Wraysbury GP - 27th August 2021

 Another windy day when we expected only to be able to use three more sheltered rides. As it turned out the gusts were a little below what had been shown in the forecast and it was possible to get an extra two nets up, albeit in slightly too exposed positions that meant they were already being taken down by 10am as the blow freshened.

It made a real change, from the sessions of the last few weeks, to see birds moving about the site in numbers as the sun rose above the treeline and by the time we'd finished there were 82 captures. Blackcap was the leading species, 35 new and 4 retraps, a long stretch ahead of Whitethroat, 9 new and 2 retraps and Goldfinch, 9 new the next most frequently processed species. We really should have settled for 81 by 10:20am but the extra 50 minutes as we slowly brought in the last three nets did bring a single extra bird, the one and only Lesser Whitethroat of the day.

3JM Blackcap in Post-juvenile moult.

Sedge Warbler

Total: 74 (8)

Robin - 1
Dunnock - 4 (2)
Sedge Warbler - 1
Whitethroat - 9 (2)
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Garden Warbler - 4
Blackcap - 35 (4)
Chiffchaff - 7
Willow Warbler - 1
Blue Tit - 1
Great Tit - 1
Goldfinch -9

Broadwater GP - 25th August 2021

Two teams worked the site today, one doing quite well and catching a roving flock while the other team were still on only 15 birds by 10am and, and this being the end of August when numbers should be higher, decided to pack up and go. The run of three nets next to the track through the site is the only place where reasonable numbers of birds tend to turn up in nets. The bailey bridge no longer gets many birds - possibly down to a change in the way birds use the site since HS2 work has been in progress.

3JJ Cetti's Warbler

Total: 60 (11)

Wren - 1
Robin - 3 (2) 
Dunnock - 0 (1)
Blackbird - 1
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Reed Warbler - 2
Lesser Whitethroat - 2

Whitethroat - 2
Blackcap - 11
Garden Warbler- 1
Chiffchaff - 11 (5)
Willow Warbler - 7
Goldcrest - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 4 (1)
Blue Tit - 12 (2)
Great Tit - 1 (1)

Wraysbury GP - 21st August 2021

This session was conducted with one eye on the sky due to a forecast of impending rain. We had six nets up and after an initial 20 or so birds in the first round got no more than a handful second time round. We were fully expecting an early finish and we thought a total of 60 would be unrealistic due to the quiet nature of the site after the initial burst of activity. Chris tried playing Blue Tit as that was the only call that we were hearing consistently and it was hoped that Blue Tits and any accompanying birds might be drawn in.

Thick cloud cover at the start of the day.

Whitethroat, age 4 with near completed primary moult 

and a couple of retained secondaries

Adult Whitethroat

Reed Warbler, age 3

The first two nets were taken down before 10am. When it started to rain we decided to clear round and push up. It turned out that the Blue Tit audio-lure had worked rather well, calling in well over a third of the entire day's catch. Session successfully completed and off site by 11:20am.

Totals: 77 (8)

Robin - 2
Dunnock - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Whitethroat - 9 (3)
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Garden Warbler - 10
Blackcap - 26 (1)
Chiffchaff - 9
Willow Warbler - 1
Goldcrest - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 4 (3)
Blue Tit - 10 (1)
Goldfinch -2

Stanwell Moor GP - 20th August 2021

 The session started with the capture of a large, non-ringable species. After the Pheasant was turned out of the net the morning progressed very slowly and from the eight nets all 47 birds were of just 8 species.

Lesser Whitethroat

Willow Warbler

Total: 45 (2)

Robin - 0 (1)
Blackbird - 4
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Whitethroat - 12
Blackcap - 21
Chiffchaff - 5 (1)
Willow Warbler - 1
Greenfinch - 1

Wraysbury GP - 19th August 2021

 Two weeks since we've been to this site. The vegetation continues to grow and it's no exaggeration to say that thistles in some areas are at my head height. We've noticed this is forcing birds to fly at a higher than usual height and a lot of birds seem to be going over the nets.

We took a decent first round, after which the site seemed a lot quieter. We are already seeing a drop in  Garden Warbler as expected, and from experience, Whitethroat will be the next species to reduce in numbers.

4M and our only Whitethroat adult today and still finishing primary moult. 5 to the 8, 4 to the 1, 0 to the 1. No surprise at F0M1 that it's not started fat deposition while renewing flight feathers.

A juvenile Whitethroat at F3M2 and 16.1g that we expect to depart very soon. 

Post juvenile moult completed, now fuelling up for the migration.

Total: 68 (7)

Green Woodpecker - 0 (1)
Wren - 1
Robin - 1
Dunnock - 4 (2)
Blackbird - 1
Song Thrush - 3
Whitethroat - 18 (1)
Garden Warbler - 5
Blackcap - 30 (3)
Chiffchaff - 1
Goldfinch -3
Blue Tit - 1

Broadwater GP - 17th August 2021

 It is so unusual for there to be so few migrants, for such a prolonged period of time, in August at this site. When considering the reason why, there seems to be some merit in the comments being made by other ringers around the country that Blackcap numbers seem to be below what we expect to see in an average year. 

