Sussex Butterflies - 29th August 2019

Well it was a bit of a debate, do I or don't I, brave the M25 for a trip to Brighton for the Long-tailed Blues, after all it cannot be that bad leaving after 9, well more like 9.40, but it was as it often is, crap, 40 from Heathrow to past the A3, well that is what the signs said in reality it was slower, and coming back was worse as the 40 and crawling started 17 miles away from Heathrow!

So thank goodness there were at least three Long-tailed Blues on Whitehawk Hill and as ever a good round up of the state of the influx from Neil Hulme was obtained.

 Long-tailed Blue, three different specimens, 

identified by the amount of damage.

.
Afterwards a quick visit to Anchor Bottom, for some Adonis Blues, plus a few other common specimens.

 Small Heath

 Meadow Brown

Common Blue

 Adonis Blue (above and below)

Migrant Hawker

Stanwell Moor GP - 28th August 2019

An early morning shower had us wondering whether birds may have been pushed on or pushed down today. Either way, the total was around the 100 mark again. Blackcaps continue to dominate in numbers and there was a smattering of singletons from different species bringing the species tally to 16. Most unexpected was a young Kingfisher. Neither of us could recall when we last ringed one so this capture was very welcome indeed.

Kingfisher aged 3F

Totals: 100 (3)

Kingfisher - 1
Robin - 3 (1)
Dunnock - 1
Blackbird - 1
Reed Warbler - 4
Lesser Whitethroat - 1 (1)
Whitethroat - 5
Garden Warbler - 0 (1)
Blackcap - 68
Chiffchaff - 9
Willow Warbler - 1
Goldcrest - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 1
Blue Tit - 2
Goldfinch - 1
Linnet - 1

Broadwater GP - 27th August 2019

The spell of good weather continues to hold so this morning we netted at Broadwater with MRB and Margaret. September opportunities in the UK will be very limited so we continue with our autumn monitoring while we can. This is our best site for small warblers and plenty of AA rings were used today.

Adult Chiffchaff

Willow Warbler

Goldcrest

Total: 127 (6)

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1
Wren - 1 (1)
Robin - 3 (1)
Blackbird  - 2
Reed Warbler - 1
Whitethroat - 1
Blackcap - 46 (2)
Chiffchaff - 26
Willow Warbler - 13
Goldcrest - 3 (1)
Long-tailed Tit - 3
Blue Tit - 19
Great Tit - 8 (1)

Wraysbury GP - 26th August 2019

Six nets brought a steady flow of birds that had slowed to a trickle by 9:30am. In view of the high temperatures forecast for later in the day we were drawing in by 10am and of site by 11:30am.

Whitethroat

Total: 71 (5)

Robin- 2
Dunnock - 2 (1)
Songthrush - 1
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Whitethroat - 3 (1)
Garden Warbler - 2
Blackcap - 49 (2)
Chiffchaff - 10 (1)
Willow Warbler - 1

Stanwell Moor GP - 24th August 2019

The favourable weather continued so again we were out to monitor migration through our ringing sites. Stanwell is very close to Heathrow and today flights were landing across the site but it did not adversely affect catching, in fact we processed more than double the number of birds processed at Wraysbury by our two C permit holders, with a similar net footage.

3O Lesser Whitethroat (with passenger)

Totals: 127 (5)

Robin - 3
Dunnock - 1
Blackbird - 2
Song Thrush - 1
Sedge Warbler - 1
Reed Warbler - 10 (1)
Lesser Whitethroat - 2
Whitethroat - 5 (1)
Garden Warbler - 6
Blackcap - 68 (2)
Willow Warbler - 1
Chifrfhcaff - 11
Blue Tit - 6
Great Tit - 4 (1)
Linnet - 6

Wraysbury GP - 23rd August 2019

With Garden Warbler and Whitethroat numbers on the decline, today could most certainly be described as a Blackcap day. With over 50% of the birds being of one species it felt like we processed a lot of the same, but a single Tree Pipit provided a little diversity.

Tree Pipit, age 3

Garden Warbler age 3

Totals: 86 (4)

Tree Pipit - 1
Robin - 0 (1)
Reed Warbler - 3
Whitethroat - 14
Garden Warbler - 3
Blackcap - 55 (1)
Chiffchaff - 5 (1)
Blue Tit - 2 (1)
Great Tit - 1
Goldfinch - 2

Kestrel

Broadwater GP - 22nd August 2019

We joined up with MRB and Margaret for a morning ringing at Broadwater. There were a lot of warblers around and from the seven nets up we caught 100 new birds and 11 retraps. It was great to have a good range of species too.

Willow Warbler 3O

Totals: 100 (11)

Great Spotted Woodpecker - 0 (1)

Robin - 0 (2)

Dunnock - 2 Blackbird - 2 Reed Warbler - 3 Lesser Whitethroat - 1 Whitethroat - 1 Blackcap - 35 (2) Willow Warbler - 8 Chiffchaff - 24 Goldcrest - 1 Long-tailed Tit - 0 (2) Blue Tit - 15 (1) Great Tit - 8 (3)

 Brown Hawker

 Migrant Hawker

Common Darter

Ruddy Darter

Small Tortoiseshell

Small Copper


Painted Lady

Red Admiral

Wraysbury GP - 21st August 2019

Monitored migration on the morning of the 21st. Chiffchaff numbers still seem low although a flock of 30 or so seen travelling across the horse field indicated that the changed vegetation on C6 may be less attractive than when there was a blanket of vetch. Garden Warbler numbers are tailing off, while Blackcap continue to pass through in a steady stream.

Totals: 78 (8)

Robin - 1

Dunnock - 2 (1) Song Thrush - 1 Reed Warbler - 2 Whitethroat - 12 (1) Garden Warbler - 6 (1) Blackcap - 47 (3) Chiffchaff - 3 (1) Blue Tit - 0 (1) Great Tit - 1 Goldfinch - 3

Comma

Leeuwarden area, Netherlands 16 & 17th August 2019

Unfortunately a few days of overcast, and often rainy for periods, with little sun produced very few active Odonata, and a visit to Leeuwarden early am on 17th resulted in us failing to locate the Pied Crow at its previous days location, but had moved to an adjacent street by the next day.

16th August.
Park Vijversburg

 White Stork, a faily tame bird of which up to three feed around 

the visitors and depart at odds times to roost eleswhere.

Grutte Wielen

Blue-tailed Damselfly 

Broad Scarlet

 Vagrant Darter

17th August.
Park Vijversburg

Vagrant Darter 

 Small Red-eyed Damselfly

 Emerald Damselfly

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Red Admiral

Painted Lady

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)