Buisson Gros-Marais, Petit Carmargue, FRANCE

seen by us on
30/10/2013 Canal Vell, Tarragona

00WF ringed on 17/05/2011 in the Carmargue, FRANCE.

seen by us on seen by us on
30/10/2013 at Canal Vell, Tarragona

018H ringed on 24/05/2011in the Carmargue, FRANCE. 

seen on
01/11/2013 at Canal Vell Tarragona

seen by us on
30/10/2013 at Canal Vell, Tarragona

X27 ringed on 12/05/2011in the Carmargue, FRANCE. 

seen on
29/02/12 Montilles de Capettes, Petite Camargue, FRANCE

seen by us on
01/11/2013 Canal Vell, Tarragona

0H3C ringed on 25/05/12 in the Carmargue, FRANCE. 

seen by us on
01/11/2013 at Canal Vell, Tarragona

OHH8 ringed on 25/05/12 in the Carmargue, FRANCE. 

seen by us on
30/10/2013 at Canal Vell, Tarragona

There is still RT15 outstanding and we believe this bird may have been ringed in Italy. It's possible that the ring were misread but the search continues.

Wraysbury GP - 1 March 2014

CL, DKL and TA met up at 6.45am and walked on site. There have been large numbers of Thrushes present throughout the winter, but inclement weather has meant that there have been no trips to  monitor numbers and behaviour of late.

We set three doubles and began to play for Redwing, Linnet and Redpoll. 
Over the course of the morning, we tried other songs including Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Greenfinch and Long Tailed Tit, but for all our efforts we only managed 15 birds and not a single Thrush amongst them.

This has to be the first time that we used more B rings than any other.

 5M Greenfinch

Totals: 12 (3)

Wren - 1
Robin - 2 (2)
Dunnock - 3 (1)
Long-tailed Tit - 4
Greenfinch - 2

Iver Heath garden - February 2014

Things started to pick up this month as Siskins returned to the garden to utilise the sunflower hearts. The number of Siskins processed over the month totalled 37 new birds, compared to one in January, with one re-trap of a bird we did in 2012 and another UK control. Unfortunately we are competing with our neighbour who also has feeders out as well, just underneath a large laurel and the birds seem to prefer these as they offer more immediately available cover and I suspect the net is a bit of a distraction for them as well.

Totals (Feb) : 63 (5)

Robin - 2 (1)
Goldcrest - 0 (1)
Blue Tit - 9 (1)
Starling - 4
Goldfinch - 9
Siskin - 37 (2)
Lesser Redpoll - 2

Black Park - 26 February 2014

The weather give us another chance to visit, this time to a new area where we had seen a flock of c50 Chaffinches when we left after the previous visit, but it was without much success as apart from some Chaffinches up in the tops no large flock appeared on the ground to feed on the beech mast, A Crossbill flew over as we were setting up and mid morning we came across a pair of Mandarin nest prospecting in a hole about 30 feet up in a beech. Seventeen birds were processed of nine species, with Coal Tit the lead species, with five. Quite a few birds were caught as male/female pairs indicative of pairing up taking place.

Treecreeper - 6

Totals: 17

Woodpigeon - 1

Robin - 1

Goldcrest - 2

Coal Tit -5

Blue Tit - 1

Great Tit - 3

Long-tailed Tit - 1

Nuthatch - 1

Treecreeper - 2

Black Park - 19 February 2014

Another day where getting out was possible, and with lower wind speed predicted it was decided to give the open area of Black Park, our usual site in the park a try, so I met up with GDB who came down from Bicester to give it a try for Redpoll and Redwing. Whilst in the process of setting up four Crossbills flew over and a flock of 30 odd Chaffinches put in an appearance but soon moved on. Another flock of 50 odd were found in an area of Beech mast as we left the park. No Redwings put in an appearance but we had a slow trickle of Redpolls and a single Goldcrest, but nothing else.

We caught one Common Redpoll with a Stravanger, Norway ring, which was pale and had a 79 wing, a considerable range beyond Lesser Redpoll wing length (max 75), but only weighed 12.1, plus another, female with a wing of 73, which is within Lesser range and only a weight of 11.9. We have caught other Common Redpolls this winter where the birds felt bulkier and weighed 13-14g.

The problem with Redpolls - as you go through the various regions they are found in - colours vary, in even within the two groups Lesser and Common groups, some more obviously than others, sizes vary, as do weights - within what has been termed the Common/Mealy group, a Scando bird, or one from Iceland or Greenland, will all show variations in birds from these three areas, and is the variation between these various clines sufficient that they are true species or just ssp? And, where Commons meet Lessers are they distinctly separate that there is no regular interbreeding? This is not an issue in Greenland or Iceland as there are no local breeding Lessers, but as we know isolation might be the only interbreeding inhibitor. But, even if they are lumped, we can still do the Lesser/common ssp bit - as we do with the various races of Chiff - just so we can still argue over what ssp it is, rather than the species.

 5 male Common Redpoll rung at Stravanger, Norway

79 wing weight 12.1

5 female Common Redpoll with 5 male

Lesser Redpoll, wing 73 weight 11.9

Total: 11 (1)

Goldcrest - 1

Lesser Redpoll - 9

Common Redpoll - 1 (1)

Broadwater GP - 18 February 2014

One of the rare opportunities to get out these days provided a chance to meet up with MRB and Margaret at Broadwater. We only set four nets taking a fairly easy approach which only resulted in 15 new birds and one re-trap, but with an interesting mix of ten species, with the highlights being two Redwing and a Bullfinch.

Total: 15 (1)

Wren - 1
Dunnock - 2
Blackbird - 1
Redwing - 2
Song Thrush - 1
Goldcrest - 1
Blue Tit - 3
Great Tit - 0 (1)
Long-tailed Tit - 3
Bullfinch - 1