It may also have something to do with weather patterns, not only unseasonal conditions in the UK, but also it may be something to do with the unusually high, extreme temperatures in Southern Europe, being driven by a 'heat dome' where heat gets trapped over a reason for days or weeks. This has also resulted in wild fires in several areas.

Alternatively a contributing factor to Broadwater's lack of migrants may lie closer to home. Disturbance due to HS2 work that has not only cleared vast swathes of vegetation, but also includes the sound of the relentless pile driving that creates noise pollution and vibrates through the earth to a considerable distance

Sedge Warbler juvenile

Treecreeper adult

Total: 30 (3)

Wren - 2
Robin - 2 
Dunnock - 1 (1)
Blackbird - 2

Sedge Warbler - 1
Blackcap - 6 (1)
Chiffchaff - 6
Willow Warbler - 4
Long-tailed Tit - 0 (1)
Blue Tit - 5 

Stanwell GP - 14th August 2021

 Another morning when the birds arrived in the nets in a slow, steady trickle. The nets were arranged in a run of 4 18m nets running in a line along the line of the newly installed cabling that runs eventually to the works. In addition two nets were situated in the usual position at the field edge (still along the cable installation as it turns out) with a 15m on the bank and a 12m at the bank foot.

Leading species was Whitethroat, followed by Blackcap with Garden Warbler close behind. We were pleased to get a control Garden Warbler, ringed on 17th July and carrying 4 fat. We expected it to be from a local site but notification from the BTO shows that ADT4159 has come from Langford Lakes, Wiltshire.  

All five Blackbirds came from the net at the foot of the bank and the Swallow was the only individual caught for a considerable time playing song, until the wind became too strong.

Juvenile Swallow

One of the juvenile Chiffchaff displayed the result of a particularly weak growth bar that resulted in the retrices breaking off across the entire tail close to the tip.

Chiffchaff

Also, on 11th August, recaptured Garden Warbler, D 859104 had been ringed on this site at 20:45hrs on 3rd July 2014 and has not been seen since, until now.

Total:  40  (6)

Swallow - 1
Wren - 2
Robin - 2 (1)
Dunnock - 0 (1)
Blackbird - 5
Song Thrush - 1

Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Whitethroat - 8 (3)
Garden Warbler - 5 (1)
Blackcap - 7
Chiffchaff - 4
Willow Warbler - 3
Goldfinch - 1
Linnet - 1

Broadwater GP - 12th August 2021

Forecasts encouraged us to switch from one of the other sites due to it becoming increasingly windy, but the morning was instead, extremely still with drizzle. It made sense to work a small, confined area with the threat that the precipitation could become heavier so we limited ourselves to four nets.

It became obvious that the weather had not brought birds in, if anything perhaps having forced migrants on. We stayed a long time (due to an impromptu demonstration for a new fisherman that was extremely interested) and having eventually caught up with the resident tit flock finished on 39 birds.

Caught together, this 3JJ and 4F Reed Warbler were released together and contact 

called for some time confirming that they are parent and offspring. 

Totals: 36 (3)

Wren - 1
Robin - 2 (1)
Dunnock - 1
Blackbird - 1
Reed Warbler - 2
Whitethroat - 2

Garden Warbler - 4
Blackcap - 5 (1)
Chiffchaff - 1
Willow Warbler - 5
Long-tailed Tit - 3
Blue Tit - 5 (1)
Great Tit - 4

Stanwell GP - 11th August 2021

 Out for the second day in a row as we expect a spell of windy weather forecast for next week to keep us from mist-netting.

It was another quite diverse catch, even though movement around the site seemed minimal when the sun didn't shine, and then after 11am there was just hardly any movement at all. The Starling flock of 100+ was about briefly, but kept well clear of the nets as did the small flock of Swallows.

Best catch had to be a male Kestrel in its second summer.

Kestrel

Note moult of primaries and retrices

Reed Bunting (the probable reason the Kestrel ended up in the net)

3JP Goldfinch, replacing greater coverts

Totals: 62 (4)

Kestrel - 1
Robin - 1
Dunnock - 2
Song Thrush - 1

Reed Warbler - 3
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Whitethroat - 15 (2)
Garden Warbler - 7 (2)
Blackcap - 7
Chiffchaff - 13
Willow Warbler - 3
Blue Tit - 1
Goldfinch - 5
Reed Bunting - 1
Magpie - 1

Broadwater GP - 10th August 2021

 A morning  with MRB, BC and Margaret. We continue to run sessions parallel to each other with separate nets, bags, table and equipment. It has to be said that our bailey bridge net was distinctly underwhelming, as was a double set down towards the lake and Mike's runway was much more productive producing all the Reed Warblers and over 75% of the Phyloscopus warblers.

