Sculthorpe Moor - 21st June 2022

 A productive session at Sculthorpe Moor with a good selection of juveniles in the catch. We saw a very large mixed flock again, but most didn't travel in the direction of the nets so large numbers of Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits were seen but not captured.

A Kingfisher was a real treat, being one of those birds that appears in the nets only once or twice a year. Here is our juvenile along with some other 'next generation' birds that have been bred at Sculthorpe Moor.

Juvenile female

Juvenile Treecreeper

Juvenile Goldcrest

Juvenile Marsh Tit

Juvenile Blackbird

Juvenile Blackcap

Both of the resident Willow Warbler pair were caught today. It is interesting to note that he is now well into his complete primary moult while she has yet to start. It has been generally observed that males of several summer migrants arrive ahead of the females, perhaps he will be leaving for the wintering grounds before her. 

We also caught a first summer male Whitethroat. We heard him singing all morning, but it appears he has been unsuccessful in attracting a mate as when caught he showed no signs of being in breeding condition.

Total: 32 (3)

Kingfisher - 1
Wren - 4
Dunnock -  (1)
Robin - 2
Blackbird - 2
Whitethroat - 1
Blackcap - 3
Willow Warbler - 1 (1)
Chiffchaff - 3
Goldcrest - 1
Marsh Tit - 2
Blue Tit - 4
Great Tit - 3
Long-tailed Tit - 2
Treecreeper - 2 (1)

Wild Ken Hill - 22nd May 2022

This morning's catch included some young birds hatched this breeding season. At present it's still too early for young from the summer migrants as they would have started later than the resident birds, spending time setting up territories while the birds already here would have started nest building and laying eggs sooner.

                                   Juvenile Robin that has not yet started its post-juvenile moult.

                                        Juvenile Song Thrush, still with gape in evidence and 

                                                      juvenile thorns on median coverts.

 

                                   

We caught a Jay and this bird received, in addition to the usual metal ring, an individually coded white plastic darvic ring, as part of a study undertaken by the University of East Anglia. The darvic ring will allow the bird to be individually identified without being caught. This type of study aims to increase records of individuals to find out more about their movements than would be possible from a bird with only a metal ring.

While on site there was a report of Caspian Tern along the coast. Unfortunately we missed that. However, the report did result in more skyward gazing than usual and the unusual sight of a Fulmar flying SW across the marsh pasture.

Total: 15 (8) 

Wren - 1
Robin - 3
Song Thrush - 1
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Grasshopper Warbler - 0 (1)
Reed Warbler - 2
Sedge Warbler - 1 (2)
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Whitethroat - 2
Blackcap - 1
Chiffchaff - 1 (2)
Blue Tit - 0 (2)
Chaffinch - 0 (1)
Jay - 1

Wild Ken Hill - 14th April 2022

 The recent fair weather with winds from the south east has brought a flurry of migrant activity as birds make the crossing from mainland Europe to the south and east coast. We worked an area around the old railway line where there are differing habitats, holding species that will reflect the current movements of migrants. Many will be fresh in and most will not have completed their journey to the summer breeding grounds.

One of four Sedge warblers captured. All will need to feed up before moving on. 

Three had completely exhausted their fat reserves and need to feed up before 

travelling any further.

The air was filled with Willow warbler song, but it was only the rather similar Chiffchaff that managed to find our nets. All of these birds showed no preparedness for breeding yet as they have only just arrived.

Chiffchaff

Blackcaps are also starting to filter into the country. At present the majority of arrivals are male. They fly in advance of most females in order to set up and hold territories ready for the arrival of females.

One of 5 male Blackcaps captured.

The resident birds are a little more advanced with their breeding season. Some females have well developed brood patches (feathers drop from the bird's belly that engorges with blood in order to transfer heat from the body of the sitting adult to the eggs). Breeding males have cloacal protuberances or CPs for breeding.

Male Cetti's warbler (with CP). 

Male Reed Bunting (with CP).

This female bird has remained on site all year, although some Marsh harriers leave for the winter and return by April more are remaining now (probably a direct result of global warming). She came and looked at us but accepted our presence away from where they have chosen to nest and continued with the business of hunting and getting on with their breeding season.

 
One of two pairs of Marsh harriers.

We put 5 nets up, using hedgerows and reedbed margins where birds travel through cover and access water.

It's amazing that birds are recaptured on the exact spot year on year. The catch included 4 birds ringed by LP in previous years.