In addition there was an incident with a couple of people sent to survey the site with regard to access and trees. It wasn't clear whether they were linked to HS2 or otherwise, they were not there on behalf of the owners and they didn't have vehicle access or any idea that there is a fishing syndicate and ringing group that use the site. Unfortunately a net sustained damage, although the bird in question was a Great Tit that thankfully was not injured before I arrived to challenge them. They had climbed up to access the net and didn't access by the usual route or look along the net to see the notice. They didn't even enquire at the adjacent bungalow whose occupant, we later found out that  they had spoken to the day before. It didn't seem to dawn on them that the net had not been there the previous day. One actually said he thought it was 'left over equipment' from the gravel works - and that closed in the early eighties! 

The worker was very apologetic and advice was given with regard to finding nets that may or may not be being used legitimately. We will contact the site owners to check that access had been granted.

Juvenile Willow Warbler

Totals: 62 (12)

Wren - 2
Robin - 3 (1)
Dunnock - 1
Blackbird - 2 (2)
Reed Warbler - 3

Garden Warbler - 6 (1)
Blackcap - 5 (1)
Chiffchaff - 15 (6)
Willow Warbler - 10
Goldcrest - 1
Blue Tit - 11 (1)
Great Tit - 3

In addition two Painted Ladies were present on site.

Dorney Common - 6th August 2021

On these days with short, sharp showers and strong wind forecast, netting isn't an option. Just for a bit of fresh air and to keep the ringing ticking along swans are a good option once the cygnets get big enough.

This family have seven well grown youngsters. The cob already carries metal rings on both legs (BTO and either Dyers or Vintners from swan upping) and the pen remains un-ringed, being a particularly cautious individual.

We were pleased to get three of the young birds since birds become rather suspicious once the first has been caught, and colour ringed as part of the SE/East Anglia Swan project.

Cygnets provide good value data as it is possible to construct a 

record of movements starting from their natal waterway.

Total: 3

Mute Swan - 3

Wraysbury GP - 4th August 2021

After a busy day at Stanwell on the 3rd we were hopeful of a good session, but there was a very quiet feel to the site and we didn't see many birds at all. We thought that the conditions may have been right to push birds on without many new arrivals into the site. The complete lack of Chiffchaffs was unusual and not a single double A was used. There seem to be a few Lesser Whitethroat passing through at the moment with two captured yesterday at Stanwell and another at Broadwater today.

3P Blackcap

Adult Reed Warbler

This is the second string that has rings so loose that rings slide right over each other. We have to put lots of knots in the string or they slip right to the bottom. Ringing with trainees or a large group would be a lot more open to errors than just the two of us. We'll be glad when they're used up.

Totals: 61 (9)

Robin - 2
Dunnock - 5 (3)
Blackbird - 1
Song Thrush - 1
Reed Warbler - 1
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Whitethroat - 11 (13)
Garden Warbler - 10
Blackcap - 23 (3)
Blue Tit - 3
Great Tit - 1
Bullfinch - 1
Linnet - 1

Stanwell Moor GP - 3rd August 2021

 With Wraysbury being so good for warbler numbers, it's easy to rather neglect Stanwell. But, we went today and I was reminded why this is actually my favourite site. We put up three doubles and ended on 78 birds of 17 species. Diversity was such that we dipped into the box for rings of sizes that are rarely used on three separate occasions. 

A new underground cable has been laid through the north end of the site where we ring and that has provided some ideal new places to try nets without the need to strim since an area was cleared in advance of the work. Today things worked rather well.

Kingfisher aged 3F

Lesser Whitethroat juvenile

Cetti's Warbler juvenile

Reed Warbler juvenile

Totals: 75 (3)

Wood Pigeon - 1
Green Woodpecker - 0 (1)
Kingfisher - 1

Wren - 4
Robin - 2
Dunnock - 3 (1)
Blackbird - 2

Cetti's Warbler - 1
Reed Warbler - 4
Sedge Warbler - 1
Lesser Whitethroat - 2
Whitethroat - 19 (1)
Garden Warbler - 7
Blackcap - 20
Chiffchaff - 5
Great Tit - 2
Magpie - 1

Wraysbury GP - 1st August 2021

 Only 5 nets up today with a total of 93 captures. Twenty of these were retraps, showing that Whitethroats and some Blackcaps are staying on site. We have been noticing that a lot of the birds do not yet appear to be gaining sufficient weight for migration. Of the adult Whitethroats, we are noticing that all are female with no sign of the males. As in spring the males generally seem to move ahead of the females.

Seven Blackbirds was above what we would normally expect and the presence of Willow Warbler, Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler on the record sheet added to the sense that autumn migration is gathering pace. 

Juvenile Willow Warbler

Juvenile Sedge Warbler

Totals: 73 (20)

Robin - 0 (2)
Dunnock - 3 (1) 
Blackbird - 7
Song Thrush - 3

Reed Warbler - 1 (1)
Sedge Warbler - 1
Whitethroat - 23 (10)
Garden Warbler - 10 (0)
Blackcap - 19 (5)
Chiffchaff - 3
Willow Warbler - 2
Great Tit - 2 (1)