Total: 37 (4)

Wren - 5
Robin - 3
Dunnock - 2
Blackbird - 1
Song Thrush - 1
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Sedge Warbler - 4
Blackcap - 5 (1)
Chiffchaff - 6 (2)
Long-tailed Tit - 1
Blue Tit - 5 (1)
Chaffinch - 2
Reed Bunting - 1

Wraysbury GP - 13th August 2019

On site for 6am, seven nets erected and 101 birds later were off site by 11:45am. Good to team up with TA and NT for a morning of migration monitoring.

Total:  94 (7) Tree Pipit - 1 Wren - 1 Robin - 4 (1) Dunnock - 5 Song Thrush - 1 Reed Warbler - 2 Whitethroat - 21 (3) Garden Warbler - 17 (2) Blackcap - 37 (1) Willow Warbler - 3 Chiffchaff - 1 Blue Tit - 1

 Migrant Hawker

Brown Hawker

Stanwell Moor GP - 12th August 2019

There were conflicting weather reports but we wanted to get out after three extremely windy days when we were stuck indoors. We didn't put nets in the reed-bed (due to a certain person forgetting wellingtons) but that actually worked out well as with five nets,fairly close together, they were more manageable in the event of rain.

There was a good spread of species, including a couple of Tree Pipits,among the 78 new birds. We are beginning to see Garden Warblers with fat scores of up to 6 and the Blackcaps are now well into their post-juvenile moult.

Adult Tree Pipit

Lesser Whitethroat

Willow Warbler

We were very cautious and kept a close eye on the sky. After a brief shower while we set up, we began drawing in as the clouds came over and the temperature dropped. All was packed up as the clouds burst and we were off site by 11:45am.

Total: 78 (2)

Tree Pipit - 2

Wren - 1

Robin - 2

Dunnock - 1

Blackbird - 1

Song Thrush - 2

Reed Warbler - 6

Lesser Whitethroat - 2 (1)

Whitethroat - 16

Garden Warbler - 5

Blackcap - 26 (1)

Willow Warbler - 2

Chiffchaff - 2

Blue Tit - 6

Great Tit - 2

Goldfinch - 2

Wraysbury GP and Stanwell Moor GP (pm) - 8th August 2019

Wraysbury GP

With abysmal weather forecast for the next few days we took our chance and monitored Wraysbury while we could. Total amounted to 90 birds in all, mainly Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and Blackcap with a smattering of Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and a Lesser Whitethroat.
Only a few migrants had hung arounD to be retrapped, but S415109, a Garden Warbler provided some interesting information. This bird had been ringed at Broadwater on 29th July weighing 15.9g, was caught on August 1st at Wraysbury weighing 18.4g and after a week feeding at the Wraysbury site weighed 23.1g by 8th August. We don't expect to see this bird again as it will be on its way very soon - fat 6, muscle 2.

3JP Goldcrest

3O Willow Warbler

3O Lesser Whitethroat

Total: 83 (7)

Song Thrush - 1 (1)
Dunnock - 3 (1)
Lesser Whitethroat - 1

Whitethroat - 25

Blackcap - 21 (2) 

Garden Warbler - 23 (3)

Chiffchaff - 1

Willow Warbler - 4

Goldcrest - 2

Blue Tit - 2

Brown Argus

Stanwell Moor GP

A calm evening before a few days forecast for very strong winds and intermittent showers. The four nets were up by 7pm. There were a few Reed Warblers, adults included, from the reed-bed and the track net provided approx 10 birds from the initial round. The total was much inflated by a flock of birds that passed through the track net, mainly Long-tailed Tits with a few other birds. The flock was some 40 strong and we captured about half of them.
As usual, the prospective roost promised much with quite a few hirundines making pre-roost circuits overhead, before the bulk of them moved off in the direction of King George reservoir.We did capture a few at the end of the day, but many more deserted us at the end of the day.

Total: 54 (6)

Sand Martin - 1
Swallow - 6
Cetti's Warbler - 0 (1)
Reed Warbler - 8 (2)
Whitethroat - 8
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Blackcap - 3
Garden Warbler - 3
Long-tailed Tit - 12 (3)
Blue Tit - 1

Stanwell GP - 2nd August 2019

We had six nets up and it soon became clear that the wave of birds that were passing through Wraysbury on the 1st were still about. In total we processed 131 birds. There were very few birds already ringed and two of those were controls. Blackcap Z834406, a female, was  ringed on 8th September 2015 and we look forward to learning more of its origin.  Whitethroat ADJ5367 was a bird of this year and ringed on the 13th of July, a little less interesting but it will still be good to know where it was ringed.


Totals:  128 (3)

Blackbird - 2
Song Thrush - 2
Dunnock - 1
Robin -3
Reed Warbler - 16 (1)
Sedge Warbler - 3

Whitethroat - 25 (1 control)

Blackcap - 32 ( 1 control)

Garden Warbler - 15

Chiffchaff - 16

Willow Warbler - 1

Blue Tit - 4

Great Tit - 3

Greenfinch - 1 

Goldfinch - 3

Linnet - 1

 Red Admiral

 Painted Lady (above and below)

Wraysbury GP - 1st August 2019

Another, not too early start at Wraysbury on a moderately busy morning.....

Lesser Whitethoat -3

Willow Warbler - 3

Garden Warbler - 3

Blackcap - 3 male

Total: 116 (8)

Song Thrush - 2 (1)
Dunnock - 2 (1)
Robin - 1
Reed Warbler - 4
Lesser Whitethroat - 1

Whitethroat - 19 (2)

Blackcap - 46 (2) 

Garden Warbler - 29 (2)

Chiffchaff - 2

Willow Warbler - 1

Blue Tit - 2

Great Tit - 1

Goldfinch - 6

Broadwater GP - 31st July 2019

After a few windy days we took our chance to get a last session in at Broadwater this month. The site was very quiet and only 16 new and two retrapped birds were processed. We got a single Willow Warbler, also a Treecreeper and Reed Warbler.

Willow Warbler - age 3

Reed Warbler - age 3

Total: 16 (2)

Robin - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Blackcap - 6
Garden Warbler - 1
Chiffchaff -  3 (1)
Willow Warbler - 1
Blue Tit - 2
Great Tit - 0 (1)
Treecreeper - 1

Stanwell Moor GP - 23rd July 2019

We went along to do a couple of hours in the cool of the evening. After a lengthy delay at the gate we did 13 new birds at our usual spot near the soil heaps but would have been better off to net at a place where we were ringing a few years back. Lots of birds seen there, including various warblers, Blackbird and Song Thrush so perhaps we'll try there again next time we are not netting in the reed-bed.

Total: 13

Whitethroat - 10
Blackcap - 2
Great Tit - 1

Wraysbury GP - 21st July 2019

A 5'o'clock start with 10 nets up gave us 163 birds by the end of the morning. Leading species was Blackcap and Garden Warbler.

Adult Sedge Warbler

Total: 136 (27)

Blackbird - 1
Song Thrush - 5
Dunnock - 2 (2)
Wren - 1

Robin - 6 (2)

Reed Warbler - 1 

Sedge Warbler - 1

Whitethroat - 15 (8)

Blackcap - 67 (6)

Garden Warbler - 23 (2)

Chiffchaff - 5 (1)

Long-tailed Tit - 1

Blue Tit - 3 (3)

Great Tit - 3 (1)

Treecreeper - 2

Goldfinch - 0 (1)

Bullfinch - 0 (1)

Brown Hawker

Wraysbury GP - 19th July 2019

Chris was at Wraysbury yesterday, taking some Americans out on a Birding Pals trip. Early in the morning, between heavy showers that presumably forced birds passing through down, Wraysbury was positively bouncing with birds. We went for a couple of hours and again experienced intermittent showers that had not been forecast. We only had three nets up and captured 32 birds in just two hours. Many birds had moved elsewhere, but we would have always wondered what it was like there, had we not given it a try.

Total: 29 (3)

Wren - 1
Dunnock - 1 (1)
Songthrush - 1
Whitethroat - 4 (1)
Garden Warbler - 1
Blackcap - 17 (1)
Chiffchaff - 3
Great Tit - 1

Wraysbury GP and Black Park - 16th July 2019

Wraysbury GP

Arriving on site for 6am we put seven nets up, mainly focused around the mature bramble clumps near the access gate. Catching went well, with Blackcap the most frequently captured species (50 new and 5 retrapped). Garden Warblers and Whitethroat numbers were well down on the session just three days ago. The best catch, and most definitely probably one of the most dishevelled birds we'd seen in a long time was an adult Nightingale in main moult. We suspected that there was a Nightingale about as the familiar churr  had been heard earlier in the morning.

4M Nightingale in main moult

Tail moult also ongoing

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Total: 82 (8)

Dunnock - 2
Robin - 1
Nightingale - 1
Blackbird - 1
Songthrush - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Whitethroat - 13 (2)
Garden Warbler - 5 (1)
Blackcap - 50 (5)
Chiffchaff - 2
Blue Tit - 3
Great Tit - 1
Bullfinch - 1

 Black-tailed Skimmer

Brown Hawker

Brown Argus

Black Park

Just a late afternoon amble for Dragonflies and Butterflies.....

 Broad-bodied Chaser

 Emerald Damselfly

 Ruddy Darter

 Four-spotted Chaser

Emperor Dragonfly

 White Admiral (above and below)

 Holly Blue

 Peacock

Silver-washed Fritillary